Biography
Paul Julien André Mauriat (4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader and conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, known for his work in the easy listening genre. In the United States, he gained fame with his million-selling rendition of André Popp's "Love is Blue," which held the number one spot for five weeks in 1968. Other notable recordings include "El Bimbo," "Toccata," "Love in Every Room/Même si tu revenais," and "Penelope." He co-composed the song "Chariot" (also known as "I Will Follow Him") alongside Franck Pourcel, with both using pseudonyms—Pourcel as J.W. Stole and Mauriat as Del Roma.
Born and raised in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, in 1925, Mauriat's father was a postal inspector who enjoyed playing classical piano and violin. Mauriat began playing piano at around three or four years old, receiving formal music lessons from his father at age eight. In 1935, at ten, he enrolled in the Conservatoire in Marseille to study classical music but developed a passion for jazz and popular music by age seventeen.
Mauriat's first job was as a postman, but at seventeen in 1942, he became a band conductor. His dance band toured European concert halls throughout the 1940s. He remained based in Marseille until 1958, then relocated to Paris. Mauriat served as musical director for renowned French singers Charles Aznavour and Maurice Chevalier, touring with both. He arranged 135 of Aznavour's songs, including "La Bohème," "La mamma," and "Tu t'laisses aller," working with Aznavour until focusing on his own touring and recording career in the 1960s.
In 1957, Mauriat released his first EP, "Paul Mauriat," a four-track RGM release. One of his early compositions, "Rendez-vous au Lavandou," co-written with André Pascal, earned the 1958 le Coq d'or de la Chanson Française.
From 1959 to 1964, Mauriat recorded several albums on the Bel-Air label under the name Paul Mauriat et Son Orchestre and used various pseudonyms such as Richard Audrey, Nico Papadopoulos, Eduardo Ruo, and Willy Twist to reflect the international style of his music. During this time, he also released recordings with Les Satellites, arranging vocal harmonies for albums like "Slow Rock and Twist" (1961), "A Malypense" (1962), and "Les Satellites Chantent Noel" (1964).
Mauriat composed music for several French film soundtracks, released on Bel-Air, including "Un Taxi Pour Tobrouk" (1961), "Horace 62" (1962), and "Faites Sauter La Banque" (1964).
Under the pseudonym Del Roma, Mauriat achieved his first international hit with "Chariot," co-written with Franck Pourcel, Jacques Plante (French lyrics), and orchestrated by Raymond Lefèvre. In the U.S., the song was recorded as "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1963. The song featured prominently in the 1992 film "Sister Act" starring Whoopi Goldberg and was later sampled by Eminem in his track "Guilty Conscience.
