Serge Gainsbourg

France, 1954–1991

French singer, songwriter and provocateur (1928-1991) who moved chanson through jazz, yé-yé, reggae and funk without ever quite singing. Histoire de Melody Nelson set spoken French over a rock rhythm section and orchestra, and became one of the most borrowed-from records in European pop.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Serge Gainsbourg and 1 artist Serge Gainsbourg influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Serge Gainsbourg?

• Boris Vian — Seeing Vian on stage at the Trois Baudets showed Gainsbourg that a song could be spoken rather than sung, and delivered without reaching for the audience. Vian then wrote the first press piece about him.
• Cole Porter — The songbook Gainsbourg's father played at home, and audible afterwards in his diction and in the chromatic turn of his tunes.
• Frédéric Chopin — Gainsbourg trained as a pianist on his father's classical repertoire before he wrote a song, and quoted Chopin outright in 'Jane B.'
• George Gershwin — The other American in his father's repertoire — the jazz-inflected popular song Gainsbourg started from before chanson.

Which artists did Serge Gainsbourg influence?

• Mika — The French half of Mika's childhood listening — he lived in Paris until he was nine.