Patachou - Le piano du pauvre (1954) (Philips N 72225 H mtx AA 72225.2 H) (78rpm)

Patachou was the stage name of Henriette Ragon (Paris , 10 June  1918 - Neuilly-sur-Seine , 30 April  2015), a French singer and actress.
Together with her husband she started a patisserie in the Paris district of Montmartre , with the specialty 'pâtes à choux' (a sweets dough). From this she derived her stage name, the pronunciation of which is equal to that of the aforementioned pastry. Patachou became famous for her passionate renditions of the Georges Brassens chansons . She also sang together with Léo Ferré and Mick Micheyl .

After a number of jobs, she started a cabaret restaurant in Montmartre in 1948 , where she herself sang, first for her own pleasure. After she had sung a number of songs in her restaurant, which Georges Brassens had written for her, she decided to perform them herself, and performed for the first time in 'Chez Patachou'. Her raw and original voice seduced Maurice Chevalier , who encouraged her to continue. Other now legendary chansonniers also made their debut with her, Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour , and Édith Piaf had her last appearance in Patachou's cabaret. Fame soon followed, and she began performing in other Parisian theaters, such as ABC and Bobino, and then toured through France and the rest of the world: in 1953 and the Palladium in London , and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Carnegie Hall in New York . The Americans gave her the nickname "Sunshine girl".

She spent more than twenty years in the United States where she was more than twenty times a guest in the Ed Sullivan Show , a record for a French artist. She also performed in the Middle East , Hong Kong and elsewhere. In the early seventies of the twentieth century she toured Japan and Sweden . In the early 50's of the twentieth century she was also famous as an actress, and she played in French Cancan by Jean Renoir . Since then she has appeared constantly in films and on TV. She was one of the icons of post-war French chanson. She sang with a full voice and a typical Paris accent.

Patachou - Le piano du pauvre