Distel, Sacha

Born in Paris, French singer and jazz guitarist Sacha Distel, was the son of a Jewish white Russian soldier who had fled the Bolshevik revolution in Odessa (then Russia) and walked to Paris. His mother, a French Jewish pianist, began teaching him piano at age 5 before she was arrested and imprisoned by the Gestapo. He father hid from the Nazis and his uncle went to the US while his aunt was able to take him to a Catholic school. Back in Paris after the war he became a soloist at age 13 with his high school band. After graduating in philosophy, he worked for his uncle, Ray Ventura, who was back from America and became his role model. Ventura had a music publishing company and was leader of a popular jazz and swing orchestra, “Les Collègiens.” Sacha gave up the piano and turned to the guitar, receiving some instruction from Henri Salvador, a star guitarist with his uncle’s orchestra. Sacha became a professional jazz guitarist, his early reputation benefiting from a stint as accompanist for popular singer Juliette Greco. He was meeting stars like George Brassens, Django Reinhardt, Quincy Jones and Sarah Vaughan. After his military service, he went to New York in 1952 with Uncle Ray and spent several years there, appearing on some variety shows, including the Ed Sullivan Show. He himself had begun to sing, and back in France in 1958, his version of “Scoubidou” became a hit, guaranteeing his rise as a crooner. He composed “La belle vie,” his signature song, and its English version, “The Good Life,” was sung by Tony Bennett. Through the 1970s and 1980s he performed on many television variety shows in both Britain and Europe, and appeared in some films and theatre. Throughout his career he recorded over 200 titles, many of which were French versions of British hit songs. In 1997 he was made a Chevalier of the French Legion d’honneur.