The archetypal sex kitten, Brigitte Bardot was the first foreign-language star ever to attain a level of international success comparable to America's most popular homegrown talents. While the vast majority of her motion pictures failed to rank even remotely close to the best of her native France's prodigious New Wave-era output, they proved a... [+] Read More

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French singer Brigitte Fontaine made a series of increasingly strange and eclectic art-pop in the 1970s that gathered a lot of acclaim in France, although she remains obscure to an international audience. Initially she was an eccentric but accessible pop singer, presenting melodic and orchestrated material a la a more daring version of... [+] Read More

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While his tenure as the frontman for the legendary Roxy Music remained his towering achievement, singer Bryan Ferry also carved out a successful solo career which continued in the lush, sophisticated manner perfected on the group's final records. Born September 26, 1945 in Washington, England, Ferry, the son of a coal miner, began his musical... [+] Read More

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Widely regarded as the singer who fused the traditions of the French chanson with the energy and verve of American jazz, Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse on September 9, 1929. The son of an opera singer and a piano teacher, he was raised largely by his grandparents, devouring not only classical music but also the homegrown pop of Charles... [+] Read More

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Italian Edoardo Bennato got involved in music in the early '70s after moving from Naples to Milan to study architecture at the age of 18. In 1973, his debut album, called Non Farti Cadere Le Braccia, was produced by Sandro Colombini, followed by 1974's I Buoni E I Cattivi and 1975's Lo Che Non Sono L'imperatore. In 1977, Edoardo Bennato became... [+] Read More

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Usually thought of as a middle-of-the-road popular singer, Françoise Hardy -- at the beginning of her career, at least -- covered more stylistic ground and owed more debts to pop/rock than she's given credit for. Immensely popular in her native France, the chanteuse first displayed her breathy, measured vocals in the early and mid-'60s. Her... [+] Read More

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Henri Salvador enjoyed one of the longest careers of any French cabaret artist, debuting professionally in the mid-'30s and recording -- with satisfying results -- all the way into the new millennium. For much of his career, Salvador was known for his jazzy guitar work, his comic talents, and novelty songs, and a distinct Brazilian influence in... [+] Read More

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Singer/songwriter Jacques Dutronc gained popularity in his native France with his provocative songs that matched the rebellious spirit of the '60s so well. Though he was absent from the musical scene for nearly a decade, pursuing a film career, he successfully returned to music in the early '80s and still remains one of the most popular... [+] Read More

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The heavy-breathing vocalist on one of the most infamous chart-toppers in British history, Jane Birkin enjoyed a long film and recording career. Born in London in 1946, she followed in her mother's footsteps and began acting at the Kensington Academy in London. While still a teenager, she made her stage debut in Graham Greene's 1964 production... [+] Read More

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One of the most enigmatic figures in rock history, Scott Walker was known as Scotty Engel when he cut obscure flop records in the late '50s and early '60s in the teen idol vein. He then hooked up with John Maus and Gary Leeds to form the Walker Brothers. They weren't named Walker, they weren't brothers, and they weren't English, but they... [+] Read More

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