Frères Sourires (16): Sacha Distel

On request: a post about Sacha Distel, written by none other than the charming Natasha-la-la:

Sacha Distel went from award-winning jazz guitarist to French super crooner faster than a Porsche can burn down the corniche on the way to St. Tropez. When he sang for the first time, performing Scoubidou in 1958, it became an instant hit with the teens, coined the name of the gimp or ‘scoubies’ they still make today, and landed him a spot on the Ed Sullivan show in the United States.
His famous musical uncle, Ray Ventura, got Sacha working and learning with the likes of Henri Salvador, Georges Brassens and Juliette Gréco. Sacha also starred in his own talk show, the Sacha Show, which drew attention to his Frank Sinatra side. In the 1970s, Sacha became Britain’s darling as well, as he wooed the Anglo-Saxon world on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Queen and a plethora of American artists who all wanted to work with him.
Sacha also did one thing in common with Serge Gainsbourg - Brigitte Bardot – which also had the same crash-bang ending to it. It brings to mind that ‘chanson à trois’, La bise aux hippies, with the three of them happily exploiting the title of the song. Sacha also sang the lesser duets Ces mots stupides and Le soleil de ma vie with Bardot. No hard feelings apparently.
Remember Piero Umiliani’s song Mah Na Mah Na that sounds like a kids’ song but was actually featured in a Swedish porn movie? Well, Dutch television once used Sacha’s Monsieur Cannibale in a television commercial with small children. The song is about a man trying to escape from cannibals by showing them porno magazines to explain why he wants to leave… and then gets to shag their women instead and decides to stay.
Sacha again made history with a jazz album entitled Altitude 10,500, which was recorded high up in an airplane. It was meant as a publicity stunt for Air France to show off the sound proofing of their planes. Other Sacha party pieces include Plage de St-Tropez, Y en a qui font ça and the great sing-a-long number, Incendie à Rio. Don’t let those blue eyes and bright smile fool you - this guy’s way cool.

Sacha Distel - Incendie à Rio
Sacha Distel - Monsieur Cannibale
Sacha Distel - Scoubidou
Dubstar featuring Sacha Distel - Poupée de cire, poupée de son