Georges Moustaki

Although he achieved his greatest fame in France, singing French-language songs in a distinctly French style, singer/songwriter Georges Moustaki was more a citizen of the world -- or, as he often put it, a "citizen of the French language." Christening himself a cultural "mongrel" in his signature hit "Le Métèque," Moustaki's first love was the classic-style French chanson, but he often appropriated bits of world folk musics from Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Brazil (bossa nova and MPB), Argentina (tango), and other parts of Latin America, the United States (blues and jazz), Holland, and anywhere else his travels took him. Simplicity was a hallmark of many of his own recordings; possessed of a soft, warm voice, he often sang with only his own guitar for accompaniment, creating an intimacy that translated to his live gigs as well. A successful artist in his own right, Moustaki initially made his name as a songwriter of some renown, composing material for many of the top French singers of the late '50s and '60s (including Edith Piaf's classic "Milord"). He moonlighted as a poet, actor, novelist, and journalist at various points in his career, and remained one of France's more ambitious artists as his trademark beard and long, flowing hair turned white. Moustaki was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on May 3, 1934; his original last name was Mustacchi, and his first name Joseph, Giuseppe, or Yussuf, depending on the language. His parents were Greek and lived on the ethnic melting-pot island of Corfu, where he grew up speaking Italian, Greek, Arabic, and French. Sent to a French-speaking school, he developed a taste for French music and literature from an early age, teaching himself the classic chansons of singers like Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet on piano. In 1951, he finished...