Dick Rivers

Dick Rivers stands among the earliest figures who brought the sounds of rock & roll to French listeners, sharing that distinction with Johnny Hallyday and Eddy Mitchell. Born Herve Fornieri in Nice in 1946, he absorbed the music of Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, and Elvis Presley during childhood and took his stage name from Presley’s character in the 1957 film Loving You. After laying down more than 100 songs as a member of Les Chats Sauvages, he stepped out on his own at the start of the 1960s and notched successes with “Baby John,” “Tu N’es Plus La,” and “Rien Que Toi.” In 1967 he traveled to Alabama to record Dick Rivers Story with some of the nation’s foremost blues players, an album that remains among his most respected works. The 1970s and 1980s yielded a steady stream of releases that experimented across styles—comedy on L’Interrogation, country-rock on Mississippi Rivers, and English-language songs on Dick ’n’ Roll—while also encompassing an autobiography, a presenting stint at Radio Monte Carlo, and a short-lived reunion with Les Chats Sauvages for their 20th anniversary. Critical praise for Plein Soleil, a series of well-attended national tours, and a first screen appearance in Jean-Pierre Mocky’s La Candide Madame Duff revived his profile in the 1990s. The 2000s maintained the momentum with a stage debut in Jean Genet’s Les Paravents, a popular greatest-hits collection, and the 2006 self-titled collaboration that paired him with -M-, Benjamin Biolay, and Francis Cabrel. Mister D marked the 50th year of his career when it appeared in 2011.