Guy Motta (Piano)
10 Rue Oberkampf, 75011 Paris, France

Pianist and bandleader Guy Motta accompanied the legendary singer Dalida for nearly 30 years in the studio and on stage. He was a first-prize winner at the Paris Conservatory, before making a name for himself in the Parisian music halls of the 1950s, where he played in small and large combos, including the orchestra of Marcel Coestier. He will be best remembered though as Dalida’s faithful accompanist. My favourite from this era is Dalida and Alain Delon’s hit duet Paroles… Paroles…., which featured the magnificent Orchestre Guy Motta.

Solange Berry (CHANTEURS ET CHANTEUSES)
14 Rue Oberkampf, 75011 Paris, France

Parisian singer Solange Berry is best known for representing Luxembourg in the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest in Hilversum with the song Un grand amour, she finished in joint last place, scoring a single point. She attempted to represent Belgium at the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest in London but lost out in the national final to Fud Leclerc. Known as La Dame du Palais-Royal, she released a number of EPs on the Versailles label during the 1950s.

Bataclan
50 Bd Voltaire, 75011 Paris, France

Opened in 1865 by Charles Duval, the Bataclan began as a Parisian café-concert in the Chinoiserie style. It hosted operettas, vaudeville, concerts, and later screened films. A lively working-class venue, it has survived wars and changing tastes before a mid-century reinvention, and remains a cultural landmark in Paris to this day. In its time, the Bataclan has hosted the best in French show business, such as Édith Piaf, and Maurice Chevalier, who had his first theatrical success here.

Paul Rakotonirina – Orgue and Piano
6 Rue Pihet, 75011 Paris, France

Just round the corner from Guy Motta, we find the home of Paul Rakotonirina, another pianist who became an influential arranger and bandleader. Often known as Paul Rako, he was the guiding hand behind many of Ronnie Bird’s hits of the 1960s. Bird was the French singer who best captured the mod style that was so popular in the UK at the time. Together with Paul Rakotonirina they achieved critical success with Elle m’attend!, a cover of the Rolling Stones’ The Last Time. Although Bird took the plaudits, it was Rakotonirina who was the man behind the sound of the French beat era.

Luigi Trussardi (Contrebasse)
4 Rue Neuve Popincourt, 75011 Paris, France

Bassist Luigi Trussardi was a well known sideman in the Parisian jazz scene. In the 1960s he was part of Chet Baker’s band at Le Chat qui pêche and later in Liège. Eventually he became tired of Baker’s erratic behaviour and joined Claude Nougaro’s orchestra in 1963, where he would work until 1979. Trussardi trained at the Versailles Conservatory under the tutelage of Gaston Laugereau. Soon he was playing in combos with jazz greats such as Bud Powell (at the Club St-Germain), Eric Dolphy, Nathan Davis, Philly Jo Jones, Milt Jackson, Art Simmons and Kenny Drew. He was a popular choice on jazz recordings too, appearing on the releases of Phil Woods, Stéphane Grappelli and Ornette Coleman, to name just a few. Trussardi was a talented double bassist, with a number of high quality albums in his own right, and with other stalwarts of the Parisian Jazz scene.

Pierre Mignot (PRODUCTEURS ET PRESENTATEURS DE L’O.R.T.F.)
9 Rue de Nemours, 75011 Paris, France

Pierre Mignot was one of the busiest journalists and directors on French television during the 1960s. He started his broadcast career on Cinq colonnes à la une, the first ever French television news magazine, broadcast from on RTF Television from 1959 to 1968. Mignot was a director on the programme from its debut year until 1967. He was also the director for other ORTF groundbreaking programmes during the 1960s, including Lectures pour tous, the first French television show discussing Literature. Toward the end of the decade and into the 1970s he directed the TV show Pour le cinéma, where he rubbed shoulders with the charismatic film stars and internationally renowned directors.

Bernard Alvi (ARTISTES LYRIQUES)
31 Av. de la République, 75011 Paris, France

Operetta tenor Bernard Alvi was a regular performer on the national stage and radio. 1955 was a breakout year for Alvi, with an appearance on La Kermesse aux chansons, the long-running French variety radio programme. It was a major platform for the young singer, who rubbed shoulders with such talents as Georges Guetary, François Deguelt, and Burt Lancaster, who was in Paris for the filming of Trapeze. The same year, he won the prix Tino Rossi for his song C’est toi, following up with a series of chanson, musical theatre and popular records on the RCA label. In the 1960s his voice graced the operetta recordings of Franz Lehar’s Le Pays Du Sourire, Adolphe Adam’s Si j’étais roi, and Oscar Straus’ Rêve De Valse.