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Frida Boccara | |
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 Frida Boccara in 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara (1940-10-29)29 October 1940 |
| Died | 1 August 1996(1996-08-01) (aged 55) Paris, France |
| Genres | Chanson,French jazz,folk music |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1959–1996 |
| Labels |
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Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara (29 October 1940 – 1 August 1996) was a French singer of Italian descent, who performed and recorded in a number of languages, includingFrench,Spanish,English,Italian,German,Dutch andRussian.
Boccara was born inCasablanca, Morocco, into aJewishfamily of Italian origin that lived inTunisia before they settled in Morocco. When she was 17, she moved from Casablanca to Paris, France, where she eventually started her artistic career as a singer. Boccara also had a brother and a sister in show business, composers Jean-Michel Braque (born Roger Boccara) and Lina Boccara. Her son, Tristan Boccara, was born in the mid-1970s and also became a singer known by the stage nameGoldinski (he is also a composer, pianist and arranger)
In 1964, Boccara had submitted the song "Autrefois" ("In the past") to theFrenchEurovision Song Contest selection panel, but she was unsuccessful. Five years later, at theEurovision Song Contest 1969, held in Madrid, Spain, she represented France performing "Un jour, un enfant" ("A day, a child") – with music byÉmile Stern and text byEddy Marnay. Her song shared first place along with the entries from the Netherlands, the UK, and Spain, the first and last time more than one country was declared the winner.
Songwriter Eddy Marnay was her professional partner (most of the songs performed by Boccara were written by him), but she also performed songs composed byJacques Brel,Georges Brassens,Charles Aznavour, Émile Stern,Michel Legrand,Michel Magne,Nino Rota andMikis Theodorakis.
"Cent mille chansons" ("A hundred thousand songs") was recorded in 1968 and earned her agold disc, while "Un jour, un enfant" (1969) earned her aplatinum disc and "Pour vivre ensemble" ("To live together", 1971) earned her another gold. Other of her famous songs include "Cherbourg avait raison" (1961), "Aujourd'hui" (1965), "Les moulins de mon cœur" (1969), "L'enfant aux cymbales" (1969), "Belle du Luxembourg" (1969), "La croix, l'étoile et le croissant" (1970), "Venise va mourir" (1970), "Trop jeune ou trop vieux" (1971), "Valdemosa" (1976), "L'année où Piccoli jouaitLe choses de la vie" (1978), "Un monde en sarabande" (1979) and "La prière" (1979). In the late 1960s, she also recorded "Un pays pour nous", a song that was a French version of "Somewhere" (from the musicalWest Side Story).Leonard Bernstein, who composed the original melody, declared that Boccara's version was his favorite.
Boccara renewed her links with Eurovision by participating in the French national finals of1980 – performing "Un enfant de France" – and1981 – with "Voilà comment je t'aime". However, neither song was selected. She died in 1996 in Paris, France, aged 55, from apulmonary infection, after a decline in health.
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 (tied with  Lulu, Salomé & Lenny Kuhr) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 | Succeeded by |
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