The Windmill Song
| "Maître Pierre" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Yves Montand | |
| Released | 1948 |
| Format | 10-inch 78 rpm reocrd |
| Recorded | 10 December 1948 |
| Genre | March |
| Length | 3:10 |
| Label | Odeon |
| Songwriter(s) | Henri Betti (music), Jacques Plante (lyrics) |
Maître Pierre is a French popular song composed in 1948 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by Jacques Plante.[1] The English lyrics were written in 1951 by Mitchell Parish.
Story
On November 16, 1948, Tohama recorded the song with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra.
On December 10, 1948, Yves Montand recorded the song with an orchestra leads by Henri Betti who is the composer of the music. On the other side of the disk, he recorded another song composed by Henri Betti : Rien dans les mains, rien dans les poches (lyrics by André Hornez) but with an orchestra leads by Bob Castella.[2]
On January 5, 1949, Georges Guétary recorded the song with Marius Coste and his Orchestra.
On January 21, 1949, Jacqueline François recorded the song with Guy Luypaerts and his Orchestra.
On January 28, 1949, Jean Patart recorded the song with Maurice Jeanjean and his Orchestra.
On February 14, 1949, Yvette Giraud recorded the song with Jacques-Henry Rys and his Orchestra.
On February 15, 1949, Louis Ferrari recorded the song with his Orchestra.
On March 28, 1949, Les Compagnons de la chanson recorded the song with Marc Herrand and his Orchestra.
On September 22, 1949, Jean Marco, Jo Charrier and Ginette Garcin recorded the song with Jacques Hélian and his Orchestra.
The same year, Lucille Dumont recorded the song with Allan McIver and his Orchestra.
In 1950, Linette Lemercier recorded the song with Marcel Cariven and his Orchestra. Les Quatre Barbus recorded the song with Daniel White and his Orchestra.
The same year, Jula De Palma recorded the song with Bruno Quirinetta and his Orchestra. The next year, they recorded the other hits of Henri Betti : C'est si bon.
In 1951, Jacques Pills sang the song with an orchestra leads by Henri Betti in the short film Compositeurs et Chansons de Paris directed by Henri Verneuil.
The same year, Mitchell Parish wrote the English lyrics for the recording of the song by The Andrews Sisters with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra on October 24, 1951. The title song became The Windmill Song.
In 1961, Fernand Gignac recorded the song with Roger Pilon and his Orchestra. The same year, Paulette Rollin recorded the song for the album Paulette Rollin Chante pour les Enfants.
In 1963, Henri Leca recorded a medley of music with his Orchestra for the album Surprise-Partie Monstre where he also recorded a medley of three other musics composed by Henri Betti : La Polka des Barbus, C'est si bon and Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai ?.
In 1966, Les Trois Ménestrels sang the song with Raymond Lefèvre and his Orchestra at the TV show Le Palmarès des chansons hosted by Guy Lux.
In 1985, Charles Level sang the song with Robert Quibel and his Orchestra at the TV show Thé Dansant where he also sings the same year C'est si bon.
In 1995, Sophie Darel recorded the song in duet with Pierre Perret for the album C'était les Années Bleues where she recorded also C'est si bon in duet with Évelyne Leclercq.
In 2013, Jean-Jacques Debout recorded the song for the album Sous le Soleil des Guinguettes. The same year, he recorded for the album Les Chansons des Guinguettes an other song composed by Henri Betti : La Chanson du Maçon (lyrics by Maurice Chevalier and Maurice Vandair).
Anecdote
In 1953, the melody of the song is played by a Barrel organ in the movie Soyez les bienvenus in which the melodies of C'est si bon, Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai ? and Rien dans les mains, rien dans les poches are also played. These four songs were composed by Henri Betti and sung by Yves Montand. The same year, the melody is also played in the movie Le Portrait de son père.