The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Where do I begin to tell the story of Francis Lai?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=al8pqHSkKDQ

pljms wrote:Where do I begin?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=al8pqHSkKDQ

And the winner is....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goJh0kaW3LI

RIP Maestro.

'blue'

Hi Blue,
Hope you are doing well..I was shocked to see the great Francis had passed..I dont know what I was expecting..as he lived a pretty long life..but one just kind of goes along in life, thinking our heroes are living and with us...yes, it was a shock, and I felt and still feel sadness for the loss of Francis...RIP and thanks for all the great music, Mr.Lai

Yes, even when it may be as much as forty or fifty years since they wrote their best-loved music it still feels like a terrible loss when great composers go.

I love to hear all the sumptuous chords to perhaps Francis Lai's most famous tune played on the piano.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=izotHO8p8h4

Another great musician who leaves us.
We're speechless. Sadness.

RIP Francis Lai.

steveo_1965 wrote:Hi Blue,
Hope you are doing well..I was shocked to see the great Francis had passed..I dont know what I was expecting..as he lived a pretty long life..but one just kind of goes along in life, thinking our heroes are living and with us...yes, it was a shock, and I felt and still feel sadness for the loss of Francis...RIP and thanks for all the great music, Mr.Lai

steveo
Great to hear from you !
One composer (who is still with us) celebrates his 90th birthday today...Ennio Morricone.
And like Burt he's still working !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxuvJU0MVaU

'blue'

Yes Blue,
Good to know on Ennio..heres my favorite "Lai" tune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnCMTJlyaUs The bridge is breathtakingly beautiful... : )anybody that doesnt smile when they hear that part are dead or they have a tin ear!

I believe 'Vivre pour Vivre' was Francis Lai's second major film score after 'Un Homme et une Femme'. Here is the main title theme sung in the picture by Annie Girardot.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-zMzjaMf9i0

I remember holidaying in Nice a number of years back and finding out that Lai was a bit of a local celebrity having lived there for most if not all of his life. This most Gallic of composers strayed into Antonio Carlos Jobim territory for his theme to 'The Bobo', a film from around '67 or '68 that starred Peter Sellers:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDmCeEDyhCc

I've just listened to BBC Radio 4's obituary show 'The Last Word' which this week featured Francis Lai (pronounced 'Lie') and they played a powerful piece of his that was originally from the soundtrack of 'Un Homme et une Femme' and which was adapted for use as the theme to BBC TV's current affairs program, 'Panorama'.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDEvrt6CTU

pljms wrote:I've just listened to BBC Radio 4's obituary show 'The Last Word' which this week featured Francis Lai (pronounced 'Lie') and they played a powerful piece of his that was originally from the soundtrack of 'Un Homme et une Femme' and which was adapted for use as the theme to BBC TV's current affairs program, 'Panorama'.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDEvrt6CTU

Pure Genius !

'blue'

Another Classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nkhKeayPj4

I first became aware of the song 'À Bicyclette' as recorded by Yves Montand on a family holiday in France in the early 70s but it was only fairly recently that I discovered it was composed by Lai.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzbrjxqwpoo

Francis Lai's music was by far and away the best thing about 'The Bobo', which despite being a vehicle for Peter Sellers was a remarkably unfunny film. The beautiful and haunting theme entitled 'Imagine', so typical of Lai, was performed on the soundtrack by Stan Kenton and His Orchestra.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-UmYCvWGk