French lyricist Jean-Paul Dréau, who wrote many songs, including the hit “Le coup de soleil” sung by Richard Cocciante, died Monday at the age of 73, his loved ones announced Tuesday.
His wife Annick Dréau-Lemetayer Benchetrit published on Facebook “the last photo” of Jean-Paul Dréau, taken on Sunday, the day before his death from a “lightning pulmonary embolism”. “My sun has gone out,” she wrote.
Born in Oran in Algeria on June 12, 1953, Jean-Paul Dréau, whose real name is Jean-Paul Benchetrit, wrote and composed numerous successful songs for Michel Polnareff (“Je t’aime”), Hervé Vilard (“Viens”), Bibie (“Tout gently”) and Chimène Badi (“Un jour de trop qui passe”). Elton John also covered one of his songs, “I want tenderness”.
His biggest hit, “Le coup de soleil,” was sung by Richard Cocciante in the early 1980s.
“Ton ‘coup d’soleil’ is certainly one of the most popular songs in France. Those that make a songwriter an essential artist of our French song,” wrote Valéry Zeitoun, former boss of the AZ label, in a tribute message posted on Instagram.
