"Welcome to Henri".
Catherine Salvador has rarely opened the heavy armored door to strangers since her husband's death in 2008 at the age of 90.
We are at 6, Place Vendôme, on the fourth floor.
Between jewelers and palaces, Henri Salvador had established his offices on the top two floors in 1958, then his apartment in 1962 and in the process his recording studio, first installed in the living room, then in a separate room.
His fourth and last wife shows him around on the occasion of the release of the album "Homme Studio", bringing together songs created between 1970 and 1975.
Gold records, rhythm boxes, instruments ... Henri Salvador's studio has remained intact since the singer's death in 2008. LP / Arnaud Journois
“Henri was the first French artist to have his own label, Rigolo, and his home studio,” recalls the guardian of the temple, his heiress and beneficiary. He wanted to be independent and create his music without constraints of money or time. He was amazed to be one of the only inhabitants of Place Vendôme:
If papa saw me, he would be proud of me
, he told me. It was his ivory tower, his refuge. It touches me that there is his name at the bottom on a plaque, like Frédéric Chopin, who lived at 12. She is the second wife of Henri, Jacqueline, Egyptian and very cultured, who dreamed of having his address on the most beautiful square in the world. To buy it, they gave a million old francs more than the others! "
Catherine, the wife of Henri Salvador, would like to transform the singer's studio into a museum.
LP / Guillaume Georges
The emotion is great when you discover the small recording studio.
"I myself am always moved," says Catherine Salvador.
It's like a painter's studio.
This square room with its cathedral ceiling, just lit by three small windows, must be barely 12 m2.
What a junk!
Around a large mixing console protected by a sheet, the walls are covered with drum machines and keyboards, six guitars, three trumpets, five gold and platinum records from his albums "Chambre avec vue" - sold at 2.5 million copies worldwide - and “Révérence”, his last in 2006.
Gold record, the album "Révérence" is the artist's last opus, in 2006. LP / Arnaud Journois
But also dozens of audio K7s and CDs by Frank Sinatra, “son dieu”, Anne Sylvestre, Count Basie, Francis Cabrel… On the floor, a travel bag filled with records, dozens of cables, instrument cases… "I left this piece in its own way," admits Catherine Salvador, who lived thirteen years with her Henri.
I did not dare.
He always said to me:
don't touch anything, unhappy woman.
It's tidy
.
"
"I would like to create a museum here"
Nothing has therefore changed since February 12, 2008. “The day before his death, Henri was still working there,” says his wife. He was preparing a jazz album with a big band. We were to leave a fortnight later to record it in Los Angeles. He had listened to an Emmanuel Donzella album. The CD was open on the console. It is the only thing that I touched, because before the pandemic, I had the console which was suffering from the Parisian pollution cleaned. I would like it to be used by musicians. I have to take his guitars to the luthier, including the one he played in Ray Ventura's orchestra in the 1940s! I also keep his costumes, his hats,
Zorro's
gun
has arrived
… I would like to create a museum here so that the new generations can discover all of Henri's talents.
I am at the authorization stage because it is a condominium and an ultra-secure place.
"
Guitar, trumpets ... Henri Salvador knew how to play many instruments.
LP / Arnaud Journois
“Henri spent his days locked in this soundproofed room by a great sound engineer from Barclay (
Editor's note: Gerhard Lehner, who worked with Ferré, Brel, Legrand
), continues our guide.
He sometimes remained in pilou-pilou because he was chilly.
He enjoyed finding new sounds and rhythms, as we hear on
Homme Studio
.
He was no accident friends with Paul McCartney and Quincy Jones.
"
To read also Laurent Voulzy: "Henri Salvador was a joker and an experimenter"
It shows a photo where Henri and Quincy pose together and the VIP pass that the latter had given him to attend the New York concert of Michael Jackson at the end of 2001. “Quincy is one of the few musicians to have come here, specifies t -it.
In my time, there was hardly anyone but Laurent Voulzy, Louis Chedid - who had bought his first console - Thomas Dutronc.
Before he started, Thomas had come to play the guitar for him.
Henri was delighted and this gave birth to the song
Mademoiselle
on
Chambre avec vue.
The job did not always include Henri, because he worked alone and protected himself.
And he was very resentful.
It was his biggest flaw, but he accepted it.
"
"He dreamed of going to space"
In one corner is a Mac G5 with the cell phone number of his buddy, Eddy Mitchell. “Henri was already 80 years old when he made me buy this computer,” she smiles. The salesperson told me:
You have a geek at home
. He was right. He was crazy about new technologies, always on the lookout, wherever we went. He dreamed of going to space. He had a Playstation, an Xbox, he played it like a kid. He was also a knowledge eater, he read all the press, left the TV on all day. We even had a military satellite dish on the roof to catch TVs from all over the world. "
On a shelf, a television allowed him to communicate with the room above, a guest room where he recorded the voices.
“There are cables under all the floors in the apartment,” laughs Catherine Salvador.
Above a keyboard, the notes of a song are scribbled on a hotel card.
“He could read music, but not write it.
It was his friends who wrote the scores from his notes.
But he had perfect pitch and knew how to play a lot of instruments.
On
The Aristocats
, he does them all.
"
The studio contains many personal items of Henri Salvador.
LP / Arnaud Journois
On a large tape recorder sits a certificate from the brotherhood of bailiffs of Lalande-de-Pomerol. “Henri had been made bailiff of honor because Pomerol was his favorite wine. His only requirement was to have a bottle in his dressing room. He drank a glass of it to soften his vocal cords before going on stage, like Mariah Carey. "
Catherine Salvador shows us a microphone on her stand. “It was his magic mic. He gave her his sweet voice. This model followed him everywhere. She finally wants to open a metal case for us. Dozens of scores and song lyrics dating back to the 1950s are listed in alphabetical order. Some are signed Boris Vian, such as "Ne say more nothing". “It was taken over by American actor Anthony Perkins, but most of it has never been sung,” notes Catherine Salvador. I would like to entrust them one day to musicians. And there are also unpublished works everywhere, here, at home in the South, where Henri also had a studio, with his publishers. I hope to get them out… So that we don't forget Henri. "