Michel Emer (June 19, 1906 – November 23, 1984), (real name Emer Rosenstein), was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

musician, composer and lyricist. His songs have been performed by

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

Fréhel Fréhel (; born Marguerite Boulc'h (); 13 July 1891 – 3 February 1951) was a French singer and actress. Biography Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the s ...

, Damia, Lys Gauty,

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...

Jean Sablon Jean Sablon (Nogent-sur-Marne 25 March 1906 – Cannes 24 February 1994) was a French singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was one of the first French singers to immerse himself in jazz. The man behind several songs by big French and Amer ...

André Claveau André Claveau (, 29 December 1911 – 4 July 2003) was a popular singer in France from the 1940s to the 1960s. He won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 singing " Dors, mon amour" (Sleep, My Love), with music composed by Pierre Delanoë a ...

, Ray Ventura and his Collegians,

Luis Mariano Luis Mariano Eusebio González García (13 August 1914 – 14 July 1970), also known as Luis Mariano, was a popular tenor of Spanish origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with "La belle de Cadix" ("The Beautiful Lady of Cadix") an operetta by ...

Tino Rossi Constantin "Tino" Rossi (29 April 1907 – 26 September 1983) was a French singer and film actor of Corsican origin. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, Rossi was gifted with a voice well suited for opera. He became a tenor in the French cabaret style. ...

, and

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

. He also wrote songs for at least one of his wife

Jacqueline Maillan Jacqueline Jeanne Paule Maillan (11 January 1923 – 12 May 1992) was a French actress with a career spanning almost five decades, known primarily for her forty theatre productions, she also appeared in more than fifty films (1947 to 1992) ...

's shows. The first of his songs to be sung by Edith Piaf was "

L'Accordéoniste "L'Accordéoniste" is a song made famous by Édith Piaf. It was written in 1940 by Michel Emer, who then offered it to her. Commercial performance "L'Accordéoniste" became the first million-seller in Piaf's career. Composition The song te ...

", which he composed in 1940. He went on to write more than twenty songs for her, including "J'm'en fous pas mal", "Bal dans ma rue", and "A quoi ça sert l'amour?", one of her most famous songs, which she sang as a duet with her second husband Theo Sarapo. He co-authored with

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These songs inclu ...

the music for the song "Y'a d'la joie", and arranged many of Trenet's songs. Jean Sablon performed and recorded his song "Béguin-Biguine" in 1932.

Personal life

In 1954 he married the actress Jacqueline Maillan. He is buried in the Cimetière de Bagneux 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 ...

Compositions

Songs

(Selective) *"

" (1940) *"J'm'en fous pas mal" *"Bal dans ma rue" *"A quoi ça sert l'amour?"

Operettas

*1934: ''Loulou et ses boys''- 3-act operette by Marc Cab, Paul Farge and Pierre Bayle. Music by Michel Emer and Georges Sellers ( Théâtre Daunou, opening 7 December 1934) *1939: ''Billie et son équipe'' - operette by Michel Emer and Jean Sautreuil. Story by

André Mouëzy-Éon André Mouëzy-Éon (9 June 1880 – 23 October 1967) was a French dramatist, author of comedies, librettist, screenwriter and dialoguist. Biography André Mouëzy-Éon begins his career by writing short plays for the Théâtre de Cluny, loca ...

and Albert Willemetz (

Théâtre Mogador Théâtre Mogador (), founded in 1913 with design by Bertie Crewe, is a Parisian music hall theatre located at 25, Rue de Mogador in the 9th arrondissement. It seats 1,600 people on three tiers (orchestra: 787 seats, boxes: 432 seats, balconies ...

, opening 6 March 1939)

Recordings

*''Hello, Baby, Mademoiselle / Dans les plaines du Far-West'' (Michel Emer et son orchestre - 78 rpm on Polydor *''Chanson aux nuages / Perfidia'' - 78 rpm on Polydor

Soundtracks

(Selective) *1934 : ''Les Suites d'un premier lit'' by Félix Gandéra *1939 : ''Le Paradis de Satan'' by Félix Gandéra *1947 : '' Counter Investigation'' by Jean Faurez *1951 : ''Les Maître-nageurs'' by Henri Lepage *1951 : ''Chacun son tour'' by André Berthomieu *1953 : '' Un acte d'amour'' by Anatole Litvak *1953 : ''Chasse au crime'' (TV series) - Episode "Police Headquarters" *1957 : ''

Let's Be Daring, Madame ''Let's Be Daring, Madame'' (French: ''Le coin tranquille'') is a 1957 French comedy film directed by Robert Vernay and starring Dany Robin, Marie Daëms and Louis Velle.Bessy p.182 It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris and location sh ...

'' by

Robert Vernay Robert Vernay (May 30, 1907 in Paris – October 17, 1979 in Paris) was a French director and screenwriter. Career In 1937, Vernay worked as assistant director to Julien Duvivier on ''Pépé le Moko''. In 1944, Vernay directed an adaptation of ...

*1957 : ''Fumée blonde'' by Robert Vernay and André Montoisy *1957 : ''Sylviane de mes nuits'' by Marcel Blistène *1958 : '' It's All Adam's Fault'' by

Jacqueline Audry Jacqueline Audry (25 September 1908 – 22 June 1977) was a French film director who began making films in post-World War II France and specialised in literary adaptations. She was the first commercially successful female director of post-war ...

*1958 : '' The Stowaway'' (English version) by

Ralph Habib Ralph Habib (Paris, 29 June 1912 – Paris, 27 June 1969) was a French film director of Lebanese people, Lebanese origin. He started his film career with Pathé. He later worked as assistant director notably Jean Dréville and Jean-Paul Le Chanoi ...

and Lee Robinson **1958: ''Le Passager clandestin'' (French version) *1958 : ''Premier mai'' by

Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer, notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. Personal life Saskavsky was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argenti ...

*1958 : ''Mimi Pinson'' by

Robert Darène Robert Darène (10 January 1914 – 15 January 2016) was a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in twelve films between 1934 and 1959, and directed nine films between 1951 and 1963. Selected filmography * ''Le Chevalier ...

*1958 : ''Madame et son auto'' by Robert Vernay *1959 : ''Houla-houla'' by Robert Darène *1968 : ''Puce'' (TV film) by Jacques Audoir *1973 : ''Joë petit boum-boum'' (animation film) by

Jean Image Imre Hajdú (; 26 January 1911 – 21 October 1989) better known by his stage name Jean Image () was a Hungarian-French director, script writer and producer of French animation films. His stage name, "Image" is based upon the French pronunciatio ...

*1979 : ''Féfé de Broadway'' (TV film) by Jeannette Hubert {{DEFAULTSORT:Emer, Michel French composers French male composers French male songwriters French songwriters 1906 births 1984 deaths 20th-century French musicians 20th-century French male musicians