This one is for Don, in return for "La Vie en Rose".
"L'été indien" (Indian Summer) by Joe Dassin.
Joe Dassin was born in New York, under the protection of the Statue of Liberty. He was the son of a violinist Beatrice who worked with the best classical musicians such as Pablo Casals*.
His father, Jules Dassin, was fond of cinema. After a short stage career, Jules became Hitchcock's associate director and a film director at last then decided to move to Los Angeles, the mysterious Los Angeles of the MGM studios and the Pacific Coast beaches, untill the day when… the world turns upside down. Along with the end of the World War II and Yalta agreements the world has to put up with the consequences of the "Cold War". East and West face each other: the USA against USSR, capitalism against socialism. The Republican senator from Wisconsin Joseph McCarthy opens and leads his witch-hunt against people suspected of sympathizing communists. Jules Dassin, who has already won some fame, was also under suspicion. Soon, he is accused of "Moscow-liking". This means the end of sweet Hollywood life and the exile for the Dassin family. In the end of 1949 a transatlantic liner leaves the New York harbor heading for Europe.
Joe Dassin discovers the Old Europe at the age of 12. This is 1950 and the old continent is under total re-construction. The Marshall Plan and ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) make front-page stories. While Jules and Bea are settling in Paris, Joe is sent to a boarding school of a famous College Rosey in Switzerland. The establishment is chic and very expensive. In spite of the exile the money doesn't seem to be a big problem to the Dassins. There Joe makes acquaintance with Karim Aga Khan and the rich European heirs.
In 1955, Joe's parents get divorced. His father Jules continues his career with a new companion, the beautiful Greek actress and singer Melina Mercouri, one of the great women figures of Greece in the 20th century, christened "the last Greek goddess" by her many fans, later appointed by first greek minister Papandreou to be his minister of culture.
Joe takes the failure of his parents' family life close to heart and decides to return to his hearth and home of America. So, he comes back to the USA where Joe gets enrolled in the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During his stay in the States Joe became friendly with a number of top names in the music business including young 60's folk singer, Pete Seeger, who introduced him to a young man by the name of Robert Zimmerman (who would later become the legendary Bob Dylan).
While Joe is studying hard at the University, his father gains authority throughout the world and becomes the Great Jules Dassin, he won the best director award at the Cannes film festival. In 1958, he asks Joe to record some themes for his next movie - "La Loi" (The Law) starring Gina Lollobrigida. Then, in 1960, comes "Never On Sunday" (Jamais le dimanche) with its astonishing sound track and, especially, the song "Les Enfants du Piree" (The Children Of Piree) performed by Melina Mercouri.
Joe graduates from the University of Michigan and gets Doctor's degree in Anthropology. Diploma in the pocket, Joe has to decide his own future. $300 in the pocket, Joe boards a ship which takes him to Italy, he travels first class in the hold of a cargo. Joe made his concert début in 1967, by 1968 he was back at the top of the charts, soon followed by a whole string of new hit singles. By 1969 the young Franco-American star was firmly established at the forefront of the French music scene.
Released in October 1975, "L'été indien" went on to become one of the French music scene's all-time classics. This song was about love during the Indian Summer in North America, it will appeal to all who have a romantic image of autumn in America.
Pilou
___________________________________________________
*Some words about Pablo Casals since he had a special affiliation with my birthplace in the French catalan Pyrennées:
Pablo Casals went on to become the greatest cellist of the 20th century. He was born in 1876 in Catalonia, Spain. His father was a parish organist and choirmaster, which explains his musical caree.
His international career commenced playing at the Crystal Palace in London in 1899. The same year, he played for Queen Victoria at the Osborne House.
Post the Spanish war and the downfall of the Spanish Republican government, he moved from Spain and settled himself in the French Catalan town of Prades which is my birthplace.
In 1950, he resumed his career on a full-fledged note by serving as the cellist and conductor at the Prades Festival. The festival was organized in the memory of the 200th death anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach. He continued performing at the festival - named Pablo Casals Festival - until 1966. During many years prior to 1966, my parents had the perfect opportunity to attend concerts of Pablo Casals in the church of Prades.
The Pablo Casals Festival has been held in Prades each year since 1950. World-renowned soloists gather for a series of concerts, and numerous students take part in the academy's masterclasses. It is one of the oldest festivals in existence, one of the most prestigious chamber music festivals in the world. Every year from 24 July to 13 August, almost 10,000 music lovers are attracted by the outstanding performances of the works and by the exceptional programme. They come together to listen to the many concerts given by the greatest musicians in the Abbey Saint-Michel de Cuxa and the Romanesque churches of the Conflent (Serrabone, Marcevol, Saint-Martin du Canigou).
The Pablo Casals Festival also includes conferences, meetings with artists and personalities and film screenings.
Pablo Casals's great panache at the instrument and outstanding musical abilities earned him an offer to play at the White House for President Theodore Roosevelt in January 15, 1904, also once again at the White House on November 13, 1961, upon receiving an invite from President John F. Kennedy. In 1963, he became the proud recipient of the prestigious U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Pilou.