There aren’t many such pretty songs in Île-de-France. South, de Nino Ferrer, does not speak of the south but of a beautiful colonial-style house with a lush garden in Rueil-Malmaison. And when you live there, this house does not seem at all located in the Hauts-de-Seine. So it’s not Louisiana, it’s not Italy, but it looks like it.
And this house is also a stage in Nino Ferrer’s life as a musician. When this song was released in 1975, the public had no other idea in mind about it than a reputation for being funny.
In this episode of These crooners who make parties, you hear excerpts from:
Nino Ferrer, South, 1975
Nino Ferrer, Mirza, 1965
Nino Ferrer, Oh! Hey! Eh! Good!, 1966
Nino Ferrer, The Telefon, 1967
Nino Ferrer, Rua Madureira, 1969
Nino Ferrer, The South, 1974
Julie Zenatti, South, 2009
Alain Bashung, South, 2005
Camille and Julie Berthollet, South, 2019
Salif Keita, South, 1998
Nino Ferrer, South, 1975
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Remember: during the summer of 2019, La Playlist de Françoise Hardy was a journey through the musical baggage of an author, composer and performer considered to be the arbiter of the elegance of pop in France.
In July and August 2017, we spent Un été en Souchon, during which Alain Souchon guided us on a tasty walk through a lifetime of love for song.