Frida Boccara


Danielle Frida Hélène Boccara was a French singer of Italian descent and born in Casablanca, who performed and recorded in a number of languages, including French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian.

Early life

Boccara was born in Casablanca, Morocco, into a Jewish family of Italian origin that lived in Tunisia before they settled in Morocco. When she was 18, she moved from Casablanca to Paris, France, where she eventually started her artistic career as a singer. Boccara also had a brother and a sister in show business, composers Jean-Michel Braque and Lina Boccara. Her son, Tristan Boccara, was born in the mid-1970s and also became a singer.

Career

In 1964, Boccara had submitted the song Autrefois to the French Eurovision Song Contest selection panel, but she was unsuccessful. Five years later, at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, held in Madrid, Spain, she represented France performing "Un jour, un enfant" – music by Émile Stern and text by Eddy Marnay. Her song shared first place along with the entries from the Netherlands, the UK, and Spain.
Songwriter Eddy Marnay was her professional partner, but she also performed songs composed by Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Charles Aznavour, Émile Stern, Michel Legrand, Michel Magne, Nino Rota and Mikis Theodorakis.
Cent mille chansons was recorded in 1968 and earned her a Gold disc, while Un jour, un enfant earned her a Platinum disc and Pour vivre ensemble earned her another Gold disc. Other of her famous songs include "Cherbourg avait raison", "Aujourd'hui", "Le moulins de mon coeur", "L'enfant aux cymbales", "Belle du Luxembourg", "La croix, l'étoile et le croissant", "Venise va mourir", "Trop jeune ou trop vieux", "Valdemosa", "L'année où Piccolli... ", "Un monde en sarabande" and "La prière". In the late 1960s, she also recorded "Un pays pour nous", a song that was a French version of "Somewhere". Leonard Bernstein, who composed the original melody, declared that Boccara's version was his favorite.

Later years / death

Boccara renewed her links with Eurovision by participating in the French national finals of 1980 – performing "Un enfant de France" – and 1981 – with "Voilà comment je t'aime". However, neither song won. She died in 1996 in Paris, France, aged 55, from a pulmonary infection, after some health problems.

Discography