Richard Anthony, born Ricardo Anthony Btesh (13 January 1938 – 19 April 2015), was a French pop singer, born in

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 ...

, who had his greatest success in the 1960s and 1970s.

Life and career

He was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, to a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family of prominent industrialists and diplomats. As a child he lived in Egypt and Argentina, as well as studying at

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

in England. From 1951, he studied at

Lycée Janson-de-Sailly Lycée Janson-de-Sailly is a ''lycée'' located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The ''lycéens'' of Janson are called ''les jansoniens'' and they usually refer to their high school as Janson, or JdS. It is the biggest academic inst ...

and settled in Paris. He started studying law, but after his father's sudden death in 1956 became a door-to-door salesman to help support his family. He also began playing

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

in Paris

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s. In 1958, as Richard Anthony, he made his first recordings as a singer, initially recording

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 ...

versions of American pop hits. These included "Tu m'étais destinée" (" You Are My Destiny"), "

Peggy Sue "Peggy Sue" is a rock and roll song written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty (according to the official record, though Buddy Holly is known to be a principal songwriter too), and recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly on September 20, 1 ...

", and "Nouvelle vague" ("

Three Cool Cats "Three Cool Cats" is a 1958 song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by the Coasters and released as the B-side of their hit single (music), single, "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Brown".The Beatles B ...

") which became successful in France. In the early 1960s he became one of the biggest French pop stars, with other hits including " Let's Twist Again", "C’est ma fête" ("

It's My Party "It's My Party" is a song recorded by American singer Lesley Gore on her debut studio album '' I'll Cry If I Want To'' (1963). It was released as a single on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records. The song was written by Herb Wiener, John Gluck Jr. ...

"), and "Et j'entends siffler le train" ("

500 Miles "500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from hom ...

"). Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 10 December 2019 He started recording at the

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in England, and reached the British charts with the English-language songs "Walking Alone" (#37, 1963) and " If I Loved You" (#18, 1964). One of his songs, "I Don't Know What To Do", arranged by

Ivor Raymonde Ivor Raymonde (born Ivor Pomerance; 22 October 1926 – 4 June 1990) was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s. Life and ca ...

, was released in the US in 1965 by

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

on the V.I.P. label, making Anthony the first European artist to appear for that company. He recorded

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' " Ruby Tuesday" as "Fille sauvage" in 1966, and his song "Aranjuez mon amour", based on

Joaquín Rodrigo Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the '' Concierto de Aranjuez'', a cornerstone of the classical g ...

's ''

Concierto de Aranjuez The ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (, "Aranjuez Concerto") is a concerto for classical guitar by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the ...

'', became one of his biggest international hits in 1967. He remained popular in France, having one of his biggest hits in 1974 with "Amoureux de ma femme", which was a cover version of an Italian song originally by Caterina Caselli. Most of his recordings are cover versions in French. In the late 1970s, he remarried and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for several years. After returning to France in 1982, he continued to record, perform, and appear on TV shows, and in 1998 published an autobiography, ''Il faut croire aux étoiles''. Over his career, his total record sales were estimated to be at least 60 million. He died in 2015, aged 77.

Discography

* Tu m’étais destinée (1958) – You Are My Destiny *Peggy Sue (1958) –

*Suzie Darling (1958) *La do da da (1958) *Nouvelle vague (1959) – Three Cool Cats *Jéricho (1959) – Joshua Fit' the Battle *Tu parles trop (1960) – You Talk Too Much *Clémentine (1960) – Clementine *Itsy bitsy petit bikini (1960) – Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini *Dis-lui que je l’aime (1961) *Écoute dans le vent (1961) –

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...

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 ...

*Ça tourne rond (1961) – African Waltz *Let's twist again (1961) – Let's Twist Again *Fiche le camp, Jack (1961) – Hit the Road Jack *Noël (1961) *Tu peux la prendre (1961 ou 1962) – You Can Have Her *Leçon de twist (1962) *Délivre-moi (1962) – Unchain My Heart *J’entends siffler le train (1962) – Five Hundred Miles – This sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. *Ne boude pas (1962) - Take Five *Faits pour s’aimer (1962) - Desafinado *On twiste sur le locomotion (1963) –

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a pop music, pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is espec ...

*En écoutant la pluie (1963) – Rhythm of the Rain *C’est ma fête (1963) –

*Tchin tchin (1963) *Donne-moi ma chance (1963) – Too Late To Worry *Ce Monde (1964) – You're My World / Il mio mondo *À présent tu peux t’en aller (1964) –

I Only Want to Be with You "I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. Released as a debut solo single by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 o ...

*À toi de choisir (1964) –

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

*La Corde au cou (1965) – I Should Have Known Better *Je me suis souvent demandé (1965) *Au revoir mon amour (1965) – Goodbye My Love *Jamais je ne vivrai sans toi (1965) – You Don't Have to Say You Love Me *The night (La nuit) (1965), by Salvatore Adamo *Hello Pussycat (1966) –

What's New Pussycat? ''What's New Pussycat?'' is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capuc ...

*La Terre promise (1966) – California Dreaming *Sunny (1966) – Sunny *Aranjuez, mon Amour (1967) inspired by

*Le Grand Meaulnes (1967) –

Le Grand Meaulnes ''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical, especially the name of the ...

, song inspired by a novel by the French author

Alain-Fournier Henri-Alban Fournier (; 3 October 1886 – 22 September 1914),Mémoire des hommes
Secrétariat ...

*Inch'Allah (1967) in Arabic, by Salvatore Adamo *Un homme en enfer (1968) *L’Été (1968) *Les Ballons (1968) – Little Arrows *Le Sirop Typhon (1969) – Lily the Pink *Les Petits Cochons (1969) *L’An 2005 (1969) – In the Year 2525 *Bien l’bonjour (1970) *Na na hé hé espoir (1970) – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye *Il pleut des larmes (1970) – La Nave del Olvido *Non stop (1977) – Don't Stop *New York (1978) *Señora la dueña (1970) – Lady D'Arbanville *San Diego (1970) *Et après (1971) by Salvatore Adamo *Un soleil rouge (1971) *Tibo (1971) *Maggy May (1971) – Maggie May *Sans toi (1972) – Without You *Victoire je t’aime (1973) *Marie-Jeanne (1973) *Amoureux de ma femme (1974) – Nessuno mi può giudicare by Caterina Caselli *Nathalie (1975) *Chanson de dix sous (1975) – I Can't Stay Mad at You *De la musique républicaine (1976) *Voilà pourquoi je l’aime (1976) *À l’aube du dernier jour (1977) *Minuit (1980) – MemOry *Los Angeles (1981) *Elle m’attend (1983) *T'aimer d’amour (1985) *Barrière des générations (1990) *Le rap pas innocent – Ronymix 98 (1998) *Et je m'en vais – Then I Kissed Her *Autant chercher à retenir le vent (1965) –

Catch the Wind "Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Pye Records released "Catch the Wind" backed with "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" as Donovan's debut release (Pye 7N.15801) in the United Kingdom on 28 ...

*Je n'ai que toi –

All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, released by Arista Records in December 1975 as the first single from Carmen's self-titled debut album. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Russ ...

*Le soleil ne brille plus (1966) – The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore *J'irai pleurer sous la pluie –

Crying in the Rain "Crying in the Rain" is a song composed by Carole King with lyrics by Howard Greenfield, originally recorded by American duo the Everly Brothers. Their version was released as a single on 22nd December 1961, peaking at number six on the US '' ...

*Après toi – The Next Time *Un papillon qui vole (1966) – Elusive Butterfly

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Richard 1938 births 2015 deaths French people of Syrian descent French people of Syrian-Jewish descent Egyptian emigrants to France Singers from Cairo Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni Pathé-Marconi artists Rock and roll musicians 20th-century French musicians 20th-century French male singers 20th-century Egyptian Jews 20th-century French Jews

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links