Annie Philippe - J'ai Tant De Peine (Barclay 7inch 1965)

This last year I really learned to appreciate French music, and in particular, the works of Serge Gainsbourg. Which inevitably lead to the discovery of the French yeye girls of the sixties. So fate smiled upon me when encountering the here featured Annie Philippe 45 in the bins of our favourite local recordshop Da Capo. Never as big as Gainsbourg-Girl France Gall, with whom she was often compared, Annie Philippe recorded a bunch of really groovy tunes in the sixties, combining angelical French Yeye with American Girl Group and British Sixties garage sounds. From Phil Spector arrangements with a cute-girl style delivery to French pop ballad orchestration with fuzzy guitars, including handclaps. Annie was getting noticed by the time of her 1965 third EP, that included tunes like J’ai Tant de Peine, Trois Petites Tambours, Lui and Le Souffleur De Verre. Covering a broad diversity of styles, however not always with satisfying results, some recordings being too cheesy, even for me. For more of her work, check out her 2Cd compilation L’Integrale Sixties on Magic Records. Listen to J'ai Tant De Peine below:



Born on 17 december 1946, in the Ménilmontant district of Paris, and already taking dance classes when young, she became a DJ, aged 17, at the Twenty One Club, located at the Rue Balzac near the Champs Élysées, and it was here where she met Paul Mariat. Mariat had already worked with Charles Aznavour and would later enjoy huge success with L’Amour Est Blue, launching the career of the Greek-German Vicky Leandros. After auditioning for Mariat, performing songs by Leny Escudero, Marie Laforêt and France Gall, he got Annie her first recording contract on the Riviera label, a sublabel of Barclay, and she released her first EP in 1964 (produced by Paul Mariat and Yzi Spighel, owner of the Twenty One club), including Vous Pouvez Me Dire (in the UK performed by Lulu as He Don’t want your Love Anymore), Une Rose (Presley’s Love Me Tender), Qu’il Le Dise and Je Chante et Je Danse. Unfortunately, she failed to make any impact initially. Her Second EP contained tunes like J’ai Raté Mon Bac, the France Gall-sounding Tout finit à Saint-Tropez, C’est Loin Domani (from the movie Le Rolls Royce Jaune) and a super-cute French version of the Supremes classic Baby Love. Annie was getting noticed by the time of her 1965 third EP, that included tunes like J’ai Tant de Peine (written by Guy Marchand), Trois Petites Tambours (Private John Q by Roger Miller), Lui and Le Souffleur De Verre. The follow up EP contained the handclapping garage stormer On M’a Toujours Dit, Tu Ne Comprends Rien Aux Filles, Quand L’Amour Est A Deux Pas and her biggest hit Ticket De Quai, a sweet ballad which charted in March 1966. After changing to the Philips label, she recorded the dramatic Pour Qui, pour Quoi, Tchakaboum and Cause Donc Toujours, while returning to the charts with the laidback Mes Amis, Mes Copains. Next was the fuzzy Swinging London–like (and one of my personal favourites) C’est La Mode in late 1966 (The EP also included the loungy Ca Fait Pleurer, Soeur Angelique and Le Temps de Poupees) and Le Mannequin in early 1967 (also including tunes like Pas De Taxi, Sensational Jeffrey and Tu Peux Partir Où Tu Voudras, a French version of Mama Cass’s Go Where You Wanna Go. Following her success she recorded an complete album in 1967, containing her hit C’est La Mode, a different version of Pas de Taxi and 2 unreleased songs (Bon Vieux Carillon and Ma Liberté). Now working with Christian Gaubert, the follow up EP, Lettre Pour Annie, also included Coeur Brisé, Coeur En Tête, De Ce Cote De La Riviere and the excellent Pour La Gloire. Next, she recorded the title track for the movie La Blonde de Pekin and the orchestral Les Enfants de Finland, which turned out to be her last chart entry. After her last Philips 1968 EP Une Petite Croix, including Laisse-nous Tranquilles, Bonjour, Bonsoir Et Au Revoir and Le Flingue (written by Frédéric Botton), failed to make an impression, she started working with Claude François on his Flèche label in 1968, releasing tunes like Le Même Amour (again written by Guy Marchand), Croix De Bois, Croix De Fer, Oiseaux de Novembre and Boeing Jet Et Caravelle. Her second Flèche EP included Je Découvre Tout and Laissez Votre Chapeau Monsieur Lee (Move in A Little Closer Baby by Mama Cass). However, sales were disappointing, and she continued to release some work in the seventies but her glory days had passed.

PS
Watch Annie's Le Jouet Extraordinaire on Youtube, I know this tune sucks, but just check the magician in the studio.