Legrand, Michel

Legrand, Michel (1932- ), French composer, conductor, songwriter, arranger, pianist, and singer. Born in Paris, Legrand studied with Nadia Boulanger after entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11. A proficient and versatile pianist, he spent much of his early career accompanying various singers including Bing Crosby, Juliette Greco, and himself, and conducted and arranged for Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier.

Since his twenties he has recorded over 100 albums as singer, conductor, arranger, and accompanist. A hugely talented all-round musician, Legrand has a gift for beautiful melody and rich harmonies, inspired by his love of popular music and jazz. Many of his songs, often written with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, have become standards, and include “The Windmills of Your Mind” (1969), “What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life” (1970), and “The Summer Knows” (1975). They have been recorded by some of the world’s greatest artists, including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, and Ray Charles.

Legrand’s career as a composer of film music started for the French New Wave directors in the early 1960s. He has had a fruitful working partnership with director Jacques Demy, for whom he scored the well-known film-opera The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and its sequel The Young Girls Of Rochefort (1968). Later he was to work on The Go-Between (1971) and A Doll’s House (1973), both for Joseph Losey, the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), and in 1994 on Prêt-à-Porter for Robert Altman. He has won Academy Awards (Oscars) for the films The Thomas Crown Affair (1968, Best Song, for “The Windmills of Your Mind”), Summer of ‘42 (1971, Best Score), and Yentl (1983, Best Score). In 1988 Legrand wrote and directed an autobiographical film of his own, Five Days In June.