Jacques Brel

About Jacques Brel

Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and film director born April 8,1929 in Schaarbeek, Brussels, Belgium and died October 9, 1978 in Bobigny, France. Sang predominantly in French but also had quite a few versions of his songs in Dutch. In his song “Marieke” he combined Dutch and French in the lyrics. His most famous songs include “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (“Laat Me Niet Alleen”), “Le Plat Pays (“Mijn Vlakke Land”) and “Marieke”. In 1964 American artist Rod McKuen started to translate Brel’s songs into English. Brel’s penultimate album of unreleased songs, “J’Arrive” (or “I Arrive”), was released in 1968. His final album “Les Marquises” sold over one million copies and hit number one in the French album charts.