Biography of Raymond Lefevre

 

RAYMOND LEFEVRE was born in Calais, France, on November 20, 1929. Lefèvre is best known for his 1968 theme "Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline)", which became an international hit. He also wrote soundtracks for movies with Louis de Funès like La Soupe Aux Choux (1981) or the series of legendary Le Gendarme De Saint Tropez. During late 1950s and early 1960s he accompanied Dalida on most of her recordings (Bambino, Por Favor, Tu Peux Tout Faire de Moi, Quand on N'A Que l'Amour). He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay Records label.

He was accepted at the Paris Conservatory at 17 years old. During the early 1950s he played the piano for the Franck Pourcel orchestra. In 1953 he played the piano at the Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay label and recorded his debut album in the same year.

Raymond Lefevre at the recording studio


He worked in the French television programs Musicorama (1950s) and Palmarés des Chansons (1965, 1966, 1967) accompanying famous artists as Dalida, Claude Francois, Richard Anthony, with his own orchestra.

His recording of "The Day the Rains Came" was a best seller in the United States in 1958. The song "Ame Caline" (Soul Coaxin') became an international hit in 1968 and "La La La (He Gives Me Love)" was a minor hit in 1968 in Canada and the United States. In 1969 his recording of "La Reine de Saba" (Queen of Sheba) became a big hit in Japan. Between 1972 and the early 2000s he made successful tours in Japan.

He often worked on the soundtracks of Louis de Funès movies.

Lefèvre conducted entries four times at the Eurovision Song Contest, three times for Monaco (in 1961 [1], 1962 [2], and 1963 [3]) and once for Luxembourg (in 1970 [[4]).

Lefèvre died on 27 June 2008.