He welcomes us to a Parisian palace suite with a big cigar on his beak. Jacques Revaux, 79, is from the old school, but he has the physique of a young man and the energy of a kid. With a tanned complexion, he arrives, with his wife Lola, from Marrakech where they live, and must leave for Geneva "for business".
But to celebrate the fifty years of "My Way", the English version of "As usual" become a global hit by the grace of Frank Sinatra, he stops time. "Do you have any in front of you?" He asks before telling his story, that of the son of the butcher from Azay-sur-Cher (Indre-et-Loire) who became one of the most popular composers of the 70s with a hundred hits, most of them for Michel Sardou, and founder of the Tréma label. It will take a good two hours to go around.
Winter sports and dressing gown. It is February 1967. After a few years as a singer, Jacques Revaux, 27, is composing more and more for the others. "I went to Megève with an order for four songs," he says. But arrived on Friday and I did nothing. I take my guitar and in one morning, I compose them in a dressing gown on my bed. One will go to Johnny Hallyday, the other to Hervé Vilard, the other to Petula Clark. The latter does not find a taker. "
"I propose it to Claude François - I liked offering counter-titles to artists - but he refuses it," he continues. Only here, I meet him a few months later in Cannes and he yells at me: You do hits for Johnny and Richard Anthony, but you do nothing for me . I talk to him again about this song and we test it a few days later at his mill in Dannemois (Essonne). "
David Bowie before Claude François. At the start, the song is called "For Me" and is sung "in yogurt" (Editor's note: in false English) . At the time, fashion was covered with Anglo-Saxon titles, Jacques Revaux sent his music to London where a lyricist wrote a text in English. Revaux will later discover that it is signed by the very young David Bowie, who will be inspired by the legend of his melody for "Life On Mars".
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In the middle of summer 1967, Revaux and Cloclo met at the latter. "Come on, play me your shit" asked Cloclo, who loves this melancholy ballad and very quickly writes lyrics with his friend Gilles Thibaut. “France Gall had just left it (note: after three years of living together) , says Jacques Revaux. The lyrics to this breaking song came easily. Claude François improves the melody, which is why he co-signed the music. "As usual" does not have the expected success - it still sells 300,000 copies - but during a visit to Paris, Canadian crooner Paul Anka spots it on TV and buys the rights to make an english version.
Frank Sinatra records it in one take. It is in fact to his friend Frank Sinatra then at the bottom of the wave, that Paul Anka intended the song. Renamed "My way" or "(I Did It) My Way", or "I did it my way", it tells the story and the state of mind of a man at the twilight of his life. The legend - confirmed by several witnesses - tells that Sinatra recorded it in one take on December 31, 1968.
"He is probably in a hurry to celebrate with his family," smiles Jacques Revaux. I also find that at the end his voice is a little low. In 1969, not only was it a hit in the United States but it quickly became a classic, taken up by Nina Simone, Elvis Presley… Revaux only has one regret, never having met Sinatra.
PODCAST. Half a century ago, Frank Sinatra hummed "My Way" for the first time
It brings in over a million a year. For fifty years, it has been impossible to quantify the number of repeats of "My Way" as there are. "It is one of the most popular songs in the world," answers Jacques Revaux. There are at least 3,000 known. From Tom Jones to Luciano Pavarotti, from Céline Dion to Robbie Williams. Even Sid Vicious, the bassist of the punk group Sex Pistols, made her famous by massacring her in the film "The great rock'n'roll swindle".
"My Way" brings in a lot of copyright. At least a million euros a year to be split into six on both sides of the Atlantic. With this, Jacques Revaux invested in a record company, Tréma (which he co-managed from 1969 to 1998) and in business, in Paris, Marrakech, Switzerland, the Netherlands, in particular in a company manufacturing a molecule revolutionary for cleaning ... But the businessman is less talkative than the musician.