Alain Poulanges: Boby Lapointe : ou les mamelles du destin (2012)

Boby Lapointe (1922–1972), about whom I have written several posts on this blog, was a singer, writer and mathematician of some brilliance. He was born and died in Pézenas (Hérault), although he spent most of his mature years in Paris. Alain Poulange's biography is by far the best work that has been written on Boby, although – five years after its publication – it is out of print. Which is a pity, as he seems to be more popular today than he was in his lifetime, and only several weeks ago Le Monde included him in their Géants de la chanson series.

Boby's singing involves great use of puns and other play on words, Spoonerisms, nonsense, general absurdity, and it is perhaps unsurprising that a number of people have found his work too difficult to understand, although to contradict this many children have also enjoyed his playfulness. Even just after the age of twenty he was using a pun in a very serious situation: he escaped from the Nazi work camp (Service du Travail Obligatoire, usually called STO) and made his way back to Pézenas as Robert Foulcan (for which read fout le camp, which of course is exactly what he was doing).

The book charts his love of women, his love of wine, his sense of humour, and his inability to deal with money. He was very fortunate to have Georges Brassens (who too didn't care much for money, although he had enough of it) change his bald car tyres for new ones, even give him a new car and help his family out.

There are many humorous moments in this book, such as the attempts to take a plaster cast of his penis, or the fact that (as Pierre Perret notes in the Preface) he could even joke about dying of cancer: usually late for gigs, he suddenly as if by miracle started turning up early for them: when other performers took a long time getting to a venue because of the difficulty parking, Boby simply parked on the pavement: his reasoning was that he wouldn't have to pay the fines because he'd be dead.

We're lucky to have this book. But why hasn't it been re-printed?

My other Boby Lapointe posts:
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Birth and Death of Boby Lapointe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Musée Boby Lapointe, Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Boby Lapointe Sculptures in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

François Hüe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

François Hüe, was born in Béziers in 1905 and died in Paris in 1972. He was an ornithologist and a defender of the natural world.

He co-wrote a number of books on birds with Robert-Daniel Etchécopar: Données écologiques sur l’avifaune dans la zone désertique arabo-saharienne (1957); Les Oiseaux du Nord de l’Afrique (1964); Les Oiseaux du Proche et du Moyen-Orient (1970); and Les Oiseaux de Chine, de Mongolie et de Corée (in two volumes (1978 and 1983)).

Albert-Paul Alliès in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

'HOMMAGE

RECONNAISSANT

DE

PÉZENAS

À

ALBERT PAUL ALLIÈS

1868 – 1935

HISTORIEN

ANIMATEUR BIENFAITEUR

DE SA VILLE NATALE'

Albert-Paul Alliès is probably most noted for his Guide historique et archéologique de l'étranger dans Pézenas, although he also wrote Une Ville d'États : Pézenas aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles ; Molière à Pézenas.

Molière in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

This magnificent statue dedicated to Molière recognises that the young man and his troupe stayed in Pézenas twice – between 1650 and 1651, and between 1653 and 1656 – and was erected in 1897.

Émile Mâzuc in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

'ÉMILE MÂZUC

AUTEUR

DE LA GRAMMAIRE LANDOCIENNE

DIALECTE DE PÉZENAS

EST NÉ ICI

LE 24 JUILLET 1832'

Mâzuc is most noted for his Grammaire Languedocienne: Dialecte de Pezenas (1899).

Musée Boby Lapointe, Pézenas, Hérault (34)

Molière and singer-songwriter, author and mathematician Boby Lapointe in Pézenas are really two different stories, being centuries apart as they are, so we'll ignore Moliére's friend the barbier Gély for the moment and just concentrate on Boby.

Inside the Musée Boby Lapointe. An obvious allusion here to 'La Mamam des poissons', probably Boby's best known song, which is a pity for vegetarians like myself as his main joke is that, like the mother's children, he really likes her, only with lemon.

As I said in a previous post about Boby and the helicon: 'pon pon pon pon'.

Boby's bibi binaire. What do I know? Enough said.

A photo of Georges Brassens and Boby, although Boby is hidden behind his own bust.

Le Cheval d'Or, where a screening of a documentary on Boby is shown. The only member of the audience is Isabel, who'd never heard of Boby before I raved about him.

I suspect this is a fanciful representation of a stamp never published, but who am I to say? Very recently, Le Monde included Boby in its Les géants de la chanson series. And quite right too.

Truffaut's weird film starring Charles Asnavour. And Boby Lapointe, of course.

And Boby Lapointe even has his own wine.

My other Boby Lapointe posts:
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Birth and Death of Boby Lapointe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Boby Lapointe Sculptures in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Alain Poulanges: Boby Lapointe : ou les mamelles du destin)

Boby Lapointe Sculptures in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

Off Rue Canabasserie, in a tiny square, is a sculptured tribute to Boby Lapointe.

This is entitled Boby et Elles, and is by Alain Tenenbaum:

Boby with les mamelles du destin.

And rampant!

Boby's suitcase is parked outside his birthplace.

Ouside the mairie, Boby has two sculptures dedicated to him: this...

... and Boby en vrac.

And opposite, in the Place Boby Lapointe, a homage to the man.

My other Boby Lapointe posts:
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Musée Boby Lapointe, Pézenas, Hérault (34)
The Birth and Death of Boby Lapointe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Alain Poulanges: Boby Lapointe : ou les mamelles du destin)

The Birth and Death of Boby Lapointe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

'"hé, dis Boby

t'es pas né au Chili !

Boby LAPOINTE

de

Pézenas à Pézenas

1922                  1972'

The plaque is on the wall of the birthplace of Boby Lapointe, the musician, mathematician, writer and singer-songwriter of very strange, demanding songs that play on words, are alliterative, with often jumbled meanings and syllables. Boby Lapointe, who died from cancer at the early age of fifty, was a singer like no other, and his friend Georges Brassens complimented him when  he called him crazy. He was crazy, but in the best way possible. (The sentence refers to Boby's song 'Je suis né au Chili', which is of course deliberately hopelessly wrong).

Boby Lapointe's face stares from his family grave. This face, singing 'Framboise' (a girl called Françoise but renamed) I first noticed in Truffaut's Tirez sur le pianiste: the bar scenes there are as mad as the song.

Henriette Elodie (1896–1973) is Boby's mother, François Ernest (1891–1973) is his father, Huguette (1926–2002) his sister, and Jacky Lapointe his son.

Ah yes, he wanted to play the helicon, pon pon pon pon!

Not too sure about the significance of the branch on the grave. OK, tell me!

And finally, the grave itself.

My other Boby Lapointe posts:
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Boby Lapointe Sculptures in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Musée Boby Lapointe, Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Alain Poulanges: Boby Lapointe : ou les mamelles du destin)