Les Djinns

An all-female vocal ensemble, Les Djinns is made up of some sixty singers aged between nine and eighteen. Created in 1959 at the initiative of the French government to provide an ensemble for radio and television, the choir is directed by composer and conductor Paul Bonneau (1918-1995), who has been with the RTF for some fifteen years and is renowned for his hundreds of recorded sessions of light music and orchestral works. To join the group, each member had to attend a specialized school, including lessons in vocal technique, harmony and choral practice, before being selected at an audition. Less than six months after its creation, the ensemble is awarded the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros. After a first album entitled Les Djinns 1 - Elles Sont 60 (1960), the repertoire of mostly cover versions of hits was expanded with the following albums Les Djinns Elles Sont 60 - 2 (1960) and Les Djinns Chantent Noël (1960), accompanied by the Grand Orchestre de Paris. Several songs were released as singles, including "Marie Marie", "Une rose rouge", "La Mer", "Tom Pilibi", "Le Jour où la pluie viendra" and "Le Beau Danube bleu", taken from the 25cm Les Grandes Valses by Johann Strauss (1961). In 1963, the Succès Américains album lends itself to adaptations of jazz and pop tunes from across the Atlantic. In return, ABC-Paramount released 60s French Girls (1965), a collection of French songs. Active until 1964, the choir recorded a total of eighty-eight songs and toured Europe. Its members included Annie Markan, Michèle Léger, Graziella Portail and Suzie Gorini, who collaborated with Gilbert Bécaud before forming Les Gam's, as well as other career singers such as Géraldine (Géraldine Gaulier) and Christiane Cour. Numerous compilations have been released, including 60 French Girls Can't Be Wrong, Vols 1 & 2 (1960, 1964), Chanson de Paris (1970) and La Plus Grande Chorale Féminine Française (1959-1966) (2011).