My dinner club is having a French night and I’m putting together a Youtube playlist of classic French songs to play in the background. Do you have any suggestions? They must be available on Youtube. I’ve have Edith Piaf, Django Reinhardt, and some songs from the “Midnight in Paris” soundtrack (the Amelie soundtrack was a bit disappointing in this regard). A lot of playlists on Youtube have lots of accordion music so recommendations without accordion will be specially prized. Thanks!
La Mer, sung by Charles Trenet
Also, give Jacques Brel a try.
Charles Trenet
Jacques Brel
Claude Nougaro
Michel Legrand
Yves Montand
Charles Aznavour
Gilbert Becaud
This is why I come to you guys; how could I forget La Mer? Thanks all!
Edith Piaf (The song “Tu Es” was used in Saving Private Ryan and “Non, je ne regrette rien” was used in Inception).
Which on second glance I see you already listed.
Orpheus In the Underworld By Offenbach
And there is 1h free soundtrack of Amelie …
Black Trombone– Serge Gainsbourg
Look up Lully, Charpentier, and De Lalande, both vocal and orchestral.
Georges Brassens is egregiously missing for y’alls lists.
Maurice Chevalier.
No one’s mentioned Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”?
You need this album: World Musette by Les Primitifs du Futur. Robert Crumb is a participant.
Pink Martini does a few wonderful French songs, including Sympathique.
Lots of excellent suggestions so far. Here are some more recent songs that keep the “classic” feel IMHO.
Olivia Ruiz - *J’traine des Pieds *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YO4cRVVvAw
Perhaps the most moving French song of the past 10 years. Already a classic in my book (in spite of her weird voice).
Natacha Tertone - Tous ces Moments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Y3WhOLFKo
This one’s a real downer. But it’s a gem.
Keren Ann - Jardin d’Hiver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im9fspvvkf4
She was everywhere in the early 00s with this song in particular and a couple of others.
Daniel Guichard - Mon Vieux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Apr13sVFeo
An older song (mid-70s) but I love it so, so much. There’s some (tasteful) accordion, though.
Alan Rudolph’s The Moderns was an atmospheric, moody story set in Paris in the 20’s. Excerpts from the soundtrack (by Mark Isham) are available on YouTube.
The main theme. Dada Je suis. Paris La Nuit/Selavy.
(Plus some clips of the movie with Mickey Rourke inserted for some reason. And there’s a band called “The Moderns”–probably not what you want.)
Guy Béart - L’eau vive
Georges Guétary - Moulin Rouge
Caterina Valente - Mes frères
Henri Salvador - Le Loup, La Biche et Le Chavalier
Suzy Solidor - Dans un port
Tino Rossi - Y a d’l’amour
[quote=“journeyman_southpaw, post:17, topic:733733”]
Henri Salvador - Le Loup, La Biche et Le Chavalier
[/QUOTE]Oh wow, I haven’t heard it for decades! Takes me right back to kindergarten, sitting in a circle with the other kids in the main hall, listening to this song. It made me a little bit sad at the time. Even more now :(.
It’s ChEvalier, though 
.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned La Vie en Rose
