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Birth of Louis Charles Auguste Claude Trenet
Louis Charles...Trenet, known as Charles Trenet, was born on May 18 in 1913. He was born in Narbonne, France. -
Boarding School in Béziers
His parents, whom divorced when Charles was only seven years, sent him off to boarding school in Béziers, but he returned having suffered from typhoid fever months later. -
Il a réussi le bac!!
In his final year au lycée, he passed le bac with high marks though he was said to have hated mathematics. -
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Charles and Johnny
Charles began work with Swiss pianist, Johnny Hess, n 1933 and they performed at several French venues and recorded 18 discs. By '35, they appeared regularly on the radio.Then he was called for national service in '36, so that was the end of duo. -
Trenet's National Service
During Trenet's service, he served in the barracks at Salon-de-Provence after which he was demobilized and moved back to Paris. As he performed during WWII, there were often German authorities. He was once accused of being Jewis, but he proved to them he was in fact not Jewish by showing his family tree. -
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Au États-Unis d'Amérique
After the war, Charles Trenet chose to move to the United States. He lived here for only a few years, but was an instant success nontheless. He performed some very triumphant concerts at New York's Bagdad and was then approached by Hollywood. He was a big hit in the US! He, in addition, met people like Louis Armstrong and became good friends with Charlie Chaplin. He then moved back to paris on September 14, 1951 when he made a comeback at "Théâtre de l'Étoile" including ten new songs in his act. -
"28 Days in Prison"
Trenet was put in prison for 28 days under charges for "corrupting the morals" of 4 young men of the age of 19. Those charges were later dropped, but what was then publicized (brought to the public) was his sexuality). Trenet admitted to being homosexual, something he was never public about. -
Farewelll, Goodbye, Adieu
Shortly after his 60th birthday celebration (1973), Trenet announced his retirement from the music career in his last performance at Olympia. His mother then passed in '79 and shortly after that, he shut himself away from the rest of the world. -
Not So Farewell?
In 1981, Trenet came with another album devoted to his sentimental. childhood memories. He was then persuaded out of retirement again in '83. This persuasion resulted in a nightly three week series of concerts at the Palais des congrès in Paris in 1986. And on May 21 of '99, he came yet again with a brand new album entitled Les poètes descendent dans la rue (Poets Take to the Streets). -
The Last Days Are Near, Sadly
Once old age slowly started to creep in on Trenet, he was rushed to the hospital after a heart stroke. he had to stay in hospital recovery for a few weeks. By that fall, he was apparently well enough to attend the dress rehearsal for Charles Aznavour's show at the Palais des Congrès (on the 25 October); this would be charles trenet's last public appearance. -
13 Avenue Charles Trenet
The house in Narbonne, France was rendered into a tiny museum in which tourists could see parts of Charles' childhood and his family life as well as original drafts of the songs which had made his career. -
Death of Le Fou Chantant
Charles Trenet died in Créteil, France on February 19 at age 87. He had had another stroke days before, but was said to have died peacefully.
