The musician Charles Dumont, composer of the legendary “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Edith Piaf, died on the night of Sunday to Monday in Paris at the age of 95. He had also collaborated with Dalida, Bourvil and Barbra Streisand.
Singer-songwriter, Charles Dumont died following a long illness at his home, his partner announced to AFP.
The career of this trained trumpeter took a major turn at the turn of the 1960s when he convinced the star Edith Piaf to perform one of his compositions, after having suffered several refusals. “No, I regret nothing” has since become an unforgettable La Môme standard, known throughout the world.
“My mother brought me into the world, but Edith Piaf brought me into the world,” said the singer and pianist born in Cahors on March 26, 1929. “Without her, I would never have done everything I “I did neither as a composer nor as a singer”, he assured during an interview with AFP in 2015.
For Charles Dumont, this meeting marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with Piaf, which gave birth to more than thirty pieces, including “Mon Dieu” and “Les floflons du bal”.
>> Listen to the Téléchargement program dedicated to Charles Dumont:
A reconversion into a “crooner”
Throughout his nearly sixty-year career, Charles Dumont has also collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Dalida, Bourvil, Juliette Gréco and Tino Rossi. He converted to a crooner at the end of the 1960s, abandoning his protest songs. He then had a series of albums where love took the lion’s share. The album “Une femme” earned him the Charles-Cros Academy prize in 1973.
His last appearance on stage dates back to 2019 at the Théâtre de la Tour Eiffel. “When you come back in front of an audience, who comes to see you as they did 20, 30 or 40 years ago and gives you the same welcome, then they give you back your 20 years,” he said.
>> On September 24, 2013, Charles Dumont recounts the composition of “Non, je ne regrette rien”:
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