Actors - Nino Ferrer

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	Actors - Nino Ferrer

Nino Ferrer (born Nino Agostino Arturo Maria Ferrari in Genua, Italy, August 15, 1934 – dead in Quercy Blanc, Saint-Cyprien Lot, Montcuq, August 13, 1998) was a famous french-italian singer, actor and jazz musicians.

Biography

From prehistory to jazz

The son of bourgeois parents, an Italian father and a French mother, Nino declared having had a pleasant childhood in a cultivated art-loving. He spent the first five years of his life in New Caledonia where his father, an engineer, worked in a nickel mine. On holiday in France in 1939, Nino and his mother were unable to leave Europe because of the war. While his father carried on working in New Caledonia, they spent difficult years stuck penniless in Italy, where Nino’s mother was considered the wife of an enemy.

In 1947, the family, re-united, moved to France. Nino was sent to the best colleges in Paris and got a degree in ethnology and prehistoric archaeology. As a student, much of his free time was spent on archaeological digs and his first job was at the Musée de l’Homme with André Leroi-Gourhan.

Alongside his passion for history, he developed numerous other interests. He became a keen painter, and remained so until his death. But above all, he learned to play several instruments (piano, guitar, clarinet, trombone and trumpet) and composed, wrote lyrics and became a fervent jazz lover.

When he finished his studies, his grandmother offered him a trip to New Caledonia, a gift he took advantage of by going round the world on a cargo ship and taking part in archaeological work on the Isle des Pins in Melanesia. On his return to Paris, he tried several jobs, but everything was uninteresting and badly paid. Already thinking about a career in music, he finally took the plunge and began accompanying jazz musicians, first of all Richard Bennett and the Dixiecats, then Bill Coleman.

From jazz to rhythm ’n’ blues

At the beginning of the sixties, he worked for several years with American singer Nancy Holloway as her guitarist, continuing at the same time to write gospel-inspired songs which got only refusals from most of the record companies. Hearing Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Sam and Dave for the first time was a musical revelation and transformed his writing style.

Although already spotted by the Barclay record label, he had to wait until 1963 to record his first release, "Pour oublier qu’on s’est aimé". He was 29, whereas most of the young stars of the time were hardly 20. It was a four-track EP, written in a fairly classical vein, and did not sell well in France. However, one of the tracks, "l’Irréparable, was a hit in some European countries, in Japan and even in the Middle East, where he did a week of concerts in Beyrouth.

Having left Barclay for a small label, Bel Air, Nino was still unknown in France. In 1964, he started a gospel group, Reverend Nino and the Jubilees, but it broke up before recording anything worth being released. Nino went on to bring out several solo singles without success.

From "Mirza" to "Je veux être noir"

After so many lean years, the big break came unexpectedly in 1965 when Nino returned to Barclay, who gave him the chance to record his new material. After a few unsuccessful trials, a new artistic director, Richard Bennett, gave Nino free rein to record his compositions as he wanted – not a bad idea…

And so Nino Ferrer recorded "Mirza", an effective cocktail of rhythm ‘n’ blues and caustic lyrics. The song was immediately a huge hit. His record company called for more songs in the same vein. His records sold like hot cakes and, from one day to another, the young singer became an idol. Now the zany singer in vogue, he followed "Mirza" up with "Les Cornichons" and "Oh! Hé! Hein! Bon". Although he was now a big star, his success was founded on material with which he never felt really comfortable. Nevertheless, hit followed hit and he lived his new life as a star at breakneck rhythm. In 66, he gave 195 live performances and made nearly thirty TV appearances. But he soon grew tired of his deliberately blasé and provocative seducer image (which people compared to Dutronc)

1966 he released "le Téléfon", another hit which people are still dancing to thirty years later. However, despite his success, Ferrer, a straightforward, uncomplicated person, grew disenchanted with show business. Little disposed to compromise, he left Paris for Italy where, at the same time, his song "Je veux être noir", was a success of an entirely different kind.

A change of direction

Smothered by his own success, Nino stayed about three years in Italy, from 67 to 70. In France, his releases continued to sell well. His lyrics became increasingly iconoclastic, even politicised, while remaining just as sarcastic or even cynical. In 1967, he brought out "Mao et Moa" and "Mon copain Bismarck" and in 1968, "le Roi de l’Angleterre", their biting lyrics echoing his irritation with show business and society in general.

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