France Gall

French yé-yé singer France Gall began pursuing a music career at age 15 with the encouragement of her father, a lyricist who’d worked with Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. ∙ Gall’s first single, 1963’s bouncy, horn-driven “Ne sois pas si bête,” was released on her 16th birthday and sold more than 200,000 copies in France. ∙ “Poupée de cire, poupée de son,” one of several hits written for Gall by Serge Gainsbourg, topped the charts in France and reached the Top 10 in 10 other countries. ∙ She had several German hits between 1966 and 1972, including two—“Ich Liebe Dich” and “Mein Herz Kann Man Nicht Kaufen”—cowritten by future Eurodisco legend Giorgio Moroder. ∙ Her 1974 comeback hit, the soft-rock anthem “La Déclaration d’amour,” was the first of many songs written for her by her husband, Michel Berger. ∙ Elton John duetted with Gall on the 1980 hit “Les Aveux,” which he cowrote with Michel Berger. ∙ Babacar, released in 1987, sold more than 1 million copies and earned her a Les Victoires de la Musique award for Female Artist of the Year.