Real name Roger-Claude Degallier, Swiss rocker Larry Gréco was born in Bern on June 15, 1941. Following in the footsteps of Swiss rock'n'roll precursor Gabriel Dalar, he formed the group Les Mousquetaires in 1961, with Jean-Jacques Egli (guitar), Jean-Claude Tschannen (bass) and Bernard Gugelman (drums). In March 1963, a first track released on the Twist label, "Mary-Lisa", made an impact, and was supplemented by three other original songs for the EP J'Ai Fini de Tricher. Following this initial success, Eddie Vartan (brother of singer Sylvie Vartan) replaced the group with his own orchestra, and wrote the arrangements for the young singer's hit, the ballad "Yolène ", which by the summer of 1963 was being played on every jukebox, even if it meant trading in his reputation as a rocker for that of a yé-yé singer. This success gave rise to an EP of the same name, from which "Adieu, il faut partir" stands out in the same vein. In March 1964, Larry Gréco signed with Decca and launched his new single "Toi devant moi", which also revealed the potential of its B-side, "Retenez-moi". Both tracks are included on the EP Oui, C'Est Pour Toi, which features this new song. In July of the same year, the singer reunited with his Mousquetaires for the EP Un Tambour Bat l'Amour. The following year saw him reunite with Eddie Vartan for the Jette-La! EP, released on his new label La Voix de son Maître, in a more rock style than his previous releases. With the yé-yé craze behind him, Larry Gréco changed musical direction and tried to hold his own with the pop singles "Adieu " (1968), "Je voudrais dire je t'aime" and "Je suis pris au piège " (1969). During the brief revival of rock'n'roll in the early 1970s, he reappeared with "La Mort n'atteint pas le rock'n'roll" and its B-side "Les Enfants du rock " (1974). In 1977, a new version of "Mary Lisa" was released on the Motors label. The compilations Suprise Partie (1991) and Jette-La ! (1992) precede his death on November 15, 2015, at the age of 74.
