Maxime Le Forestier
Maxime Le Forestier (born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to father Robert Le Forestier and mother Genevieve (née Lili 1917—2010) who had lived in England. He had two older sisters, Annette (born 1943) and Catherine (born 1946). His musical training started on the violin. He attended the Lycée Condorcet, where he studied literature. In 1965, he formed a duo (Cat et Maxime) with his sister Catherine. Playing at cabaret venues on Paris' Left Bank, the pair met and formed a friendship with Georges Moustaki. They were amongst the first artists to cover a number of songs by Moustaki – including Ma Liberté and Ma Solitude. In 1968, Catherine joined Moustaki as a backing singer. Le Forestier began to focus on songwriting and composed Ballade pour un traître which was recorded and released by the French/Italian singer and actor, Serge Reggiani. Le Forestier continued as part-time singer/songwriter during his military service (beginning 1969) with a parachute regiment (the inspiration for the song Parachutiste). He recorded two songs: Cœur de Pierre, Face de Lune, and La Petite Fugue. His military service ending September 1970, Le Forestier refocused on his musical career. He developed a folksy style which was enormously popular in the 1970s and 1980s. He and his sister spent the summer of 1971 living in the Castro District of San Francisco at the invitation of his friend, Luc Alexandre. The experience, and meeting Allen Ginsberg, was the inspiration of a popular song, San Francisco. His first album Mon Frère, released in 1973, contains several pieces that have entered French folklore, including the title song Mon frère, San Francisco, Comme un arbre and Education sentimentale. He toured extensively, both in France and abroad. In 1976, he toured in 14 cities in the USSR. Recently he has gained particular acclaim for his reworkings of the songs of Georges Brassens. "San Francisco", one of his best known songs, begins with the line: "C'est une maison bleue adossée à la colline" (meaning "It's a blue house with its back to the hill"). In 1971, a young Le Forestier was living in a hippie commune, called "Hunga Dunga", in a blue house situated at 3841 18th Street in San Francisco. The anthemic song was written as a fond tribute to Le Forestier’s housemates and hippie friends, and the names mentioned in the song refer to real people. These include Phil Polizatto, who recalls with great affection Le Forestier’s stay in the blue house, in a critically acclaimed book entitled “Hunga Dunga: Confessions of an Unapologetic Hippie”. In the summer of 2011, the house was repainted from light green to its original blue, and a plaque dedicated to Le Forestier was unveiled by the French Consul, pointing to the cultural importance of the song in French popular culture. Maxime Le Forestier has participated in Les Enfoirés, the annual concert to raise money for the charity Restaurants du Cœur, since 1995. Source: Article "Maxime Le Forestier" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
Credits
- 2022 · Il était une fois Champs-Élysées as Self (archive footage)
- 2018 · M. Eddy & sa tribu as Self
- 2017 · Les Enfoirés 2017 - Mission Enfoirés as
- 2016 · Les Enfoirés 2016 - Au rendez-vous des Enfoirés as
- 2015 · Cavanna, jusqu'à l'ultime seconde j'écrirai as Self (archive footage)
- 2015 · Les Enfoirés 2015 - Sur la route des Enfoirés as
- 2014 · Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui as
- 2014 · Les Enfoirés 2014 - Bon anniversaire Les Enfoirés as
- 2014 · Maxime Le Forestier - Olympia 2014 as
- 2013 · Les Enfoirés 2013 - La Boîte à Musique des Enfoirés as
- 2012 · Départ immédiat as Self
- 2012 · Les Enfants de la Pop 80's as Self (archive footage)
- 2010 · Les Enfoirés 2010 - Les Enfoirés... la Crise de Nerfs as
- 2008 · Les Enfoirés 2008 - Les secrets des Enfoirés as
- 2005 · Les Enfoirés, 15 ans d'Enfoirés as
- 2005 · Maxime Le Forestier - Master Serie as
- 2003 · The Car Keys as Le chanteur au coin du feu
- 2002 · Les Enfoirés 2002 - Tous dans le même bateau as
- 2001 · Autour de la guitare, Olympia 2000 as Self
- 2001 · Star Academy as Self
- 2001 · Les Enfoirés 2001 - L'odyssée des Enfoirés as
- 2000 · Les Enfoirés 2000 - Enfoirés en 2000 as
- 1999 · Les Enfoirés 1999 - Dernière édition avant l'an 2000 as
- 1998 · Vivement dimanche as Self
- 1998 · Les Enfoirés 1998 - Enfoirés en cœur as
- 1997 · Les Enfoirés 1997 - Le Zénith des Enfoirés as
- 1995 · Les Enfoirés 1995 - Les Enfoirés à l'Opéra-Comique as
- 1990 · Stars 90 as self
- 1987 · Le monde est à vous as Self
- 1987 · Nulle part ailleurs as Self
- 1985 · Victoires de la musique as Self (Male Artist of the Year)
- 1985 · Victoires de la musique as Self (Song of the Year)
- 1985 · Victoires de la musique as Self
- 1985 · Victoires de la musique as (Honorary Award)
- 1985 · Télématin as Self
- 1982 · Champs-Elysées as Self
- 1976 · 30 millions d'amis as Self
- 1975 · Numéro un as Self
- 1975 · La chaise vide as Maxime
- 1975 · Les Rendez-vous du dimanche as Self
- 1975 · Apostrophes as Self
- 1972 · Midi trente as Self
- 1972 · Le Grand Échiquier as Self
- 1971 · Samedi soir as Self
- 1968 · À bout portant as Self
- 1959 · Discorama as Self