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Guy Bonnet
Guy Bonnet
Guy Bonnet
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Guy Bonnet (French pronunciation: [ɡi bɔnɛ]; (12 May 1942[1][2] – 8 January 2024)[3] was a French author, composer, and singer. He wrote the lyrics and composed the music for "La Source", the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, performed by Isabelle Aubret. In 1970, he participated himself in the contest for France, with "Marie-Blanche" coming fourth out of twelve contestants; he repeated the experience in 1983 with "Vivre", finishing eighth out of twenty.

Bonnet wrote and composed songs for various artists, including Mireille Mathieu, Sylvie Vartan, Franck Fernandel, and Massilia Sound System. He also wrote a contemporary pastorale "La Pastorale des enfants de Provence".

Bonnet died in Avignon on 8 January 2024, at the age of 81.[4]

References

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Guy Bonnet

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''Guy Bonnet'' was a French singer, songwriter, composer, and author known for his multiple participations in the Eurovision Song Contest and his pioneering work in Provençal language music. Born in Avignon in 1945, he first gained attention by writing the lyrics and music for "La Source", France's entry performed by Isabelle Aubret at the 1968 contest, which placed third. He later represented France as a performer with his own compositions "Marie-Blanche" in 1970 and "Vivre" in 1983. Throughout his career, Bonnet collaborated with prominent artists including Mireille Mathieu and Sylvie Vartan, composed music for French films during the 1970s and 1980s, and was recognized for his melodic talent and efforts to professionalize music and performance in the Provençal language. He died peacefully in his sleep on 8 January 2024 in Montpellier at the age of 78.

Early life

Birth and background

Guy Bonnet was born on 8 August 1945 in Avignon, Vaucluse, France. His passion for music manifested early in his life. He studied at the Conservatoire in Avignon and later at the Conservatoire in Marseille. As a native of the Provence region in southern France, his origins in this culturally distinctive area would later be reflected in his works, which showed a deep connection to his Provençal roots.

Eurovision Song Contest

Participations as performer and songwriter

Guy Bonnet participated three times in the Eurovision Song Contest, contributing as a songwriter in 1968 and as both performer and composer in 1970 and 1983, representing France on each occasion. In 1968, he co-wrote the lyrics for "La Source", performed by Isabelle Aubret, which placed third in the contest held in London. In 1970, Bonnet performed and composed "Marie-Blanche" (with lyrics by André-Pierre Dousset), finishing fourth in Amsterdam. In 1983, he again represented France by performing and composing "Vivre" (with lyrics by Fulbert Cant), achieving eighth place in Munich.

Performing and songwriting for other artists

Guy Bonnet has also established himself as a songwriter and composer for prominent artists in French popular music, contributing to the repertoires of several well-known performers during his career. He provided music and lyrics for a range of variety singers, demonstrating his versatility beyond his own recordings and Eurovision participations. Among his collaborations, Bonnet composed the music for Sylvie Vartan's "Shang Shang A Lang." For Michèle Torr, he co-wrote "C'était Un Petit Homme" with Gilles Thibaut and penned the lyrics for "Ça pourrait être vrai." Bonnet composed "Concerto Pour Le Reve" for Nicole Rieu and contributed music to Marie Laforêt's 1977 self-titled album, including the track "Monsieur de La Fayette." His songwriting credits also encompass work for Mireille Mathieu, Caterina Valente, Franck Fernandel, Dany, and Massilia Sound System. In addition to these collaborations, Bonnet performed his own original material outside of Eurovision, releasing personal albums and appearing live as a singer-pianist interpreting his compositions in the chanson tradition.

Provençal language music

Albums and cultural contributions

Guy Bonnet devoted much of his artistic life to promoting and revitalizing Provençal language music, releasing fourteen albums sung in Provençal. His Provençal discography began with Moun Miejour in 1976. These albums combined original compositions with adaptations of songs by major French artists such as Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, and Charles Aznavour, translated and reinterpreted in Provençal. For select titles, Bonnet recorded symphonic arrangements in collaboration with the Orchestre d’Avignon-Provence, as featured in projects like Symphonie Provençale. He further documented his experiences in the autobiography La Provence au fond de mon cœur. Bonnet's sustained commitment established him as a key advocate for the contemporary vitality of Provençal against dominant French-language trends, contributing significantly to the preservation and modernization of Occitan regional culture.

Film and television composing

Scores for erotic and adult films

Guy Bonnet composed original scores for numerous French erotic and adult feature films during the 1970s and 1980s, a prolific aspect of his work in cinema that often aligned with the era's sexploitation genre. He frequently received credits under the pseudonym Frank Bonnetti for several of these projects. Representative examples of his contributions include the music for Les petites saintes y touchent (1974), Justine's Hot Nights (1976), Cathy, fille soumise (1977), Excitation au soleil (1978), Viens, je suis chaude (1979), and L'été les petites culottes s'envolent (1986). These films, among others in his body of work, typically featured original compositions tailored to the sensual and narrative demands of adult-oriented productions. His involvement in this field encompassed a significant number of credits, primarily concentrated in this period, highlighting a distinct strand of his compositional output separate from his mainstream projects.

Other film and television projects

Guy Bonnet composed music for several television and film projects outside the adult film industry, including a television series, a documentary short, and a feature comedy. He scored the 1972 French TV series Le Manège de Port-Barcarès, an episodic production broadcast on ORTF featuring a cast including Marc Cassot and Colette Deréal. In 1978, credited as Frank Bonnetti, Bonnet composed the music for the short documentary Dalí en Avignon directed by Robert Renzulli. The 15-minute film documents Salvador Dalí orchestrating a pyrotechnical performance titled "Giraffes on Fire" in Avignon. Bonnet returned to collaboration with Renzulli for the 1992 comedy feature La colo, where he handled the score. The film follows a group of children from Marseille and Paris at a summer camp in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. He also wrote the original song "L'Été de l'Amitié" for the project, with lyrics by Jacqueline Blot and Rolande Bouhour, performed by Aline Renzulli, Céline Renzulli, Laurent Bonnet, and Nicolas Bonnet.

Death and legacy

Circumstances of death and posthumous recognition

Guy Bonnet died on 8 January 2024 in Montpellier, France, at the age of 78. He passed away peacefully in his sleep beside his wife while hospitalized in Montpellier following a recent illness. News of his death prompted tributes highlighting his contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovoix published an obituary detailing his three participations—songwriter for France's 1968 entry "La Source" (third place), performer of "Marie-Blanche" in 1970 (fourth place), and performer of "Vivre" in 1983 (eighth place)—and expressed condolences to his family and friends. Posthumous recognition also emphasized his legacy in Provençal-language music. NosEnchanteurs portrayed his fourteen albums in Provençal as the core of his artistic merit, noting his reinterpretations of works by Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, and Charles Aznavour in the language, his symphonic recordings with the Orchestre d'Avignon-Provence, and his commitment to demonstrating the modern vitality of Provençal against prevailing commercial pressures. In a France Bleu tribute, collaborator André Chiron recalled forty years of friendship and praised Bonnet's "talent de faire des mélodies absolument magnifiques," while Paulin Reynard, capoulié du Félibrige, described him as "le premier artiste qui a montré qu’on pouvait vivre en tant que professionnel de la musique, du spectacle et de la chanson, en provençal."

References

  1. https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/societe/le-chanteur-et-compositeur-avignonnais-guy-bonnet-est-decede-1136940
  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0094962/
  3. https://www.discogs.com/artist/918090-Guy-Bonnet
  4. https://www.eurovisionuniverse.com/obituaries/guy-bonnet-passed-away/
  5. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1812170-guy-bonnet
  6. https://eurovoix.com/2024/01/08/france-eurovision-guy-bonnet-has-died/
  7. https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1968/france
  8. https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1970/france
  9. https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/1983/france
  10. https://www.discogs.com/release/35657773-Sylvie-Vartan-Shang-Shang-A-Lang
  11. https://www.discogs.com/release/13174831-Mich%C3%A8le-Torr-C%C3%A9tait-Un-Petit-Homme
  12. https://www.shazam.com/song/1664099447/%C3%A7a-pourrait-%C3%AAtre-vrai
  13. https://www.musicroom.com/nicole-rieu-concerto-pour-le-reve-dam332737
  14. https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/1977-marie-laforet/vv3hiiz2bi00b
  15. https://www.last.fm/music/Guy+Bonnet
  16. https://www.bfmtv.com/people/musique/mort-du-compositeur-guy-bonnet-deux-fois-representant-de-la-france-a-l-eurovision_AN-202401090357.html
  17. https://www.nosenchanteurs.eu/index.php/2024/01/09/guy-bonnet-1945-2024/
  18. https://www.discogs.com/release/7072932-Guy-Bonnet-Moun-Miejour
  19. https://www.programme-tv.net/news/musique/344253-guy-bonnet-compositeur-pour-sylvie-vartan-et-michelle-torr-et-representant-de-la-france-a-leurovision-est-mort-a-78-ans/
  20. https://open.spotify.com/album/4t0ysgjJsBRq4FpOyf9Bev
  21. https://www.espaci-occitan.com/botiga/fr/95_guy-bonnet
  22. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0094962/fullcredits
  23. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0170975/
  24. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259812/
  25. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053826/
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