Uploaded October 2014 | Updated September 2026, 27 minutes ago
History Of Sound Recording ♪♪♪ Year = 1930
Electrically powered phonographs were introduced in 1930, but crystal pick-ups and electronic reproduction did not become common until the late 1930s.
FRANCK POURCEL
At six years old, he began learning music and his father sent him to study the violin at the Conservatoire de Marseilles, and drums, too, because he loved jazz. Then, he went to the Conservatoire in Paris. He then came back to Marseilles where he worked in theaters, one of them the Opera, and, at night, he played drums in nightclubs. This explains, how, later, his orchestrations were based on strings and percussions.
Pourcel always had a dream: his own orchestra, which could freely express his musical feelings. He always worked toward this dream, but between the dream and the reality, it was very difficult: record companies were not keen on hiring 50 musicians! "At that time, creating an orchestra with 50 musicians sounded nuts, but I wanted it. After many refusals, I moved to United States."
In 1953, first recording: Blue Tango and the follow up Limelight produced by Maurice Teze in France.
It was the start of his long career, and all the French singers were eager to be accompanied by "the American".
He created the series, "Amour Danse et Violons", which includes no less than 54 LPs.
But the Americans had kept an eye on him, and he went back to Hollywood at Capitol to record albums dedicated to the American market. In 1959, he recorded "Only You"
2 years after the fantastic success of the title by The Platters. But arranging it à la Franck Pourcel he gave it a second youth. He sold more than 3 million copies, stayed on the Billboard charts for 16 weeks, and became the first European orchestra leader to sell more than 1 million records in the US.
He recorded 17 LPs with the most famous classical orchestras like the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, The Lamoureux Orchestra, The BBC Orchestra. In 1979, following the evolution of the recording techniques, the series came to be called Classics in Digital.
Between 1956 and 1972, he was the regular conductor for France at the Eurovision song contest, and he toured a lot in Japan, USA, South America, and appears on TV-show specials, all around the world.
His records have been exported to 58 countries.
I CAN TAKE OR LEAVE YOUR LOVING
This song was a hit for the British group "Herman's Hermits" in 1968. It entered the top 10 of the British charts in january of that year.
MHO
Give a song (one might nearly say : "any song") to Franck Pourcel and he "makes it his own". The song becomes more elegant, the musicality is being enhanced (by Pourcel's arrangement but also because he could record with a very large orchestra) - in short, Pourcel makes the song sound better.
In soccer terms, one could say that "Pourcel played in a league of his own" - and it comes as no surprise that his music was (and still is!) popular around the globe.
Enjoy.
History Of Sound Recording ♪♪♪ Year = 1930
Electrically powered phonographs were introduced in 1930, but crystal pick-ups and electronic reproduction did not become common until the late 1930s.
FRANCK POURCEL
At six years old, he began learning music and his father sent him to study the violin at the Conservatoire de Marseilles, and drums, too, because he loved jazz. Then, he went to the Conservatoire in Paris. He then came back to Marseilles where he worked in theaters, one of them the Opera, and, at night, he played drums in nightclubs. This explains, how, later, his orchestrations were based on strings and percussions.
Pourcel always had a dream: his own orchestra, which could freely express his musical feelings. He always worked toward this dream, but between the dream and the reality, it was very difficult: record companies were not keen on hiring 50 musicians! "At that time, creating an orchestra with 50 musicians sounded nuts, but I wanted it. After many refusals, I moved to United States."
In 1953, first recording: Blue Tango and the follow up Limelight produced by Maurice Teze in France.
It was the start of his long career, and all the French singers were eager to be accompanied by "the American".
He created the series, "Amour Danse et Violons", which includes no less than 54 LPs.
But the Americans had kept an eye on him, and he went back to Hollywood at Capitol to record albums dedicated to the American market. In 1959, he recorded "Only You"
2 years after the fantastic success of the title by The Platters. But arranging it à la Franck Pourcel he gave it a second youth. He sold more than 3 million copies, stayed on the Billboard charts for 16 weeks, and became the first European orchestra leader to sell more than 1 million records in the US.
He recorded 17 LPs with the most famous classical orchestras like the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, The Lamoureux Orchestra, The BBC Orchestra. In 1979, following the evolution of the recording techniques, the series came to be called Classics in Digital.
Between 1956 and 1972, he was the regular conductor for France at the Eurovision song contest, and he toured a lot in Japan, USA, South America, and appears on TV-show specials, all around the world.
His records have been exported to 58 countries.
I CAN TAKE OR LEAVE YOUR LOVING
This song was a hit for the British group "Herman's Hermits" in 1968. It entered the top 10 of the British charts in january of that year.
MHO
Give a song (one might nearly say : "any song") to Franck Pourcel and he "makes it his own". The song becomes more elegant, the musicality is being enhanced (by Pourcel's arrangement but also because he could record with a very large orchestra) - in short, Pourcel makes the song sound better.
In soccer terms, one could say that "Pourcel played in a league of his own" - and it comes as no surprise that his music was (and still is!) popular around the globe.
Enjoy.
