Françoise Hardy and Yé-Yé
On June 12, it was announced that French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, died at age 80 from laryngeal cancer. She is known for her melodramatic, low-tempo songs about love and heartbreak, such as “Tous les garçons et les filles” (“All the Girls and Boys”), “Le temps de l’amour” (“The Time of Love”), and “Comment te dire adieu” (“How to Say Goodbye to You”). She is also regarded as one of the leading artists in the yé-yé movement of the early 1960s.
What is yé-yé, you ask? If you say that you haven’t heard a yé-yé song, you probably have if you watch enough TV and film.
Mad Men features a cover of Gillian Hills’ “Zou Bisou Bisou” (“Oh! Kiss Kiss”). “Chick Habit,” an English translation of a song originally titled “Laisse Tomber Les Filles,” is featured in the Natasha Lyonne film But I’m a Cheerleader. A yé-yé song, Frances Gall’s “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” (“Wax Doll, Rag Doll”), even helped lead Luxembourg to victory in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest.
General music fans might recognize the 1967 relatable teen anthem “7 heures du matin” (“7 a.m.”) by Jacqueline Taïeb.
Yé-yé goes back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. As rock and roll began to take over the United States, it spread overseas to Europe, bringing over records that would go on to inspire the likes of the Kinks, the Beatles, and all your favorite British Invasion groups. The music was also spreading to other parts of Europe, including Italy, Spain, and France. It’s in France where yé-yé begins, taking its name from English beat and rock and roll groups that would sing “yeah yeah” within their lyrics. The term “yé-yé” originated before the Beatles’ immortalized the phrase “yeah yeah yeah!” in “She Loves You.” The music was adopted by male and female singers, though the genre was mostly adopted and is remembered by its association with female singers.
Although it can’t neatly fit under the rock umbrella, as its influences also pull from early 60s American pop as well as jazz, that didn’t stop yé-yé performers from being connected to and admired by rock icons.
Yé-yé is also remembered for how the singers were styled. They often embraced the colorful fashion of the 1960s in a naïve, Lolitaesque way. The Swinging London aesthetic had reached France. However, Hardy went for a more folk-inspired sound and didn’t wear pale babydoll dresses. Her debut album, Tous les garçons et les filles, features her in a black turtleneck and brown raincoat, holding an umbrella and looking quite sourly at the camera.
Although yé-yé faded as the decade drew to a close, some artists, including Hardy, managed to maintain their careers after the initial yé-yé fad. The shy Frenchwoman, who sought music as an escape from a troubled childhood, went on to release 32 studio albums between 1962 and 2018.
Yé-yé is one of those guilty pleasure genres of mine. French pop-rock music that, although I don’t understand most of it, are catchy, bright, and emotionally honest after a round of translations. I’m saddened at the news of Hardy’s passing. However, her unique approach to a growing musical genre has not only produced a bountiful discography but has also granted her the status of an icon both in France as well as around the world. A French national treasure taken by a horrible disease. C’est la vie.