French chanteuse Hélène Martin was born in Paris on December 10, 1928. The daughter of an academic, she began performing as a chanson singer in the fifties. She built a loyal fan base, and became something of a bohemian insider, befriending numerous writers and poets. She often utilized poetry as inspiration for her original songs. By 1961 she had been awarded the Grand Prix du Disque, France’s most celebrated award for recording excellence. The celebrated poet Jean Genet was an early advocate, and Hélène Martin recorded some of his works. Her ability to bring her own style to the words of poets led to a book about her career written by noted surrealist Philippe Soupault. Stretching herself into another artistic medium, she adapted Jean Giono’s Jean le Bleu into a movie in 1979. Some of her most celebrated work was collected on the 1996 album Liberté Femme. As the first decade of the 21st century came to an end, she headlined at the historic Bouffes du Nord theater for a farewell performance. She stayed true to her word and did not stage another concert before her death on February 21, 2021.
