Georges Fourcade
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Biography
Creole singer-songwriter Georges Fourcade was born on July 27, 1884 in Saint-Denis de la Réunion. Grandson of the lyric singer Gabrielle Laclef, he began his musical career by following in her footsteps. On the advice of his entourage, he gave up opera, as he didn't have the voice for it. He then took guitar solfeggio lessons with Jules Fossy, who would become the composer of almost all his repertoire. He was one of the first artists to bring traditional music (Maloya and Sega) into bourgeois circles, performing with his banjo or guitar in big-city hotels. A journalist for the Journal Le Peuple, his penchant for writing also translated into playlets and, of course, songs. The most famous of these is "P'tite fleur aimée " (1930), which remains one of the hallmarks of Creole song. In 1931, through his brother, he sang on the Pavillon de La Réunion at the Exposition Coloniale in Paris. He then signed a contract with Odéon, becoming the first Reunionese to have his songs recorded. He recorded "Quand même ça " that same year. He went on to record a number of 78s, including " Zézère ", "Mon Doudou ", and one of his most popular songs is "Roulez mon Z'aviron ". At the height of her fame, the artist was appointed Officier de l'Instruction Publique in 1950 for services to the arts. Following health problems, Georges Fourcade retired from the stage in 1955 and died in 1962. All his recordings can be found on the album Le Barde Créole, released in 2001.
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