LÉO CHAULIAC

Born: February 6th, 1913, Marseilles (France)

Died: October 27th, 1977, Paris (France)

Nationality: French

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Léo Chauliac studied piano in Marseilles and, later, at the Conservatoire Supérieure de Musique in Paris. In the course of the 1930s, he was the pianist of several entertainment orchestras, amongst which those of Eddie Foy and André Ekyan. From 1938 until 1943, he was the accompanist of Charles Trenet, composing several songs for le fou chantant, including ‘Que reste-t-il de nos amours?’, ‘Marie Marie’, and ‘Tout ça c’est pour moi’. He also co-composed Trenet’s signature song ‘La mer’ in 1939, but the singer submitted the song to his publisher under his own name without crediting Chauliac.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Chauliac was recognized as one of France’s most talented jazz pianists. He released several records as a soloist and performed on many jazz festivals. Meanwhile, he also worked as a studio musician (for Django Reinhardt and many others) and as a member of the Alix Combelle combo. From 1946 onwards, Chauliac conducted a new orchestra, which bore his name, ‘Léo Chauliac et son Grand Orchestre’. It performed in Paris at Chez Carrère (1946-50), restaurant ‘Maxim’s’ (1954-55), and, from 1957 onwards, in the Alhambra hotel.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Léo Chauliac is among the nine conductors who took part only once in the Eurovision Song Contest and were lucky enough to conduct the winning song. In 1961, he wrote the arrangements to ‘Nous, les amoureux’, the Luxembourg entry sung by Jean-Claude Pascal. In Cannes, this song gathered most points from the international juries and handed Luxembourg its first Eurovision victory. In the record version of the song, Pascal is accompanied by Chauliac and his Grand Orchestre.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1961 Cannes

Country – Luxembourg

Song title – "Nous les amoureux"

Rendition – Jean-Claude Pascal 

Lyrics – Maurice Vidalin

Composition – Jacques Datin

Studio arrangement – Léo Chauliac

Live orchestration – Léo Chauliac

Conductor – Léo Chauliac

Score – 1st place (31 votes)