Biography
During the years spanning 1964 to 1968, the quartet Les Parisiennes issued several kitschy albums on the Philips label with pianist and bandleader Claude Bolling overseeing the sessions. The members included Anne-Marie Royer, Hélène Longuet, Anne Lefébure, and Raymonde Bronstein, who performed under the name Beretta. A corny trad jazz/pop group featuring brisk banjo, trumpet, tuba, and tailgate trombone typically backed the singers as they delivered lyrics in exact unison with crisp enunciation. Mid-decade sessions also paired the vocalists with pop/rock rhythm sections producing squinky twist-a-go-go tracks, a combination common at the time. Visual presentation formed another key element of their style through vividly colored mod clothing, highlighted by a 1966 EP sleeve photograph showing the four members posed “behind bars” in fetching red-and-white striped “prison”-styled long underwear. The group’s extreme high-camp approach renders their recordings most appropriate for moments seeking immediate surface excitement rather than substance. Their catalog resurfaced in part through Mercury’s 2005 compact-disc release Il Fait Trop Beau Pour Travallier, followed by a Universal “best-of” anthology in 2006 and a 71-track triple-disc box set in 2007 titled Les Parisiennes: L'Integrale under Claude Bolling’s direction.
Albums