Michel Berger
Michel Berger (born Michel Jean Hamburger; 28 November 1947 – 2 August 1992) was a French singer and songwriter. He was a figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer and as a songwriter for such artists as Françoise Hardy, Johnny Hallyday, and his wife, France Gall. He died of a heart attack at the age of 44. Biography. Berger was born as Michel Jean Hamburger on 28 November 1947 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the son of Jewish parents, Dr. Jean Hamburger and Annette Haas, a concert pianist of Swiss-Jewish origin. Berger first  became known to the French public in the 1960s as singer of hit song "Salut les copains", after which he became record producer and songwriter for EMI and where he wrote amongst others "Les Girafes" for Bourvil in 1967. In the early 1970s, he moved to Warner Music where he produced the early albums of Véronique Sanson, and "Allah" once again in 1989. In 1973, he was responsible for producing the album "Message personnel", the title track of which relaunched Françoise Hardy's career. He also produced the single "Je suis moi" for Hardy. Berger started writing for France Gall  in 1974, produced all her albums from 1975 on, and married her on 22 June 1976. In 1978, he composed the musical: "Starmania", with lyrics by Luc Plamondon. The musical starred Gall, Claude Dubois, Daniel Balavoine, Diane Dufresne, Nanette Workman, Éric Estève and Fabienne Thibeault. It was a big success in France in the 1980s and 1990s. An English version, entitled "Tycoon", was released in 1991 with lyrics by Tim Rice, but it did not achieve the success the original version had in France. Unfortunately, the two musicals Berger worked on immediately after "Starmania" did not fare well. In 1980 , Berger partnered with producer Jérôme Savary and lyricist Luc Plamondon to produce the musical "La Légende de Jimmy", inspired by the life of James Dean. However, this bombed. Berger's next musical project, "", was conceived as an American musical, co-arranged with Michel Bernholc, and recorded in the United States, with lead vocals by singers Rosanne Cash, Bill Champlin, Lynn Carey, Jennifer Warnes, and Bill Withers among others. Though the show itself never saw the light of day, the album was nevertheless released in 1982. The album was a complete flop, and is not generally known outside of a few  fansites. Berger also scored several film projects over the years, which included "Mektoub", a 1970 film by Algerian Director Ali Ghalem, Robert Benayoun's "Sérieux comme le plaisir" in 1975, Jean-Paul Rappeneau's "Tout feu, tout flamme" in 1982 and "Rive droite, rive gauche" the 1984 film by Philippe Labro. He was known for his Orangina advertisement jingle. Berger was one of a handful of French artists who participated readily and actively in humanitarian acts: in 1985, he worked exclusively for "Action Écoles" alongside Gall, Richard Berry and Daniel Balavoine, then later for Ethiopia with Renaud ("Chanteurs Sans Frontières