I came across France Gall when I was looking up some old Scopitone videos on YouTube. Gall had quite a long singing career that spanned over thirty years. In 1966, Gall became a controversial public figure when her single “Les Sucettes” (“Lollipops” in English) was released. At the time, she was too young and naïve to understand the double meaning of her lyrics, which were written for her by Serge Gainsboug. Upon realizing the meaning of the lyrics, Gall reportedly was “mortified, hiding herself away for weeks, refusing to face anyone”.

Here are a few of my favorite France Gall videos. You may recognize the song, “Laisse tomber les filles” (“Forget the Girls” in English) since the same music was used by the American group April March in their song “Chick Habit”. Again, Gall’s lyrics were composed by Serge Gainsbourg, as were most of Gall’s early songs. Having her lyrics written by a middle aged man made the message of Gall’s songs far different than those of her fellow teenage pop stars. This is especially true of “Laisse tomber les filles”.