(Click pic for full size)
 
Chantal Kelly - Caribou (1966)

Considering April March's version of 'Caribou' is a standout among her French 60s covers on Chick Habit, it's surprising the original has not yet made it onto a CD compilation. I think 'Notre prof' d'anglais' is the only song of Chantal Kelly's to show up on CD so far (on both Pop A Paris, Vol. 1 and the bootleg Ultra Chicks, Vol. 6), but correct me if I'm wrong.

'Caribou' is certainly a notable absence from the world of French 60s comps. It's the best song from Chantal, whose too-cute-for-words look, complete with perfectly-placed bow in every picture, likely has many French pop fans dying to hear more from her. Not only is the song a highlight of her short career, it's also a fine moment in 60s French pop that deserves to be heard. A wonderful example of the experimentalism present in the music of the time, it's an exhilarating marriage of pop and exotic elements. Listen to those incredible pounding tribal drums and eerie backing vocals.

I thought I might never get to hear this song. Chantal's EPs are highly sought-after, and I never have the sort of money that rare yé-yé girl records fetch. But luck was on my side when I found an unsold copy of the 7" single on eBay (often when the seller doesn't take Paypal things don't sell or go for really cheap, but it was still a surprise there were no takers on this at all) and the seller agreed to sell it to me at the bargain starting price. Fresh in the mail today, my excitement at receiving it has prompted me out of my hibernation.

My copy is undated, and most sources have its release date as 1965. But L'Encyclopédie Du Rock Français has it at 1966, and since it's specific - February, it says - I'm going to go with that.

About Chantal

Chantal was born in Marseilles in 1950. Her family was originally from Corsica and her real name is Chantal Bassignani. She credited her family's love of singing - her mother and brother both sang - to their Corsican background. Chantal wanted to be a pop singer but thought it was an unreachable dream. Her family, however, were completely confident she could achieve it, and helped and supported her in getting there.

It didn't hurt that she was well-connected, either. Her singing teacher was the mother of ex-singing star Cris Carol (often written as Criscarol). The teacher recorded Chantal singing and played the tape for her friend Claude Bolling, a well-known jazz pianist and composer. It was Bolling who then set Chantal up with the Philips label, for whom she recorded several EPs. Criscarol wrote 'Caribou' and the 3 other songs on Chantal's first EP, and several more tracks for her subsequently. Bolling is the arranger and producer on 'Caribou'.

An enthusiastic and sweet-natured teen, Chantal had a long list of things she adored, including Jacques Brel, Joan Baez, James Dean, travelling, shopping, all things English, french fries and Coke, sports cars and, in boys, intelligence and personality. One of her biggest passions was singing live which she found "a thousand times more interesting than making a record". She said this after having made some live appearances, but not yet having toured. Presumably, she would have been thrilled when she later got to tour with big names like Johnny Hallyday, Jacques Dutronc and Michel Delpech.

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Enjoy the crackly vinyl rip, and the rare pic I've scanned in, a 1966 ad for 'mini' cassettes featuring Chantal (big page, small scanner=can't fit all the text in, sorry). By the way, if you read out Mini-K7 in English, it sounds clunky and perplexing. But K-7 in French is ka-sept... i.e. cassette! Cute.

Comments (14)

  • Sofie  
    Great post Christine, very interesting info and lovely song :)
  • timeticks  
    Excellent I've been looking for that song since I heard the April March version. I'm NOT dissappointed. It totally rocks. Thankyou, thank you, thank you.
  • Kate  
    Many thanks for taking the time to post this! I actually wrote a whole journal entry one day about how excited I was to realize K-7 stood for cassette. And then I went on a whole tangent about Purple Rain and how neat the translations of Prince's various symbols were in the French captions to the movie. What a geek! But still, it's fun!
  • Swanny  
    Hi Christine and assorted disciples, just to let you know that I've been playing around with a movie maker and added a few to "youtube" ( cough - spit - retch ) for anyones pleasure. Obviously not original originals but at the risk of blowing my own trumpet I think they are quite good. Please drop in on the link below and let me have your opinions. Thank you. Nice to see a new post Christine- hope that means you're feeling better and not bowed to our pressure ')
  • Swanny  
    Hi again Christine, hijacking your post but I had to tell you ( although you probably already know of its' existance ). I've found - what is new to me - a "new" France Gall clip for depeche Toi. I've managed to embed it in my site and although I think it's from about 72/73 I've really taken to it. She is obviously miming it but that doesn't take anything away. Hope your health is getting better and hope to hear from you soon.
  • Michael  
    Whhat a charming little song. Thanks so much for sharing!
  • nick-motown  
    hey, i'm sorry i didn't answer earlier. i just closed down my freche früchtchen blog after several mp3 blogs were threatened by the german music industry. but if you're still interested in icelandic music i might send you some files within the next few days. just send me an e-mail and i will upload as soon as i'll find the time...
    nick-motown
  • modcentric  
    lovely! and i really adore that magazine scan. =)
  • Uri  
    This is great. thanks for the song, the ad and of course the K 7 bit.
  • marianne  
    thanks for the great song!
  • Christine  
    Thanks everyone for the comments and I'm glad you enjoyed the song :). Dom - I'm experimenting with Youtube again and seeing if I can get around being banned again. But I'm also planning to start a group where people can view and share videos of transworld 60s stuff and more. I'll post once it's up and running.
  • Oscar  
    Hello Christine, how are you? It's been awhile since I commented and heard from you. I hope all is well. Can't wait for that user's group...that would be great!
  • Alex  
    Hey man, I'm looking to do a small project for school on this song and info on this girl is scarce. Where'd you get the biography for her? Any research help is much appreciated. Merci!
    • Christine  
      Hi Alex, I'm replying a bit late so I'm sure you've done your project, but you're right, info is very scarce. My info came from a tiny blurb in a French music Encyclopedia (I've forgotten the title for now) and an old article in Mademoiselle Age Tendre in French (with the help of Google translate).

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