He left in front of a packed house. It was March 26, 2018, his 89th birthday. Charles Dumont – who died on the night of Sunday to Monday, in Paris, at the age of 95 – had made his official farewell to the public in a Bobino filled to the brim. “It’s good to leave with the mention complete on the poster. This was not always the case,” he confided to us with a broad smile. The singer-musician received us in his apartment in the 6th arrondissement, where he spent his life. “For my neighbors, I was for a long time the pain in the ass on the 3rd floor, who spends his day at the piano,” he laughed. And then after October 5, 1960 at 5 p.m., everything changed. I became Edith Piaf's composer. » There was no need to ask him any questions on this subject, he naturally came back to this “Kid” who changed his destiny 64 years ago.
“I had already met her to suggest songs and it didn't go well. She had kicked me out of her house three times and I didn't want to go there anymore. But the lyricist Michel Vaucaire convinced me to try our luck one last time. » They then returned to see the singer with “Non, je ne regrette rien”, on October 5, 1960. “I sat down at the piano and played my composition. As I listened, I saw Edith's face go from hostility to revelation. She then said to me: Young man, this song will be an international success, it will stand the test of time and you will live with it all your life. »
