Graeme Allwright
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Graeme Allwright (7 November 1926 – 16 February 2020) was a
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
-born French singer and songwriter. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
interpreter of the songs of American and Canadian songwriters such as
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, and
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
, and remained active into his nineties.


Life and career


Early life

Born in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, New Zealand, Allwright grew up in
Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...
before attending Wellington College. While growing up he heard
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and American folk songs on radio broadcasts for US troops stationed at
Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kāpiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost Commuter town, towns of the wider Wellington region. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of Wellington Cent ...
and Tītahi Bay, and sang with his family at local fairs. He started acting in Wellington at the age of 15, and won a scholarship to attend the
Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
theatre school in London. He travelled to England by ship, working as a
cabin boy A cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy or young man who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain. The modern merchant navy successor to the cabin boy is the steward's assistant. Duties Cabin boys ...
to pay his way, and began training and working as an actor in London. He was offered a place at the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
but turned it down so as to move to France in 1948 with his girlfriend Catherine Dasté, a fellow theatre student who was the daughter of actor and theatre director Jean Dasté. Allwright worked as a carpenter on theatre sets while gradually becoming fluent in the French language. He and Catherine married in 1951; they later divorced. Sam Coley, "Graeme Allwright Profile", ''Audio Culture'', 13 June 2019
Retrieved 17 December 2019


Music career

Allwright then worked in the
vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
of
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
and ran a theatre group in Pernand-Vergelesses, while learning the guitar and listening to the records of American singers such as
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
,
Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
and Pete Seeger. He lived in
Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...
, where he worked in a
psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...
, and then settled in Dieulefit where he taught English and started a children's theatre group. He discovered an aptitude for translation while adapting New Zealand stories into French for his students, and then, after moving to
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
, began translating American songs into French. In the early 1960s he began performing in small clubs in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he met fellow singer Colette Magny and the actor and singer Marcel Mouloudji, who were impressed with Allwright's ability to adapt the lyrics of writers such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen into French. Mouloudji recorded Allwright and released his songs in 1965, firstly on the EP "Le Trimardeur" (a song adapted from Woody Guthrie's " Hard Travelin'"), and then on a self-titled LP. The album included adaptations of songs by Guthrie and Oscar Brand as well as several by French songwriter Paul Koulak, and Allwright's own material. He won a recording contract with
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
, and his second album, also entitled ''Graeme Allwright'', was issued in 1968. It featured adaptations of Dylan's "Who Killed Davy Moore?" ("Qui a tué Davy Moore?") and Malvina Reynolds' " Little Boxes" ("Petites boites"), as well as his own song "Il faut que je m'en aille (Les retrouvailles)", and became popular with students during the
May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...
protests.
Allwright’s songs were perfectly timed to capture the mood of the young protesters.. He didn’t just sing protest songs – he joined in, and even found himself caught up in the middle of a riot in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Armed CRS police were moving in on his group of protesters from several directions. According to Allwright, it was a dangerous situation, but luckily he managed to escape by running off down a side street. Although his music become closely associated with the protest movement, the significance of the connection wasn’t entirely clear to him at the time. "The young people, the ‘soixante-huitards" of 68, filled up the places where I was singing and were singing my songs. I realise now, afterwards, the impact of certain songs. I didn’t realise at the time how important that was."
Allwright's music "provided anthems for the French left-wing counter-culture." His greatest success came with his third album, ''Le jour de clarté'' (1968), Biography by Jason Birchmeier, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 17 December 2019
which included adaptations of two songs by Leonard Cohen (" Suzanne" and "The Stranger Song"), two by Tom Paxton, and others by Pete Seeger, Jackson C. Frank, and
Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...
. His most popular song was the title track, adapted from the
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...
song " Very Last Day". The stress caused by the song's unexpected success led Allwright to leave his young family in France and go travelling, initially with a friend to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, where he spent six months in the city of
Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...
. He said: "I didn’t even think of the singing career I left behind. I was living something completely different and discovering another world." In 1970 he released the album ''A long distant present from thee..."Becoming"'', a collaboration with other musicians described as "a sprawling psychedelic album that draws on his experiences in India", followed by the English-language album ''Recollections'' (1971), and ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1972), comprising his own material as well as songs by Leonard Cohen. Over the next few years, Allwright developed a tendency to record an album and then leave France for some time to travel in Africa, India, and the Americas, which enhanced his cult status in France. In the mid-1970s he lived for 18 months on
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. He became friendly with Cohen, who approved of his adaptations, and in 1973 Allwright released the album ''Graeme Allwright chante Leonard Cohen''. The same year, he released the double
live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
''A l'Olympia''. He continued to release albums through the 1970s, culminating in the 1979 album ''Condamnés?''. In 1980 he played a series of concerts with
Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (''née'' Lili 1917–2010), who had ...
, recorded on the album ''Enregistrement Public au Palais des Sports'', with the royalties donated to children's charities. In 1985 he released a collection of songs by Georges Brassens. He continued his campaigning activities, protesting against the French government's nuclear testing in the Pacific, and the sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior'' in 1985.


Later years

Allwright later worked on film soundtracks, and recorded an album of songs for children. He released the album ''Tant de Joies'', a collaboration with American jazz trombonist
Glenn Ferris Glenn Arthur Ferris (born June 27, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist who has also worked in other fields. Outside of jazz he has played for Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Duran Duran. He studied classical music from 1958 to 196 ...
, in 2000. In 2005, he made a rare return to New Zealand to perform. He performed until the 2010s to spread his non-violent message of working in our conscience to change inegalitarian society. In the 2000s, together with Sylvie Dien, he wrote new lyrics to the French national anthem, "
La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "". The French Na ...
", to make it a song of peace rather than of war. Allwright also became well known for his French lyrics adaptation "Petit Garçon" for the Christmas song " Old Toy Trains" by Roger Miller. In 2014, the song was adopted as the official song for the annual French charity event ''Téléthon 2014'' and was recorded by the campaign's sponsor (parrain), the Canadian French singer Garou accompanied by a young singer Ryan. It also appeared in Garou's Christmas new album ''It's Magic'' released 1 December 2014 in France. A biography, ''Graeme Allwright par lui-même'', by Jacques Vassal, was published in 2018.


Death

Allwright died aged 93 on 16 February 2020, in the retirement home in
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
where he had been living for a year.


Discography


Albums

* ''Graeme Allwright'' (aka ''Le trimardeur''), 1965, BAM. * ''Graeme Allwright'' (aka ''Joue, joue, joue''), 1966, Mercury. * ''Le jour de clarté'', 1968, Mercury. * ''Recollections'', 1970, Mercury. * ''A Long Distant Present from Thee ... "Becoming,"'', 1971, Mercury 6459 100 * ''Jeanne d'Arc'', 1972, Mercury. * ''Graeme Allwright chante Leonard Cohen'', 1973, Mercury. * ''À l'Olympia'', 1973, Mercury. * ''De passage'', 1975, Mercury. * ''Questions...'', 1978, Mercury. * ''Condamnés?'', 1979, Mercury. * ''Graeme Allwright et Maxime Le Forestier enregistement au Palais des Sports'', 1980, Mercury. * ''Ombres'', 1981, Mercury. * ''Lumière'', 1992, EPM. * ''Live'', 1994, EPM. * ''Graeme Allwright & The
Glenn Ferris Glenn Arthur Ferris (born June 27, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist who has also worked in other fields. Outside of jazz he has played for Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Duran Duran. He studied classical music from 1958 to 196 ...
Quartet'', 2000, EPM.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allwright, Graeme 1926 births 2020 deaths 20th-century French male singers French folk singers French male songwriters French songwriters New Zealand emigrants to France Musicians from Wellington City French political music artists