Celebrating Jacques Brel谷歌涂鸦标志标志

Celebrating Jacques Brel谷歌涂鸦标志
15 November 2020

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Toulouse-based guest artist Antoine Maillard, celebrates Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel. Widely considered one of the most famous French-language singers in Europe, Brel cultivated a global following and made music that continues to move audiences to this day. On this day in 1966, Brel graced the stage one last time to deliver an emotional farewell performance at the “Palais des Beaux-Arts” in his hometown of Brussels.

Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born on April 8, 1929 in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Part of a wealthy family, he expressed interest in writing stories and poems during his teen years before eventually settling into a job with the family business. Unsatisfied with this work, Brel joined a youth charity organization where he began to sing in small venues and recorded his first single before moving to Paris, where he soon rose to stardom.

Brel’s second album, “Quand on n’a que l'amour” (“If We Only Have Love,” 1957), was a hit and its title track won the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros award. He continued to release a string of hit singles, confirming his celebrity status throughout Europe, and embarked on exhaustive tours until his voluntary retirement from concert performances in 1967. While in New York on his final tour, Brel was inspired to act and thus, he found a new creative outlet. One of his most notable films, “Le Far West,” (“Far West,” 1973) was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s most prestigious award: the Palme d’Or. Not only was Brel the star of the film, he was also the co-writer and director.

A man of many interests, Brel learned to sail and crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by 1975. He eventually settled in the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific. In 2017, Belgium honored Brel with a commemorative statue.