Jean-Claude Petit (born 14 November 1943) is a French composer and arranger, born in

Vaires-sur-Marne Vaires-sur-Marne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. Vaires-sur-Marne is at the western end of the LGV Est high-speed rai ...

. After accompanying jazzmen in his childhood, Petit went to the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, where he studied harmony and counterpoint. He did the string arrangements for

Mink DeVille Mink DeVille was a Rock music, rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York City, New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in th ...

's '' Le Chat Bleu'' album, as well as orchestrating the backing parts to some French pop singles in the mid-to-late 1960s, including those of Erick Saint-Laurent and

yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () or ''yeyé'' () was a style of pop music that emerged in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term ''yé-yé'' was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music ban ...

girls Christine Pilzer and Monique Thubert. In 1973 he composed '' La leçon de Michette''. The song was popular in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

due to its use in the soundtrack of a well-known '' Carosello'' (the Italian TV spot broadcast) from 1973 to 1976. As a music ghostwriter for director

Michel Magne Michel Magne (20 March 1930 in Lisieux, Calvados, France – 19 December 1984 in Cergy-Pontoise, Val-d'Oise) was a French film and experimental music composer. Early life He was the fifth child in a family of eight. As young as age five, h ...

, Petit did not get credit for his film scores until he was 36. 1979 saw his first major film soundtrack commission ( Alexandro Jodorowsky's ''

Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...

''), but he had been releasing solo records at least a decade earlier, including at least four for the Chappell Music Library, as well as his album ''Chez Jean-Claude Petit'', released in the early 1970s. In 1976 he collaborated with

Pierre Delanoë Pierre Charles Marcel Napoléon Leroyer (16 December 1918 – 27 December 2006), known professionally as Pierre Delanoë (), was a French lyricist who wrote thousands of songs for dozens of singers, including Dalida, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavou ...

Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian Italian popular music, pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "", released on his 1983 album of the sam ...

Vito Pallavicini Vito Pallavicini (22 April 1924 – 16 August 2007) was an Italian lyricist. Biography Born in Vigevano, Pallavicini started his career as a journalist, founding in 1950 the local weekly magazine ''L'informatore vigevanese''.Giannelli, Enzo. ...

in a very popular and funky music for

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

called Ciao Bambino, Sorry. In addition, he was a frequent collaborator with French film music composer Jack Arel: the pair's most well-known production, "Psychedelic Portrait", was featured in an episode of the cult TV series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

''. His scores for ''

The Return of the Musketeers ''The Return of the Musketeers'' is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel '' Twenty Years After'' (1845) by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's ''The Three Musketeers'' and ...

'' (1989) and ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' (1990) remain perhaps his best known work internationally. In 1995 he was nominated for a Victoire de la Musique award in soundtrack of the year for ''L'Etudiante Etranger''. Jean Claude conducted and arranged for American Orchestra leader Billy Vaughn in the 1970s: At least two of Billy's Paramount LPs "An Old Fashioned Love Song" PAS 6025 and "Greatest Country Hits" give Jean Claude credit as arranged/conductor. The 'Greatest Country Hits' Lp Paramount PAS 6044 also includes a Jean Claude original "Walk A Country Mile".

Filmography

* 1979: ''

'' * 1982: ''Lively Social Life'' * 1985: '' Tranches de vie'' * 1985: ''Billy-Ze One-Kick'' * 1986: ''

Jean de Florette ''Jean de Florette'' () is a 1986 period drama film directed by Claude Berri. It was followed by '' Manon des sources'', released the same year. Both are the adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s 1963 two-part novel '' The Water of the Hills'', with t ...

'' * 1986: '' Manon des Sources'' * 1987: ''Fucking Fernand'' * 1988: ''Savannah'' * 1989: ''

'' * 1990: ''

(Colosseum CST 34.8046)'' * 1990: ''

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

'' * 1991: ''Always Alone'' * 1991: '' Mayrig'' * 1992: ''588, Street Paradises'' * 1992: ''The Zebra'' * 1992: ''

The Playboys ''The Playboys'' is a 1992 Irish film directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starring Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a travelling troupe of actors t ...

'' * 1993: ''Lady Chatterley'' * 1994: ''In Antonin Company Artaud'' * 1995: '' The Horseman on the Roof'' * 1996: ''Beaumarchais The Insolent One'' * 1997: '' Messieurs les enfants'' * 1998: ''Paddy'' * 2000: ''Lumumba'' * 2002: ''Like Your Father'' * 2004: ''Podium'' * 2007: ''Dance With Him''

References

External links

*
Jean-Claude Petit discography at Rateyourmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit, Jean-Claude French film score composers French male film score composers 1943 births Living people People from Seine-et-Marne 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians Best Original Music BAFTA Award winners César Award winners