Charles Dumont, composer of the legendary “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf, has died

“My mother gave birth to me but Édith Piaf gave birth to me“, said this musician born in Cahors on March 26, 1929, following a long illness at his Parisian home.

First fascinated by Charles Trénet – whom he sang by heart as a child -, by Jean Sablon and by Louis Armstrong, Charles Dumont became a trumpeter at a very young age. Encouraged by his boilermaker father. It was only afterwards that he discovered his vocation as a composer for Lucienne Delisle, Marcel Amont. With Edith Piaf, it's more complicated. She rejected him three times before agreeing to receive him with the lyricist Michel Vaucaire. Charles Dumont recounted the birth in 1956 of No, I don't regret anything on France Musique :

“I give Michel Vaucaire the music, he gives me the lyrics. I ask him what it's called? He answers me: “I don’t regret anything.” I tell him: “I don’t like it.” He answers me: “Yes, but I made an appointment with Edith Piaf!” I then said to him: “Listen, send me to whoever you want, wherever you want, but I don't want to go see Piaf. I went anyway. We met on October 5, 1960 and we didn't never left each other until his death!“

An international classic hijacked during the generals' putsch in Algiers

This standard of “La Môme”, known throughout the world, will also have a surprising and little-known trajectory. Symbol of its posterity, the paratroopers of the Foreign Legion took it back less than a year after its launch. And an unapproved version serves those nostalgic for French Algeria. This song even became the anthem of the generals' putsch in Algiers in April 1961. In the archives, we do not find reactions from Edith Piaf or Charles Dumont.

No, I don't regret anything who will participate at the end of 1960 in Piaf's recital in the rescue of Bruno Coquatrix's Olympia. The famous Parisian hall was then very close to bankruptcy, torn between the legacy of the singing tours of the 1930s and the variety of yéyés. the repertoire signed by Charles Dumont will not leave the poster for five months!

Charles Dumont remained associated with “la Môme” until his death in 1963, the time to write around thirty scores for it, including The balls of the ball, The lovers or My God. Piaf, but not only that, the one who continued to perform on stage until 2019 also worked for Dalida, Barbara Streisand, Tino Rossi, in his favorite register: the love song.