1. Jean Ferrat specialized in singing poetry, particularly that of Louis Aragon.
11 Facts About Jean Ferrat
2.
Ferrat was born in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine, the youngest of four children from a modest family which moved to Versailles in 1935, where Ferrat studied at the Jules Ferry College.
3.
Jean Ferrat's Russian-born father was forced to wear the yellow star and deported to Auschwitz in 1942, where he died.
4.
In 1956, he set "Les yeux d'Elsa", a Louis Aragon poem which Jean Ferrat loved, to music.
5.
Jean Ferrat signed with Decca and released his second single, "Ma Mome", in 1960 under the musical direction of Meys.
6.
In 1961, Jean Ferrat married Christine Sevres, a singer who performed some of his songs.
7.
Jean Ferrat met Alain Goraguer, who became an arranger of his songs.
8.
Jean Ferrat toured again in 1965, but stopped performing on stage in 1973.
9.
Jean Ferrat is a graduate of the Conservatoire national des arts et metiers.
10.
Jean Ferrat died in Aubenas, Ardeche, following a long illness at the age of 79.
11.
Jean Ferrat lived in Antraigues-sur-Volane, a small village of not even 700 people in Ardeche.