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THE COMPLETE CHARLES TRENET - 15
« KANGOUROU » (1960-1962)

““‘Chanson is an art of course,’ said Charles Trenet, well before Serge Gainsbourg said the same,

‘but even so, it’s a minor art...’”

When he was preparing his return to the stage early in 1961, Trenet gave one interview after another where he theorized on fashions and the passage of time; he was concerned over the arrival of a new generation of singers... From March 3 to April 9 he invested the Théâtre de l’Étoile accompanied by Freddy Lienhart and twenty-five musicians and chorus singers conducted by Guy Luypaerts. That show at the Étoile theatre was the third to be recorded there (cf. FA087 and FA088), and the result included fourteen of the thirty-five songs that made up the performance on his opening night. Trenet was such a success that the theatre’s director booked him to appear again from October 4 to December 20, 1961, and Freddy Lienhart and his “rythmes” (a bassist, drummer and guitarist) accompanied him, together with a young Canadian pianist named Paul de Margerie.

In the studio, in 1961 Charles Trenet recorded four songs with arrangements by André Popp (Kangourou; La p’tit’ Didi; Au Fil du temps perdu; Le pauvre Antoine). The next year he met up with Christian Chevallier again, this time to record four new songs (Si loin de ton Amour; Le grand Partage; Jeunesse plumée and L’horrible Tango, whose lyrics would be changed due to the threat of a lawsuit brought by cosmetics brand Gomina), two old titles that had not been released on record until then (Lundi au lit (Les Bruits de Paris) and Adieu mes beaux Rivages), and two of his former hits, Jardin du mois de mai and Annie-Anna.

On radio Trenet sang fantastic alternative versions of his songs made famous by the likes of Jean Séraphin, Pascal Kebaili and Élisabeth Duncker, and he also made regular appearances on the programme “Sérénade”. During a radio-special entitled “France Applauds” (dated January 16, 1962), he provided a mix of French and English versions of his songs. He didn’t neglect television either, notably with a brand-new Simple et légère, the theme-song for the show “Toute la chanson” on October 8 that year.

These private recordings, whose quality is sometimes less that satisfactory despite their excellent restoration by Christophe Hénault, are extremely precious today due to the fact that many private stations did not preserve their archives. The final gems in the collection are two recordings we owe to Henri Chenut and Max Schneider, who obtained them from the unidentified pianist: Charles’ performances of Tu reverras l’Île Maurice (This Is You) and Toi qui passais, which have never been recorded.

As for the Trenet songs picked up by other singers, we have included L’horrible Tango by Janine Wolf, which is close to the original sketch; La Valse à tout le monde by Lucienne Delyle, recorded a few months before her disappearance; Le grand Partage by Colette Renard, here accompanied by her husband Raymond Legrand; the malicious Vous oubliez votre cheval taken from the LP “Caterina Valente chante Charles Trenet”; Les Voix du ciel by Danielle Darrieux, unfairly forgotten as a singer; and the accordionist Claude Chevalier provides an orchestral version of the Trois Roses... as a tango!

Beyond France’s borders, Beyond The Sea and I Wish You Love (reprised over the Atlantic by Dean Martin and Duke Ellington) have become standards. René Glaneau, who defended France’s Chanson genre in Poland and the Eastern bloc countries in the days of popular republics, provides us with his take of La Mer in French. Finally we have Caterina Valente’s recording of Why Do You Pass Me By?, her adaptation of Vous qui passez sans me voir.

By the end of 1962, Charles Trenet was considered “old hat” by millions of youngsters who were now calling their friends “copains”, the new word for “amis”. It didn’t matter: Trenet remained an absolute reference in the world of Chanson, both in France and abroad.

Pascal Halbeher and Vincent Lisita.

NB: there will be a hiatus in the series of complete Charles Trenet recordings, due to the statute of limitations regarding producers’ rights before they pass into the public domain: it has been fixed from December 31, 1962 until 2037... and so that will be our next rendez-vous, although it will not prevent us from producing a few surprises before then!

Adapted by Martin Davies from the french text by Pascal Halbeher et Vincent Lisita

© 2025 Frémeaux & Associés

DISQUE / DISC 1

Paroles & musique par Charles Trenet, sauf indication contraire /
Words & music by Charles Trenet, except otherwise stated

JULIETTE GRÉCO ET CHARLES TRENET

avril 1961

1. PRÉSENTATION DES SPECTACLES DE CHARLES TRENET
   ET D’ÉDITH PIAF À PARIS (Sonorama n°29, SAIP-Vega / EP n°2) 0’43

CHARLES TRENET - Récital 1961 - Théâtre de l’Étoile -
orch. dir. Guy LUYPAERTS, chœurs dir. Raymond SAINT-PAUL

03/03/1961

2. POT POURRI : QU’EST DEVENUE LA MADELON ? - RIEN NE PEUT CHANGER MA JOIE

(mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’07

3. DIS-MOI, QUEL EST TON NOM ? (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’58
4. BONSOIR JOLIE MADAME (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 3’47

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & L. Chauliac)

5. LE PIANO DE LA PLAGE (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 3’10
6. LA FOLLE COMPLAINTE (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 4’33
7. DANS LES PHARMACIES (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’09
8. BOUM (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’00
9. RIEN NE PEUT CHANGER MA JOIE (mx. XLX 910 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’19
10. ORPHÉE (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’51
11. LA JAVA DU DIABLE (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 3’15
12. LES VOIX DU CIEL (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’58
13. LE JARDIN EXTRAORDINAIRE (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 4’07
14. QU’EST DEVENUE LA MADELON ? (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 4’05
15. LA MER (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 4’06

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & A. Lasry)

16. Y A D’LA JOIE ! (mx. XLX 911 / LP Columbia 33 FSX 139) 2’17

(C. Trenet & R. Breton - C. Trenet & M. Emer)

CLAUDE CHEVALIER et son musette - Fleurs de musette

1961

17. LES TROIS ROSES (mx. 30 015 B / LP Ricordi 30 P 015) 2’40

(A. Bausil - C. Trenet)

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. Michel LEGRAND

06/02/1960, Paris-Inter, émission radio «Discoparade»

18. NUIT D’HIVER (bande magnétique [BM], enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 3’10

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. Pierre SPIERS

15/03/1961, Radio-Luxembourg, émission radio «Sérénade» avec Denise Benoît

19. LES PETITS REGRETS (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’05
20. LES SOLDATS (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 2’52

DANIELLE DARRIEUX - Printemps de Paris - orch. dir. Jo MOUTET

1961

21. LES VOIX DU CIEL (mx. OXLA 541 / LP Pathé Marconi FDLP 1102) 2’23

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. André POPP

21/06/1961* et 26/05/1961

22. KANGOUROU* (mx. 7TCL1539 / EP Columbia ESRF 1324) 3’02
23. LA P’TIT’ DIDI (mx. 7TCL1539 / EP Columbia ESRF 1324) 3’07
24. AU FIL DU TEMPS PERDU (mx. 7TCL1540 / EP Columbia ESRF 1324) 2’59
25. LE PAUVRE ANTOINE (mx. 7TCL1540 / EP Columbia ESRF 1324) 2’14

PIANISTE NON IDENTIFIÉ

1961

26. TU REVERRAS L’ÎLE MAURICE
    (THIS IS YOU) (BM, enr. Max Schneider, coll. Henri Chenut) 1’18

(C. Sigman - C. Trenet)

27. TOI QUI PASSAIS (BM, enr. Max Schneider, coll. Henri Chenut) 2’17

(C. Trenet - J. Hess)

RENÉ GLANEAU - Wspomnienia Z Paryz˙a - orch. dir. Ryszarda DAMROSZA

1960

28. LA MER (mx. G.R. Nr. 3 W-670 / LP Polskie Nagrania Pronit L 0319) 4’15

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & A. Lasry)

DISQUE / DISC 2

Paroles & musique par Charles Trenet, sauf indication contraire /
Words & music by Charles Trenet, except otherwise stated

CHARLES TRENET

Juin 1961, Europe n°1, émission radio «Le Roman des vedettes»

1. LA CHANSON EST UN ART MINEUR (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’53

CHARLES TRENET - acc. piano Freddy LIENHART

02/10/1961, RTF, émission télévision «Les Optimistes du lundi»

2. MA PHILOSOPHIE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’52
3. KANGOUROU (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 3’20

CHARLES TRENET - acc. piano Freddy LIENHART

25/12/1961, RTF, émission télévision «Noël»

4. AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 2’52

(C. Trenet - J.-B. Lully)

DEAN MARTIN - Cha Cha De Amor - orch. dir. Nelson RIDDLE

19/12/1961

5. I WISH YOU LOVE (mx. T1-1702 / LP Capitol Records T-1702) 2’23

(A. Beach - C. Trenet)

LUCIENNE DELYLE - C’était le bon temps - orch. dir. Aimé BARELLI

1962

6. LA VALSE À TOUT LE MONDE (mx. 7EBLY4961 / EP Barclay 70 306) 1’38

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & C. Jardin)

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. Christian CHEVALLIER

12/01/1962

7. L’HORRIBLE TANGO
   (VERSION GOMINA) (mx. 7TCL1611 / EP Columbia ESRF 1346) 2’21
8. JARDIN DU MOIS DE MAI (mx. 7TCL1611 / EP Columbia ESRF 1346) 2’22
9. SI LOIN DE TON AMOUR (mx. 7TCL1612 / EP Columbia ESRF 1346) 4’10
10. LUNDI AU LIT
    (LES BRUITS DE PARIS) (mx. 7TCL1612 / EP Columbia ESRF 1346) 1’53

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & L. Chauliac)

DUKE ELLINGTON - Midnight In Paris - orch. dir. Duke ELLINGTON

26/06/1962

11. I WISH YOU LOVE (mx. CL 1907 / LP CBS – BPG 62120) 3’52

(A. Beach - C. Trenet)

JANINE WOLF - Les tangos terribles ! - orch. dir. Didier BOLAND

1962

12. L’HORRIBLE TANGO (mx. PBM29B / EP PBM EP 38) 2’29

CHARLES TRENET - acc. piano Paul DE MARGERIE, prés. Georges ULMER

16/01/1962, RTF, émission radio «France Applauds»

13. AU FIL DU TEMPS PERDU (BM, enr. P. Kebaili, coll. É. Duncker) 2’43
14. RETOUR À PARIS / HELLO PARIS (BM, enr. P. Kebaili, coll. É. Duncker) 2’38

(C. Trenet & J. Jones - C. Trenet & A. Lasry)

15. QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? / HOW MUCH REMAINS OF ALL OUR LOVES ?

(BM, enr. P. Kebaili, coll. É. Duncker) 3’50

16. LE PIANO DE LA PLAGE (BM, enr. P. Kebaili, coll. É. Duncker) 2’42
17. EN CE TEMPS-LÀ (BM, enr. P. Kebaili, coll. É. Duncker) 2’38

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. Pierre SPIERS

28/03/1962, Radio-Luxembourg, émission radio «Sérénade» avec Katia Valère

18. DIS-MOI, QUEL EST TON NOM ? (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 2’07

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. inconnu

20/08/1962, RTF, émission télévision non identifiée

19. EN SEINE-ET-OISE (BM, enr. Max Schneider, coll. Henri Chenut) 1’42

CATERINA VALENTE - orch. dir. Étienne VERSCHUEREN

1962

20. VOUS OUBLIEZ VOTRE CHEVAL (mx. Fo 45/8930 / SP Decca 9.23.268) 3’16

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & Arcady)

CATERINA VALENTE - Great Continental Hits - orch. dir. Stanley BLACK

1962

21. WHY DO YOU PASS ME BY ? (mx. LPD.09222 / LP Decca LK.4508) 3’09

(D. Carter - J. Hess & P. Misraki)

CHARLES TRENET - Chansons à la une - orch. dir. Christian CHEVALLIER et * Les Angels

03 et 10/10/1962

22. LE GRAND PARTAGE (mx. 7TCL1708 / EP Columbia ESRF 1360) 2’55
23. JEUNESSE PLUMÉE (mx. 7TCL1708 / EP Columbia ESRF 1360) 2’25
24. ADIEU MES BEAUX RIVAGES (mx. 7TCL1709 / EP Columbia ESRF 1360) 2’15
25. ANNIE-ANNA* (mx. 7TCL1708 / EP Columbia ESRF 1360) 3’03

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & M. Emer)

COLETTE RENARD - orch. dir. Raymond LEGRAND

1962

26. LE GRAND PARTAGE (mx. N45V 9680 / SP Vogue V45 1066) 2’13

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. inconnu

08/10/1962, RTF, émission télévision «Toute la chanson»

27. SIMPLE ET LÉGÈRE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’07
28. MARIE MARIE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 3’29

(C. Trenet - L. Chauliac)

29. L’INQUIET (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’18

CHARLES TRENET - orch. dir. Pierre SPIERS

19/12/1962, Radio-Luxembourg, émission radio «Sérénade» avec Corinne Marchand

30. JEUNESSE PLUMÉE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’46
31. LE GRAND PARTAGE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’27
32. JE TWISTE (BM, enr. J. Séraphin, coll. É. Duncker) 1’07

(C. Trenet - C. Trenet & P. Misraki)