Guy Béart – born Guy Béheart-Hasson in Cairo, Egypt on July 16, 1930 – was a French singer and songwriter. With his poetic lyrics, he is considered one of the greatest purveyors of French song. Béart studied engineering in post-war France and eventually branched out into songwriting. Armed with only his guitar, he would perform his songs in Parisian cabarets until he was discovered by impresario Jacques Canetti, who launched him into the spotlight at the Paris Olympia in 1959. One of the many highlights of his career was the soundtrack he composed to the 1958 motion picture L’Eau Vive. He released a series of songs that went on to become French classics including “Chandernagor” (1958), “Vive la Rose” (1966), “La Vérité” (1968), and “Les Couleurs du temps” (1973). Even though he remained active throughout the 1960s, his fame was overshadowed by the wave of British and American rock ‘n’ roll that took over the airwaves in the mid-‘60s. Keeping himself in the public eye, he began hosting musical variety shows on television. When his TV series ended in 1970, he continued to release music and slowly, he returned to the charts and the hearts of music lovers in France. He co-wrote “Frère Jacques”, the Luxembourg entry for the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. Health problems made him reluctantly withdraw from the spotlight. He wrote a book about his illness in 1987 and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. In 1994, he was awarded the Grand Prix de l’Académie française in recognition of his musical achievements. He performed live in the 1990s but eventually withdrew from performing entirely. Guy Béart died on September 16, 2015 of a heart attack.
