Gilbert Bécaud

Known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his dynamic stage presence, Gilbert Bécaud was one of France's most popular singers during the 1950s and '60s, and enjoyed a career of more than four decades in show business. Bécaud is best known for his 1961 smash "Et Maintenant," which became a pop standard in the English-speaking world after it was translated as "What Now My Love." He was also an occasional film actor, a highly successful songwriter with over 150 credits, and an ambitious composer who completed a Christmas cantata, an opera, and a Broadway stage musical. But his primary impact came as a singer. In an era when cabaret vocalists remained largely stationary on-stage, Bécaud's energetic showmanship drove his audiences into a frenzy, as they strove to match his boundless enthusiasm. He became a regular presence at Paris' legendary Olympia concert theater, where he performed over 30 times -- more than any other artist. A notoriously heavy smoker, Bécaud succumbed to lung cancer in 2001, but kept performing almost right up to the end.

Bécaud was born François Gilbert Léopold Silly on October 24, 1927, in the Mediterranean port city of Toulon, France. He developed quickly as a pianist, and by age nine, he was already studying at the Conservatoire de Nice. His education was interrupted by World War II, and he left school in 1942 to join his family in Albertville and work for the French Resistance movement. After the war, the family settled in Paris, and the 20-year-old François began playing piano in cabarets and nightclubs. Around the same time, he also started composing music for films under the name François Bécaud, and also met songwriter Maurice Vidalin, who sparked his interest in writing pop songs in the traditional chanson style. In 1948, Bécaud started penning material for singer Marie Bizet; through her, he met songwriter Pierre Delanoé, who would join Bécaud and Vidalin to forge a highly successful creative partnership.

In 1950, Bécaud took a job as touring pianist for singer Jacques Pills, another connection made through Bizet