Francis Lai

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Francis Lai
Lai in 1972
Born	Francis Albert Lai (1932-04-26)26 April 1932 Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Died	7 November 2018(2018-11-07) (aged 86) Paris, France
Occupation	Film score composer
Years active	1952–2018
Website	http://www.francis-lai.com/

Francis Albert Lai (French:

Lai was born on 26 April 1932, in Nice, France, the son of market gardeners of Italian origin.^[1][2][3] From a very early age, Lai was fascinated by music and he played first in his local regional orchestras. In Marseilles he discovered jazz and met Claude Goaty, a singer of popular songs in the 50s.^[4]

While in his twenties, Lai left home and followed Goaty to Paris, where he became part of the Montmartre music scene. At the "Taverne d'Attilio" on the Place du Tertre in Montmartre, Lai met Bernard Dimey [fr] with whom Lai composed his first song, the start of a partnership which would produce over one hundred songs. After a short period with the orchestra of Michel Magne, Lai became an accompanist for Édith Piaf and composed for her.^[4]

In 1965, he met filmmaker

His movie scores included films as diverse as Mayerling, Three into Two Won't Go, International Velvet, Édith et Marcel, and Michael Winner films such as I'll Never Forget What's'isname and Hannibal Brooks. Lai also had success with music written for softcore erotic films like Emmanuelle 2 (1975) and Bilitis (1977).^[16] Reviewing the soundtrack for Bilitis for AllMusic, Thom Jurek said: "The result would be hilarious if it weren't so predictable. This music is light to the point of almost not being there... Lai uses synthesizers, acoustic guitars, and a truckload of strings to weave what is supposed to be the "perfect" setting for two young lovers to do what young lovers do, but has it all coming out of the wash sounding like a commercial for those laundry detergents that are airy fresh, or a silent movie score where the music is supposed to tell you that this is a pensive moment."^[17]

His composition "Aujourd'hui C'est Toi" (Today It's You) is probably best known in the UK as the theme music for the long-running

In a career spanning forty years, Lai also wrote music for television programs and alone or in collaboration with others has composed music for more than one hundred films and personally wrote more than six hundred songs. He wrote the music for the Perry Como hit "I Think of You", with lyrics by Rod McKuen.^[19]

Personal life and death

In 1968 Lai married Dagmar Puetz. The couple had two sons and one daughter.^[2]

Lai died on 7 November 2018, aged 86, at his home in Paris.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Filmography

Lai enjoyed frequent collaborations with French director Claude Lelouch. As a composer, Lai has at least 131 film credits to his name.^[3] AllMusic lists 1,321 individual credits.^[24]

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score for Love Story (1970)^[33]
• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Love Story (1970)^[34]
• World Soundtrack Academy (2014)^[35]
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Ghent Film Festival, 2014[36]

Award nominations:

• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for A Man and a Woman (1966)^[37]
• Vivre pour vivre (1967)^[38]
• Vivre pour vivre (1967)^[37]
• Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture for Love Story (1970)^[36]
• La Bonne année (1973)^[39]
• César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Bilitis (1977)^[40]
• César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Les Uns et les Autres
  (1981)
• Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté
  (1988)
• Hasards ou coïncidences
  (1998)