Il is not going to make friends, but he assumes… Guest of the show As an aside, on Canal +, the singer Bénabar did not hesitate to unbolt Gainsbourg from the pedestal on which a large part of the artistic community carries him, which considers him a master of composition and text songs. “You are a child of French song, recalls Nathalie Levy in the show, before questioning her:” Renaud-Gainsbourg, the match, it is immediately folded for you? ” ” Oh yes ! replies Benabar. Me, I’m part of this minority of humanity that doesn’t like Gainsbourg… I’ve never been touched. It’s not a crusade, I obviously recognize that there is talent, that there are great things. But I’ve never been a fan. »
He even reproaches the author of the Puncher of the Lilacs or of Javanese to have sometimes fallen into “the easy way”. “And then, the character Gainsbarre has always been a bit inflated to me. Perhaps it was the posthumous cult that there was around him that inflated me. As if it were the alpha and omega of French song, which I don’t think at all. Personally, I find that there are a lot of facilities! I know it will piss off a lot of people to say that…”
READ ALSOCould Serge Gainsbourg still sing today?
“Unwarranted Importance”
This is not the first time that Bénabar has given a clear opinion on Gainsbourg. In an interview with the magazine Marianne last year, he regretted that the profession granted him such credit. “I am one of those who do not like Gainsbourg, he confided. It has, in my eyes, an unjustified importance, which erases too many singers. And to quote for example Claude Nougaro, “who wrote texts of a very high quality and of which I am not sure that they were appreciated at their fair value”. Or even artists like Nicolas Peyrac, Gilbert Bécaud or Serge Lama. Without forgetting the songs of the Grande Sophie, which, according to him, contain “a crazy, unique freedom”.
READ ALSO20 years after his death, what remains of Gilbert Bécaud?
The picture would not be complete without Renaud, whom Bénabar appreciates both for his work and his personality. He is one of the artists he listened to when he was younger and who encouraged him to write, to work on his text, to hit the bull’s eye with a detail… The job brought them together to such an extent that they find themselves today in the duet “Chez les Corses”, on Bénabar’s latest album We don’t let go, released at the end of last year. “With Renaud, we see each other a lot, explained the singer at the time in Tele-Star. Like him, I have a house in the Luberon. He introduced me to Corsican friends who have a restaurant. And very often, we remake the world there, as in the song… ”
READ ALSOLuberon – The haven of peace for celebrities
The opportunity for Bénabar to give news on Renaud, whom he finds “in good shape”. The author of “Mistral winner”, who has greatly reduced his cigarette consumption, plans to release a new album next May, around covers of Jean Ferrat, Moustaki, Reggiani and Montand. A way for him to celebrate his 70th birthday… in music.