Guy Bontempelli

Known as the composer of numerous hits for other artists, Guy Bontempelli was also a singer-songwriter. Born in Champigny-sur-Marne on March 25, 1940, he learned piano and harmony, then studied literature and law, before turning to songwriting out of passion. Both songwriter and composer, he provided songs as early as 1962 for Michèle Arnaud and Jean-Claude Pascal ("Ma jeunesse fout le camp", later covered by Françoise Hardy), as well as for Richard Anthony, who made a hit of "Aranjuez, mon amour", which was widely covered in the instrumental version he arranged for guitarist Joaquín Rodrigo. In addition to other songs for Catherine Sauvage, Françoise Hardy, Dominique Walter, Jennifer (née Annie Meyre), Patachou, Christyne Chartrand, Juliette Gréco, Dalida, Nana Mouskouri, Mireille Mathieu, Brigitte Bardot and Nicoletta, Guy Bontempelli began performing his own songs in 1966, penning "Madrid", "La Femme" and "Quand je vois passer un bateau". Three albums were released until 1970 on the Pathé label, followed by a fourth on Polydor in 1972. However, stage fright prevented him from performing on stage until a performance at the Olympia in 1969. In 1973, he took part in the soundtrack to the film Colinot, trousse-chemise, where he sang a duet with Brigitte Bardot, who was making her last film, directed by Nina Companeez. Guy Bontempelli went on to write for Stone & Charden, and wrote the libretto for Éric Charden's highly successful musical Mayflower (1975). He hosted the television program Paroles et musiques and worked on other shows, including Thérèse, Paroles de lumière (1990). A double CD compilation of his songs was released in 2000. Married to singers Christine Delaroche and Isabelle "Bee" Michelin, for whom he also created songs, Guy Bontempelli retired to Buis-les-Baronnies (Drôme) and died in Marseille on December 16, 2014, aged 74.

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