FEUILLES MORTES, LES
Created on 13/04/2001Latest update on 13/12/2023
Artist: Orch. de la Société des Concerts des Conservatoires
Author: Joseph Kosma
Label: Pathé Marconi
Year: 1946
In film Les Portes de la nuit, Roger Désormière conducting. The tune is all over that movie: on harmonica by a Parisian clochard, hummed by Yves Montand, sung by co-star Nathalie Nattier and there's a jazz version by Aimé Barelli.
Covers:
- 1948:
Cora Vaucaire [first recording, for Le Chant du Monde; vocal version]
- 1948:
- 1948:
Jacqueline François [in short movie]
- 1949:
- 1949:
- 1950:
Jo Stafford [probably the oldest English version as Autumn Leaves; translated by Johnny Mercer]
- 1950:
Bing Crosby [idem; no hit]
- 1950:
Mitch Miller [idem]
- 1950:
Edith Piaf [French and English version]
- 1951:
- 1955:
Nat King Cole [in film Autumn Leaves, once a French poem, now a Hollywood film; he also cut a French version in '65]
- 1955:
Johnny Mercer [vocal: Helen O'Connell]
- 1955:
Roger Williams [still as Autumn Leaves; instrumental n°1 US]
- 1955:
- 1955:
- 1956:
- 1956:
- 1956:
Enoch Light [sampled afterwards]
- 1956:
- 1957:
- 1958:
- 1960:
- 1962:
- 1964:
Willeke Alberti [as Vallende Bladeren]
- 1965:
- 1966:
- 1966:
- 1968:
Sylvie Vartan [melody used in La Maritza; sued successfully by Kosma for plagiarism]
- 1969:
- 1974:
- 1978:
- 1979:
- 1980:
- 1980:
- 1981:
Will Tura [as Herfstsymfonie]
- 1983:
- 1983:
- 1984:
- 1990:
- 1992:
- 1994:
- 1995:
Keith Jarrett [At The Blue Note]
- 1995:
- 1996:
- 1997:
Paula Cole [in film Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, because of this Johnny Mercer translation]
- 1999:
- 2006:
RJD2 [Enoch Light sample in A Beautiful Mine; afterwards used in French soap commercial]
- 2006:
- 2009:
Iggy Pop [in French]
- 2010:
Eric Clapton [as Autumn Leaves]
- 2013:
Mark Lanegan [idem]
- 2015:
- 2017:
- 2020:
One of the strongest lost love verses ever recorded, a Jacques Prévert poem on a Joseph Kosma tune. It all started with a melody composed for a pas-de-deux in ballet piece Le Rendez-vous, created by Roland Petit's danse company in 1945 (stage decorated by Picasso). Moved to tears, Marcel Carné used the storyline for a film script, which he directed as Les Portes de la nuit. For the leading parts he had Marlène Dietrich and Jean Gabin in mind but they both declined; Gabin because Dietrich did. No Dietrich meant no pas-de-deux tune, as Kosma wanted la Dietrich to sing it, with the Prévert poem for lyrics. What survived were these early instrumentals and these cut-off vocal versions by Yves Montand and Nathalie Nattier, both standing in for Gabin & Dietrich. The film is long forgotten, the melody not at all. Early in '48 it was first cut by Cora Vaucaire, a lesser known Rive-gauche chansonnière, except for being the first to record Les Feuilles mortes. That's when Montand recorded his version, followed by Jacqueline François whose '49 version was filmed while autumn leaves were falling; call it the first French clip. Triggering a chain reaction: Juliette Gréco and Edith Piaf adopted it, the latter even in English. Then there was this memorable live version by Yves Montand at the Etoile in Paris, a recital recorded and released in full, confirming both the singer's and the song's potential. With 2 million records sold, the version by Roger Williams became the first instrumental hit in America. Many jazz versions followed and so did Hollywood. Autumn Leaves became a movie, with Nat King Cole singing the title song. Serge Gainsbourg mentions the song in his La Chanson de Prévert and the leaves keep on falling.
