Born: November 20th, 1929, Calais (France)
Died: June 27th, 2008, Seine-Port (France)
Nationality: French
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
Raymond Lefèvre studied piano and flute in Paris, graduating with first prizes for both instruments. In the early 1950s, he played the piano in the orchestras of Hubert Rostaing, Bobby Jaspar, and Franck Pourcel. In 1953, he worked in the Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, as a bar pianist. After he had been signed by the Barclay label in 1956, he recorded the first instrumental album with his own orchestra. Many were to follow, selling millions of records world-wide – especially in Japan – and scoring hits with his re-arranged versions of well-known hits, such as ‘The Day That The Rains Came’ in 1956, ‘Ame Câline (Soul Coaxin’)’ in 1968, and ‘La reine de Saba’ (1972). Lefèvre’s orchestrations were charactersed by the sweeping strings which were the trademark of his mentor Pourcel, but, as a rule, contained more brass and were slightly more up-beat.
With his orchestra, he performed in many French TV shows, including Musicorama (in the 1950s) and Palmarès des Chansons (1965-67), accompanying the likes of Dalida, Claude François, and Richard Anthony. Lefèvre was an energetic composer and arranger, penning the soundtracks of countless films, including most of the comedies starring Louis de Funès, as well as the hit single ‘I Will Follow Him’ by Peggy March (co-written by his friends Paul Mauriat and Franck Pourcel). Lefèvre made world-tours, continuing up to a high age. His last concerts were in Japan in the early 2000s.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Hired by Monaco’s TV station, Lefèvre conducted the Monegasque entries of 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963, accompanying François Deguelt (twice), Colette Deréal, and ye-ye star Françoise Hardy. Several years later, in 1970, he returned to the contest as the arranger and conductor of the Luxembourg entry ‘Je suis tombé du ciel’, which, in the rendition of David Alexandre Winter, did not manage to score a single point.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – Monaco
Song title – “Ce soir-là”
Rendition – François Deguelt
Lyrics – Pierre Dorsey
Composition – Hubert Giraud
Studio arrangement – Jo Moutet
(studio orchestra conducted by Jo Moutet)
Live orchestration – Raymond Lefèvre
Conductor – Raymond Lefèvre
Score – 3rd place (15 votes)
Country – Monaco
Song title – “Allons, allons les enfants”
Rendition – Colette Deréal
Lyrics – Pierre Delanoë
Composition – Hubert Giraud
Studio arrangement – Jean Bouchéty
(studio orchestra conducted by Jean Bouchéty)
Live orchestration – Jean Bouchéty
Conductor – Raymond Lefèvre
Score – 10th place (6 votes)
Country – Monaco
Song title – “Dis rien”
Rendition – François Deguelt
Lyrics – René Rouzaud
Composition – Henri Salvador
Studio arrangement – Jo Moutet
(studio orchestra conducted by Jo Moutet)
Live orchestration – Jo Moutet
Conductor – Raymond Lefèvre
Score – 2nd place (13 votes)
Country – Monaco
Song title – “L'amour s'en va”
Rendition – Françoise Hardy
Lyrics – Françoise Hardy
Composition – Françoise Hardy
Studio arrangement – Marcel Hendrix
(studio orchestra conducted by Marcel Hendrix)
Live orchestration – Raymond Lefèvre
Conductor – Raymond Lefèvre
Score – 5th place (25 votes)
Country – Luxembourg
Song title – “Je suis tombé du ciel”
Rendition – David Alexandre Winter
Lyrics – Eddy Marnay
Composition – Yves De Vriendt
Studio arrangement – Raymond Lefèvre
(studio orchestra conducted by Raymond Lefèvre)
Live orchestration – Raymond Lefèvre
Conductor – Raymond Lefèvre
Score – 12th place (0 votes)
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