Jacques Robert Penel Skorsky, known as Nicolas Skorsky (16 May 1952, Paris, France – 20 October 2014, Paris, France) was a French composer, lyricist, and
music producer
A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionregional conservatory where he learns solfeggio.
He took advantage of the
events of May 1968
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 ...
to return to Paris where
Catherine Sauvage
Catherine Sauvage (; 26 May 1929 – 20 March 1998) was a French singer and actress.
Early life
Born Marcelle Jeanine Saunier in Nancy, France, she moved with her family in 1940 to the Free Zone in Annecy. After high school, she turned to the ...
, known for singing
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
, commissioned a song from him: it became ''Gare du Nord'' (1970) for which he wrote both the lyrics and the music while he was not yet eighteen.
With this calling card, he arrived at
as a singer-songwriter of ''Comme je t'aime'' (1972).
He launched a career as a songwriter and composer, crafting commercially successful tunes like ''Une bague et un collier'' (for Ringo, 1972, at Carrère), ''Chanson populaire'' (for
Claude François
Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...
, 1973, at Flèche Productions), ''La Bonne Franquette'' (for
Herbert Pagani
Herbert Avraham Haggiag Pagani (25 April 1944 – 16 August 1988) was a Jewish-Italian artist and musician.
Biography
Pagani was born in a Jewish family in Libya, just around the time when the country stopped being an Italian Colonial Administr ...
, 1974 – EMI), ''Une chanson française'' (Claude François, 1975, Flèche), as well as ''Pour ne rien te cacher'' (
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
), and ''Finalement on s'habitue'' (for
Daniel Guichard
Daniel Guichard (; born 21 November 1948) is a French singer, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career
He was born in Paris, of mixed Breton and eastern European heritage, and grew up in the Les Halles area. His father died when he was in ...
, 1973, Barclay).
Later on, Skorsky shifted his focus towards production, starting in 1974 with the album ''Crystal Grass – Crystal World'' (Polydor), which became one of the first French hits in the emerging disco genre in the United States. He then established his own company, Fauves-Puma, which produced ''La Vie en couleur'' (Polydor, 1976), performed by a
one-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform.
The simplest type of "one-man ban ...
Yamaha Music Foundation
The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established in 1966 by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization. It continued a program of music classes begun by Yamah ...
at the World Festival in Tokyo for ''Dans le ciel'' (''Into the sky'', 1976, Polydor Japan).
Afterward, he crossed paths with
Donna Summer
Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...
while working on the soundtrack for the film '' Thank God It's Friday'', where he wrote the instrumental theme ''Sevilla Nights,'' which achieved platinum status in the United States (1978, Casablanca Records & Filmworks).
He produced
Jean-Claude Petit
Jean-Claude Petit (born 14 November 1943) is a French composer and arranger, born in Vaires-sur-Marne. After accompanying jazzmen in his childhood, Petit went to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied harmony and counterpoint. He did the s ...
's
jazz-rock
Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...
album, ''The Best of All Possible Worlds'' (WEA, 1980). In 1985, Skorsky once again composed a soundtrack for the film ''Douce France'' by François Chardeaux, a television series produced by FR3.
In 1990, his collaboration with Rozlyne Clarke led to the writing and production of a pop-dance album titled ''Gorgeous''.
Nicolas Skorsky was found murdered, with his throat slit, at his residence in Paris on the morning of 20 October 2014. To this day, the investigation has not resolved this case. He was laid to rest at the
Passy Cemetery
Passy Cemetery () is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France.
History
The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), which was closed in 1802.
...
.
Discography
Source:
As a songwriter
* ''Gare du nord'' (1970), by
Catherine Sauvage
Catherine Sauvage (; 26 May 1929 – 20 March 1998) was a French singer and actress.
Early life
Born Marcelle Jeanine Saunier in Nancy, France, she moved with her family in 1940 to the Free Zone in Annecy. After high school, she turned to the ...
.
* ''La Bonne Franquette'' (1974), by
Herbert Pagani
Herbert Avraham Haggiag Pagani (25 April 1944 – 16 August 1988) was a Jewish-Italian artist and musician.
Biography
Pagani was born in a Jewish family in Libya, just around the time when the country stopped being an Italian Colonial Administr ...
.
* ''Disco Love'' (1975), by Les Frères ennemis.
* ''Cumba Cumba'' (1976), by The Monstars.
* ''Sevilla Nights'' (1978), by
Santa Esmeralda
Santa Esmeralda is a French-American disco group formed in the 1970s. The group had hits with its remakes of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "House of the Rising Sun". Santa Esmeralda featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez ...
.
For
Claude François
Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...
* ''Chanson populaire'' (1973)
* ''Une chanson française'' (1975)
For Ringo
* ''Une bague et un collier'' (1972)
* ''L'amour et la loi'' (1976)
For
Daniel Guichard
Daniel Guichard (; born 21 November 1948) is a French singer, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career
He was born in Paris, of mixed Breton and eastern European heritage, and grew up in the Les Halles area. His father died when he was in ...
* ''La vie en couleurs'' by Remy Bricka (1976)
* ''Santa Esmeralda'' (1977)
* ''The best off all possible worlds'' (1979)
* ''J'voulais, performed'' by Sully Sefil (Rap) (2001)
* ''Santa Esmeralda suite'' (2003)