I can be a fairly quirky fellow. Folks who know me may say that is quite an understatement. While my main musical interests lie in the harder rock, psychedelic and blues veins, I have to profess a certain weakness for the yé yé genre of early 60’s France. Where that comes from, I cannot say for sure, however, whenever I hear the instrumental “Love is Blue” from Paul Mauriat, I am instantly transported to a specific street location in my hometown in the summer of 1968. Funny how music can do the time warp on you.
“Love is Blue” could have been the key that opened the door, but certainly the poppy, light, seemingly innocent nature of the songs kept the door open. Perhaps the fact that this genre is so different from my main interests & that it harkens back to sunnier, more optimistic times is the draw. Anyway, I’ve found that there’s way too much analysis going on at times, when we could just be sitting back & enjoying ourselves.
The yé yé genre comprised much more than what I’ve selected here. I’ve just focused on a few of the more well known French female artists. There are a lot of other playlists out there in this genre, so check them out if you’re so inclined. These songs also make a great contribution to a larger playlist containing light jazz that is best enjoyed with cocktails on a patio under a hot sun.
Two songs that I wanted to include but were not available on Spotify are “A Demain My Darling” by Marie Laforêt and “A La Fin Tu Gagneras” by Jocelyne. They are pure early ’60’s and worth tracking down if you like this playlist.