Juliette Greco

• Genre: French Pop

About

A guiding light of post-war bohemian France, Juliette Greco has a story to beat all -- or at least many -- stories. When she was just 16, she, her mother and her sister were arrested for working with the French resistance against Nazi occupiers. They were thrown into jail, and Greco's mother and sister were sent to an internment camp for the duration of the war. Released back onto Paris streets because she was so young, Greco had to make her own way. She discovered the bohemian, intellectual world of the Latin Quarter, where she would return after the war. She quickly became the face of the bohemian whirlwind that followed World War II -- though she had, as yet, done nothing -- appearing on magazine covers around the world. She took advantage of this newfound fame to launch a singing career, and her dense voice and gravitas-laden delivery solidified her fame. French writers and poets penned lyrics for many of her songs, and in the mid-'60s she went on to star in a television show. Starting in the '70s, Greco staged a series of comebacks. In 2003 she released an album to critical acclaim, and she followed it up with 2007's album of classic French chansons, Le Temps d'une Chanson.

- Sarah Bardeen