Gérard Lenorman

Gérard Lenorman is a French singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was born out of wedlock in Calvados (Normandy), the son of a French mother and a German soldier. With a largely absent mother, his early childhood was not a happy one. He spent many months at the L'orphelinat de la charité de Saint Vincent de Paul in Paris.

Musically gifted, Lenorman played harmonium from the age of five (secretly in church) and wrote his first song at twelve. At fourteen, he sang with local orchestras. A factory worker at sixteen, he performed in the evenings at Club Méditerranée. In 1968, he wrote two songs for Brigitte Bardot and the following year went on tour with Sylvie Vartan. In 1970, he played the lead role in the musical Hair on the Paris stage which led to a recording contract with CBS. The early and mid-70s saw him at the peak of his career with the release of several hugely successful chansons, especially De toi and Les Matins d'hiver (1972), Si tu ne me laisses pas tomber (1973), Quelque chose et moi (1974), Voici Les Clés and the lovely ballad Michèle (1976). Lenorman's small stature and unaffected, easy-going style earned him the sobriquet "le Petit Prince de la chanson".

Lenorman won a gold record for his album Nostalgie in 1978. Ten years later, he represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin with Chanteur de charme, which ended up ranked tenth. His songs have been recorded in English, German, Spanish and Italian. Several have been used for the soundtrack of film and TV productions.