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“Le coup de soleil”: Richard Cocciante’s summer love song originates from a real heartache
“Le coup de soleil”, a passionate lament for a lost love, has become one of the essential French songs of the summer. Le 13 Heures looks back at its origins, and the inimitable touch of its performer, Richard Cocciante.
(France 2)
“Le coup de soleil”, a passionate lament for a lost love, has become one of the essential French songs of the summer. Le 13 Heures looks back at its origins, and the inimitable touch of its performer, Richard Cocciante.
True holiday memories in themselves, summer songs always set the tone: holidays, beaches, tropics, sun… Words chosen for unforgettable melodies. Monday, July 22, the 1 p.m. news returns to “Sunburn” by Richard Cocciante. In the 1980s, the singer was still for many the Italian Ricardo Cocciante, famous for his love songs. “Sunburn” will put the spotlight back on his career, with the help of singer-songwriter Jean-Paul Dréau.
The latter remembers being inspired by a heartache: “My girlfriend had left for the United States and I was miserable as a rock”he explains. In a few notes, the bout of depression becomes a stroke of genius. Richard Cocciante visits him at his office and is immediately won over by the song, which he will have no trouble making his own. “The song was pretty static, and I thought ‘but in the end maybe I can try to make something of my own'”says Richard Cocciante, who therefore chose to “go up an octave” in the last part of the title.
