Claude françois parents: His father, Aimé François (1908–1961), was a senior manager in the Anglo-French Suez Canal business on the Suez Canal when Claude Antoine Marie François was born in Egypt, in the city of Ismalia, where he was raised. The family relocated to the city of Port Tewfik in 1951 as a result of the Employment (now Suez Port). Josette (born 1934), Claude’s older sister, authored her memoirs in 2008, which can be seen here.
Lucia Mazzei (1910–1992), François’ mother, was a talented musician who encouraged her son to pursue piano and violin lessons. The youngster taught himself how to play the drums on his own. In response to the 1956 Suez Crisis, the family was expelled from Egypt and relocated to Monaco. The family’s exile from Egypt was distressing. After François’ father became ill and was unable to work, the family struggled to make ends meet. Claude got work as a bank teller during the day, and at night, he supplemented his income by playing drums with an orchestra at the finest hotels of the French Riviera.
Given his strong singing voice, he was offered the opportunity to perform at a hotel in the prestigious Mediterranean resort town of Juan-les-Pins. He accepted the offer. Claude Antoine Marie François, better known by his stage name Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, music producer, drummer, and dancer who rose to fame in the 1970s and early 1980s. François co-wrote the lyrics for “Comme habitude” (composed by Jacques Revaux and himself), the original version of “My Way,” and composed the music for “Parce que Je time mon enfant,” the original version of “My Boy.
Music Career
“He also co-wrote the lyrics for “Comme habitude,” the original version of “My Way,” and the original version of “My Boy.” Songs such as “Le Téléphone Pleure”, “Le lundi au soleil”, “Magnolias for Ever,” “Alexandrie Alexandra,” and “This year là” are among his most well-known compositions. When François was unintentionally electrocuted in March 1978, he was 39 years old and had sold about 70 million albums during his career (and after his death). He was ready to depart for the United States when he was killed.
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former president of France, is reported as saying that Claude François was “the French equivalent of The Beatles, meaning the greatest talent of an age.” Claude’s performance was well-received, and he soon found himself performing at the glitzy nightclubs of the Côte d’Azur. In 1959, while working in a nightclub, he met Janet Woollacott, with whom he would later marry in 1960. When Claude’s father discovered that his son was working as a musician in Monte Carlo in 1957, he turned his back on him. François relocated to Paris, where he found a plethora of chances to further his professional development.
At the time, American rock and roll were gaining popularity in France, and he sought employment as a member of a singing group in order to supplement his income. With the hope of one day becoming a solo artist, he covered the costs of recording a 45rpm single. The song “Nabout Twist” was created in an attempt to cash in on the American dance phenomenon known as “The Twist,” but it was a resounding commercial disaster. He remained undeterred, and in 1962 he released a cover version in French of an Everly Brothers song, “Made to Love,” also known as “Teen Teen Teen,” under the pseudonym “Belle Belle Belle.”
Claude François Parents
As a child: He was born in Egypt in the city of Ismalia, where his father, Aimé François (1908–1961), worked as a senior manager for the Anglo-French Suez canal enterprise on the Suez Canal, as Claude Antoine Marie François. The family relocated to Port Tewfik in 1951 because of a work assignment (now Suez Port). It was in 2008 that Josette, Claude’s older sister, finished writing her memoirs.
My Personal life
He tied the knot with Janet Wollacoot in November of 1960. The divorce was finalized in 1967 after she left him in 1962. One of the three major tragedies that shaped his entire life was the breakdown of his marriage. He and France Gall had a brief relationship in July 1967. (Alprazolam) When Annie Phillipe declined to marry him, François may have had an affair with her. A few years before, François had met the model Isabelle Forêt and had scheduled to meet up with her again. They had two boys, Claude Jr. in July 1968 and Marc in November 1969, during their partnership from 1967 to 1972.
In order to maintain an image of “a free man and seducer” in the eyes of the public, the father of two suppressed the fact that he had another child for five years. In 1972, he was back on the market, having dated a number of high-profile European celebrities. It was during this time period that he had the most significant connections with both Sofia Kiukkonen of Finland and Kathalyn (Kathleen) Jones-Mann of the United States. Additionally, he was romantically involved with his hairdresser, Sylvie Mathurin, for a period spanning 1974 to 1978.
He continued to perform while simultaneously managing all of his other business ventures and responsibilities. During a visit to London in 1975, he was almost killed by an IRA bomb in the Hilton hotel lobby; the following year, a fan attempted to shoot him while he was driving. After his first hit record was published in 1957, he was still topping the charts in 1977–78 with multi-million-selling singles like “Alexandrie Alexandra” (issued the day before he was buried) and performing in front of big crowds.
Having a career abroad
While most of his work was done in Belgium and Switzerland, he has performed around Europe in places including Italy, Spain, the UK, and Canada. The UK Singles Chart ranked “Le Telephone Pleure” (Tears on the Telephone) at number 35 in 1976. For the first time ever, a French singer sang at the Royal Albert Hall in London to a crowd of over 6,000 people on January 16, 1978.
Death
François returned to his Paris residence, 46 Boulevard Exelmans, on Saturday, March 11th, 1978, after spending the previous two days in Switzerland filming a BBC television special and appearing the next day on Les Rendez-vous du Dimanche with TV host Michel Drucker. He got electrocuted when standing up to correct the light fixture on the wall while taking a bath. In the village of Dannemois, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) south of Paris, Claude François owned a house, where he spent his weekends. His body was interred there.
Legacy
Place Claude-François in Paris was named in his honor on March 11, 2000, the 22nd anniversary of his death, and it is positioned directly in front of the building where he died. To mark the one-year anniversary of his death, a biographical film titled Cloclo (My Way Internationally) was released. Jérémie Renier stars in the two-and-a-half-hour film. In recent years, the artistic legacy of Claude François has passed to his sons, Claude Jr., and Marc.
Controversies
Julie Bocquet, a lady who claims that François is her father, says that he is. Her mother, Fabienne, was just 15 years old when she became pregnant. Others have also lately come forward.
