Guitar player Bernard Ferraro was a member of several rock and roll instrumental bands that became popular in France in the 1960s. At the end of 1963 he joined the guitar quartet Les Fantômes, but they were in the process of disbanding. He then was given a place as lead guitar replacing one of Les Cyclones, formerly El Toro et Les Cyclones, but that group too was starting to split up, having already lost El Toro, its singer. He worked as a session musician and also did some composing with singer Anne Vanderlove, among others. In 1969 he began arranging and producing the records of Black Sabbath’s Brian More, including “Oh Happy Day” (Quels jours de paix in French). He also accompanied such singers as Eddy Mitchell and Françoise Hardy, for whom he worked seven years. Another singer whom he accompanied was model and dancer Micky Amline (the stage name of Christiane Ameline), whom he later married. Around the turn of the century Ferraro decided to give up performing and become an ornithologist, and in the wake of an auto accident his wife also quit the music business. The two bought an old house in Tusson in southwestern France which they repaired and opened as a tearoom called “L’Echauguette” (the watchtower).

The songwriter and singer Jean Ferrat was born in Vaucresson (Haut-de-Seine) near Paris, the youngest of four children. The family moved in 1935 to Versailles where he dropped out of school so he could work to help support the family. His father, a Russian-born Jewish jeweler had been forced to wear a yellow star ; in 1942 he was deported to Auschwitz, where he died. The musically inclined boy was a poetry love,r and while working at cabarets in Paris he began composing songs to accompany Louis Aragon’s verses; he started with “Les yeux d’Elsa” (Elsa’s Eyes) in 1956. His first album,”Deux enfants au soleil,” was released in 1961. The same year, he married singer Christine Sevres, who had performed some of his compositions. He wrote some songs for Zizi Jeanmaire and shared a billing with her for six months at the Alhambra Music Hall in Paris. In 1963, Barclay Records released his “Nuit et brouillard,” which renders homage to the victims of the Holocaust; however, it was banned on radio and television by the French government since France and Germany were in the middle of a diplomatic postwar reconciliation. Nevertheless, the song was heard and Ferrat received the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie Charles Cros; years later, in 1990, the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de Musique (SACEM) awarded him its gold medal, and the BBC listed it as one of 20 songs that changed the world. Ferrat became popular but ceased performing on stage in 1973. His album “Ferrat chante Aragon” sold more than two million copies in 1971, and in 1980 his “Ferrat 80” album was certified a platinum record. His collection of his compositions in twelve volumes earned him the “Diamant de l’année.”

French singer and composer Nino Ferrer had a reputation for being unpredictable and excitable. Born in Genoa, his earliest years were spent in New Caledonia (a French colony) with his parents. They returned to Genoa for a visit and were stuck in the city when World War II broke out. Their young son was sent to Jesuit school there and in Paris where they moved after the war in 1947. He spent a miserable adolescence, mocked for his poor French and his Italian accent, treatment to which he reacted violently was frequently expelled and forced to change schools. In his late teens he met a friend, Richard Bennett, who was also interested in jazz. While Ferrer pursued studies in ethnology and history of religion at the Sorbonne, the two began playing with Bennett’s cousin as a jazz trio, the Dixie Cats, with Ferrer on double bass, Bennett on drums and the cousin on clarinet. At university, Ferrer had become more interested in archeology and intended to become an explorer. After university he worked on a freighter, traveling the world, including spending some time in New Caledonia where his maternal grandmother lived; he also participatied in several archeological digs, including one in New Zealand. Back in France he had some difficult years, sometimes with the Dixie Cats and their successor RB RB (Richard Bennet Rhythm'n Blues), sometimes unsuccessfully on his own. Then, at Playa, a club in southern France, during an intermission, he grabbed the microphone and did an improvised imitation of Stevie Wonder entitled “Z’avez pas vu Mirza?” It was a huge hit and his career sky-rocketed to such an extent that he soon became fed up with the life of a star and exiled himself in Italy. There he was also successful, particularly with a recording of a concert, “Rats and Roll,” and returned to France after a couple of years. In 1971, he released the album “Métronomie ; it was largely ignored, though more recently it has been praised as a forgotten gem. It was followed by another album, “Nino and Radiah,” whose first song was “Le Sud,” the French version of “The South.” This turned out to be his greatest success, selling a million copies in France. But he was again sick of the music culture and in 1977 quit the industry, having written more than 200 songs in various styles and genres, some comic and many with ecological or anti-racist themes. With the proceeds from “Le Sud,” he bought an old fortress, “La Taillade,” in Quercy Blanc in the Vaux region, and turned to surrealist-style painting. In 1986 he was named “Chevalier des arts et des lettres.” He finally took out French citizenship in 1989. However, he suffered from depression, particularly after the death of his mother, and in 1998 he took his own life.

Colin C. Ferrie was a businessman based in Hamilton, Ontario, who traded with Robertson Masson & Co.

Alan Ferrier was born on May 26, 1894, in Madras, India.

He was a military engineer and served in both the Royal Engineers and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Ferrier studied civil engineering at McGill University. He held several notable positions, including Director of Aeronautical Engineering for the RCAF, Air Marshal, and Air Member of the Air Council for Aeronautical Engineering. From 1952 to 1957, he served as Acting Secretary of the International Civil Aviation Organization. In 1919, he was awarded the Military Cross, and in 1945, he became a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

In 1922, he married Gladys Mary Roche (1894–1954). Later, he remarried Doreen Moon, known in the fashion world as Doreen Day. He died on June 26, 1971, in Montreal, Quebec.

James Ferrier was born on October 22, 1800, in Dunshalt, Fifeshire, Scotland.

He was a merchant, politician, railway promoter, and capitalist. In 1821, he emigrated from Scotland to Montreal where he established himself as a successful merchant. He served as a city councillor of Montreal from 1841 to 1848. He was named Justice of the Peace and later served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the local militia. In 1842, he was one of the co-founders of the High School of Montreal. He became the fourth mayor of Montreal, holding office from 1844 to 1847. He served on the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1847 until Confederation, after which he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Royal Proclamation in October 1867. He sat with the Conservative group and represented the Senatorial Division of Shawinigan until his death in 1888. From 1867 until his death, he also served on the Legislative Council of Quebec, sitting for the division of Victoria. He was a promoter and president of the Montreal Mining Company, the New City Gas Company, the Montreal and Lachine Railway and he became a director of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1855. In his later years, he travelled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, and brought back souvenirs that were donated to the Natural History Society of Montreal and McGill University. He was appointed and served as the Chancellor of McGill University from 1884 to 1888. He contributed throughout his life to the rise of the Methodist Church and participated in many philanthropic and educational works. He is commemorated by Ferrier Street in northwestern Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal.

In 1822, he married Mary Tod (1799–1881). He died on May 30, 1888, in Montreal, Quebec.

Gianni Ferrio was an Italian composer and conductor. Born in Vincenza, he studied at conservatories in both Vicenza and Venice, and began conducting in the 1940s. He created soundtracks for more than 120 films, mainly spaghetti Westerns and sexy comedies. His best-known score was for Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds”; it was originally written as “One Silver Dollar” for Giorgio Ferroni’s “Le Dollar troué.” He also composed and arranged more than 30 popular songs, starting in 1957 with “Piccolissima serenata.” He arranged and composed for pop singer Mina, with whom he collaborated with several others to create the famous song “Parole, parole.” The song was also recorded by Dallida and by Alain Delon. In 1959 and 1962, he was the official conductor for the Sanremo Festival. In 1965, he was official conductor at the Eurovision song contest for contestants from Austria, Ireland and Italy.