Music News
Sacha Distel dead at 71
Thursday 22 July 2004
He died at a family home near St Tropez in the south of France after having been ill for some time.
Although the cause of death was not immediately known, the singer was hit by thyroid cancer in 1970 and skin cancer a decade later.
"Sacha Distel had 'swing' under his skin," Frencc Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said in a tribute.
"For him, it was always 'The Good Life', the symbol of good humour and charm," Raffarin said, referring to one of the hit songs that won success on both sides of the Atlantic.
The epitome of the suave, sophisticated Frenchman, Sacha Distel enjoyed a career stretching over almost half a century during which he sang, danced and played jazz guitar with some of the biggest names in showbusiness.
Among the stars he worked with were Liza Minelli, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and Dionne Warwick. He is also credited with launching British singer Petula Clark in France.
The son of an engineer and a mother who trained in the Paris Conservatory, Sacha Distel was a composer of note too, penning "The Good Life", a standard that was swiftly recorded by Tony Bennett and Distel's own hero - Frank Sinatra.
Distel enjoyed his biggest hit in Britain, where "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" topped the charts for 34 weeks.
Best known for his songs, he was also an outstanding jazz guitarist, winning the title best guitarist of the year from the respected Jazz Hot and Jazz Magazine.
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