Françoise Hardy

Hardy at the Grand Gala du Disque in the Netherlands, October 1963

Meeting Princess Margriet and sports executive Jaap van Praag.

Receiving the Edison Award in the "Youth" category from writer and TV personality Godfried Bomans.

On 14 May 1961, Hardy auditioned for the French label Disques Vogue, where was received by directors Serge Goron and Léo Vidaly, who recommended that she take music theory and harmony lessons with a pianist.[12] Her good looks impressed Vogue sound engineer André Bernot—feeling that she "would make a nice record cover"—who offered to teach her some rudiments of music theory in order to improve her sense of rhythm.[12] Bernot later recorded a four-track demo with her, which he submitted to Jacques Wolfsohn, the most influential director at Vogue.[12] At that time, Wolfsohn was looking for a female singer to record "Oh oh chéri", a French-language version of Bobby Lee Trammell's song "Uh Oh".[9][12] After an audition in person, Wolfsohn immediately offered her a one-year contract,[9] which she signed on 14 November 1961.[12] Upon learning of Hardy's new record deal, Mireille Hartuch presented her student at the Petit Conservatoire TV show on 6 February 1962, in what has been described as "one of the most popular French TV extracts of all time".[5][13] In a much remembered exchange, the hostess asked the young singer what the English-language "yeah! yeah!" in her lyrics meant, after she performed "La fille avec toi" on her guitar.[13][9] The transliteration "yé-yé" was later popularized by sociologist Edgar Morin through an article published in Le Monde on 7 July 1963, in which he analyzed the burgeoning youth-led pop music scene.[14][15] The yé-yé phenomenon was spearheaded by the massively popular radio program Salut les copains—created by Daniel Filipacchi—and a successful magazine of the same name.[14][16]

Recorded in the spring, Vogue released her first extended play in May 1962, which included "Oh oh chéri" along with her own compositions "Il est parti un jour", "J'suis d'accord" and the sentimental ballad "Tous les garçons et les filles", which despite her wishes was relegated as a B-side because the label deemed it too melancholic for young audiences.[17] On 5 June 1962, the singer proudly shared the record sleeve at the Petit Conservatoire.[18] In early October, Hardy filmed a black-and-white music video for "Tous les garçons et les filles" directed by Pierre Badel, which aired on TV show Toute la chanson.[12] The song was chosen at the initiative of Hardy and the show's producer André Salvet, despite Wolfsohn's reluctance to promote it.[12] Hardy was introduced to the large majority of French people on the evening of 28 October 1962, when the clip was rebroadcast during an interlude of the televised results of the presidential election referendum.[4][19][20] The exposure propelled the song to widespread popularity among young people—particularly teenage girls—aided by the wide airplay it received by radio stations, starting with youth-favorite Europe n° 1.[17] "Tous les garçons et les filles" was further popularized by a Scopitone music video directed by Claude Lelouch, which shows the singer in an amusement ride alongside two girls whose skirts are lifted up by the wind.[20]

Building on the momentum generated by the song's success, Vogue released two more EPs almost simultaneously, which were later compiled along with the first one in a debut studio album commonly known as Tous les garçons et les filles.[21] In France, the LP format was initially viewed with skepticism,[22] so Hardy's first series of albums were compilations of previously released four-track, 7-inch records,[23] a format that was known as "super 45 [rpm]".[9][21] Most of her full-length records were released without a title and bearing only her name on the cover, coming to be referred to by the title of their most popular song.[24][25] Her debut studio album was soon awarded the Trophée de la Télévision, as well as the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque award given by the Académie Charles Cros.[21] She later stated: "It would have made me even more happy if I had received it a little later for records better made than this."[21] On 11 May 1962, Hardy made her debut as a live performer alongside other young singers at the Disco Revue gala in Nancy.[26] She performed on Christmas Eve in Brussels and underwent a successful tour in Southern France from late 1962 to early 1963.[26] By early 1963, 500,000 copies of "Tous les garçons et les filles" had been sold in France,[27] which rose to two and a half million in the following months.[20]

Hardy arriving in Barcelona in 1963, greeted by Hispavox international director Luis Calvo

Between late 1962 and early 1963, Hardy's singles "J'suis daccord", "Le temps de l'amour" and "Tous les garçons et les filles" topped the French singles' chart.[28] In January 1963, she graced the cover of Paris Match in a special article devoted to the "new millionaires of song" and she signed a new five-year contract with Vogue, as well as an agreement with Editions Musicales Alpha, created by Wolfsohn.[20] In February 1963, Hardy appeared on TV show Cinq colonnes à la une alongside Sylvie Vartan and Sheila; they would go on to be considered the three biggest idols of the yé-yé era, each one embodying a different modern girl archetype.[29] On the third of that month, she made her first performance at the prestigious Olympia concert venue in Paris, where she opened for Richard Anthony.[30] Between 26 February and 10 April, Hardy took part in the Gala des Stars concert tour sponsored by Europe n° 1 and Salut les copains, to great success.[31] Between two of the tour's dates,[31] she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest in London, singing "L'amour s'en va"; she finished joint fifth with 25 points, level with France's Alain Barrière.[32][33] "L'amour s'en va" reached no. 5 in the French charts in June 1963.[34] In October, Hardy released her second studio album Le premier bonheur du jour.[15] That month, she received the "Youth" Edison Award at the Grand Gala du Disque in Scheveningen, Netherlands.[21] She was handed the trophy by author Godfried Bomans, who praised her as a "creative artist" that knew how to impose "a personal style without trying to imitate the Americans".[21] Between 7 November and 18 December 1963, Hardy once again performed as Anthony's opening act at the Olympia and was well received by the press, who had hitherto criticized her stiff live performances.[35]

As a leading figure of the yé-yé craze, Hardy found herself at the forefront of the French music scene and became the country's most exportable female singer.[5] Beginning in 1963, translated re-recordings of "Tous les garçons et les filles" began to be exported to Italian, German and English-speaking markets.[27] The first foreign-language country where the singer found success was Italy, where the song became "Quelli della mia età" and sold 255,000 copies, topping the singles' chart between April and October and dropping to second place between July and August, behind Rita Pavone's "Cuore".[36] At the end of the summer, she recorded new songs in Milan,[36] which were included in the Italian release Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano.[37] The single "L'età dell'amore" / "E all'amore che penso" also topped the Italian charts.[36] On 11 October, Hardy performed in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the fourth Great Gala of the Sedería Española.[36] In November 1963, she embarked on her first Italian tour, which mostly visited small coastal towns.[36] The singer was also successful in Portugal and travelled to Lisbon in late 1963 to appear in several TV shows.[36]

Hardy in a publicity photograph in Billboard, promoting the American release of her music via Kapp, 1965

At the peak of the British Invasion phenomenon, Hardy sought to modernize her music,[38] opting to leave the poor quality of French studios and sound engineers to go record her songs at Pye Records' studios in London.[39] Working with producer Tony Hatch in February 1964, she recorded an EP that included a cover of "Catch a Falling Star" and three adaptations of her hits: "Find Me a Boy" ("Tous les garçons et les filles"), "Only Friends" ("Ton meilleur ami") and "I Wish It Were Me" ("J'aurais voulu").[36] On 21 February, she promoted "Catch a Falling Star" on TV show Ready Steady Go![36] English audiences initially preferred her recordings in French,[36] with "Tous les garçons et les filles" entering the UK Singles Chart on 1 July 1964 at number thirty-six.[40]

Her 1965 English-language single "All Over the World" was a substantial hit in the United Kingdom, reaching the Top 20 and staying in the charts for fifteen weeks.[41] It was also successful in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand,[38] probably being her most popular recording among English-speaking audiences.[41] She promoted the song with performances on the British TV shows Ready Steady Go!, Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club, Thank Your Lucky Stars and Top of the Pops.[42]

In 1965, Hardy flew to New York City to sign a record deal with Kapp, allowing them to distribute her records in the United States.[42] The label released her debut studio album under the title The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris!, as well as the single "However Much"—an English-language version of the previously released track "Et même..."[42] While in the United States, Hardy made her first appearance in American television in NBC's program Hullabaloo, where she performed "However Much", a bilingual version of Charles Trenet's "Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?" and a rendition of "The Girl from Ipanema".[42]

The singer became famous overnight in Germany after her 28 April 1965 appearance on TV show Portrait in Musik, in a series of staged musical performances directed by Truck Branss.[30][42] Shortly after, the album In Deutschland was released, which, in addition to containing translated versions of her previous songs, included five original compositions.[42] Her most popular track in Germany was "Frag' den Abendwind", which remained in the national singles' chart for twenty-four weeks.[42]

Hardy in 1966

Pressured by her French and Italian record companies,[30] Hardy took part in the Sanremo Music Festival 1966, where she reached the finals with the Edoardo Vianello-penned song "Parlami di te".[43]

On 12 April 1966, Hardy was among the forty-six performers that took part in the famous group photograph shot by Jean-Marie Périer for Salut Les Copains, which became a symbol of the yé-yé era and came to be known in France as the "photo of the century" (French: "photo du siècle").[4][44]

Beginning in late 1967, Hardy began to release her records under her own production company Asparagus, although Vogue continued to distribute them.[45] She later regretted this decision, recalling in 1999: "Wolfsohn had sensed that the singers were going to want to be more and more independent. So it was he himself who suggested that I create a production house. At first I was very seduced, then I realized that it was a trap: the CEO of Vogue, Léon Cabat, was also in this production company and, between them, owned the majority of the shares. This has given rise to a lot of harassment, lawsuits."[45] Her seventh French studio album Ma jeunesse fout le camp...—the first one produced under Asparagus—was released in November 1967.[45]

Hardy gave her last three live performances in Kinshasa, Congo during June 1967.[46]

On the advice of English producer Noel Rodgers, Hardy recorded her second English-language album in the spring of 1968, known variously as En anglais, The Second English Album, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Loving, depending on the country.[46]

Hardy in Amsterdam, December 1969

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hardy sought to assert herself as an artist, although this implied less commercial repercussion than that which she had achieved with Disques Vogue.[47] In 1970, the singer definitively broke up with the label and signed a three-year contract with Sonopresse, a subsidiary of Hachette.[48] She also created a new production company—called Hypopotam—and founded her own music publishing company—Kundalini.[48] Hardy received high advances from Sonopresse, which allowed her to finance her own projects.[49] She has described this period as "the happiest time", as she was now able to work independently on her music endeavours.[48] This transitional period in her career was kicked off by the 1970 publication of several compilation albums—including the French release Françoise—as well as the studio albums One-Nine-Seven-Zero—recorded in English—and Träume, her last German-language release.[48]

Her first French studio album produced under Hypopotam was Soleil, released in the spring of 1970.[50] It featured a wide array of arrangers, including Bernard Estardy, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Mick Jones, Saint-Preux, Simon Napier-Bell and Tommy Brown from Nero and the Gladiators.[51][52] In the summer of 1970, Hardy released her penultimate Italian-language single "Lungo il mare", written by Giuseppe Torrebruno, Luigi Albertelli and Donato Renzetti.[50] Neither this one nor the next Italian single—which included translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sole ti amo") and "Le crabe" ("Il granchio")—obtained success.[50] She also recorded in Spanish for the first time, in a single that contained translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sol") and "J'ai coupé le téléphone" ("Corté el teléfono").[50][53] In the spring of 1971, Hardy released the Patrick Dewaere-penned single "T'es pas poli", reaching out to the singer-songwriter after being impressed with his performances at the Café de la Gare in Paris.[49][50] To promote the song, Dewaere and the singer performed it on several television shows.[49] Despite counting on Hardy's fame, the record did not sell as anticipated.[49]

In the early 1970s, Hardy met Tuca—pseudonym of Valeniza Zagni da Silva—a Brazilian singer and guitarist based in Paris, and they soon became close friends.[49][54] After attending the Festival Internacional da Canção in Rio de Janeiro—and having come into contact with the music of Brazil—Hardy decided to make an album with the Brazilian musician in late 1970.[25][49][55] It was the first time in the singer's career that she was able to work with a songwriter on songs before entering the recording studio, in addition to participating in the choice of string arrangements.[49] The resulting album, La question, was released on 16 October 1971,[56] promoted through the singles "Le martien",[57] "Même sous la pluie"[58] and "Rêve".[59] Although it was highly acclaimed by the French press upon release, the album sold poorly in comparison to other works by the singer,[5][60] as it received little promotion on television, and failed to gain traction on radio stations and among audiences at the time.[55][61] Nevertheless, La question has generated a dedicated cult following since its release[55][62][63] and is regarded as Hardy's artistic peak.[64][63] The singer reflected in 2008:

I have never been as proud of one of my records as I was of [La question]. (...) This album seems to me to be more homogenous, "classier," and sophisticated than my previous efforts, and while it did not enjoy great success with the public at large, at least I can claim that it did touch another audience. (...) Often an ambitious record can be more or less ignored when it is released but ends up having a long life. The sole concern, and it is a valid one, is that some of the artists who played on it were in no position to wait twenty years to feed themselves. I became increasingly concerned about this situation as time passed, even though creating songs remains a very particular life choice, one that involves accepting natural selection and precarious employment.[49]

Following the poor commercial performance of La question, Hardy decided to move towards a different sound and enlisted British arranger Tony Cox to produce her following album.[49] Known as Et si je m'en vais avant toi, L'éclairage or "the orange album"—in reference to its cover—the record was released in November 1972 and promoted through the single "La berlue", released in June.[65] Immediately after finishing Et si je m'en vais avant toi, Hardy and Cox recorded the English-language release If You Listen, which included cover versions of several little-known American and British songs.[49] Hardy's Sonopresse period, which had started off well thanks to the success of Comment te dire adieu? and Soleil, ended on a sour note with the commercial failure of La question, Et si je m'en vais avant toi and If You Listen—which she nevertheless considered her "best [albums] by far".[49] After her contract expired, the record label decided not to renew it.[66] The singer was relatively unbothered by the poor sales, feeling that she had been artistically vindicated with these records.[5][49]

Around 1972, Hardy contacted songwriter and producer Michel Berger with the intention of working with him, after being impressed by his work with Véronique Sanson.[67][66] Berger agreed to produce and arrange her following album, but was unable to write all of its music owing to other obligations.[66] He wrote two of the record's twelve songs—"Message personnel" and "Première rencontre"—and took the responsibility for finding the other ten immediately after, which Hardy felt were subpar in comparison.[67] Following a period of artistic independence, the singer again found herself working under the hectic schedule of a demanding producer.[68] She later described Berger as "a man in a hurry, with a thousand things to do, a thousand things to think about, a thousand people to see".[68] The album's recording sessions took place in July 1973, soon after Hardy had given birth to her son Thomas Dutronc.[67] Message personnel was released that year on Warner Bros. Records—[69] with whom Hardy signed a three-year contract—[66] and was greeted with commercial and critical success.[5] Its title track was a big commercial success in France that reignited the singer's career.[68] She promoted the project with appearances on several French TV shows, including Dimanche Salvador, Sports en fête, Top à, La Une est à vous, Midi trente, Minuit chez vous, Tempo, Averty's Follies and Domino.[68]

For her following project, Hardy wrote ten songs that revolved around a common, underlying story.[70][71] To put the words into music, she mainly relied on her friend Catherine Lara, also working with Jean-Pierre Castelain and Gérard Kawczynski (with whom she had worked in Message personnel), André Georget and Michel Sivy.[71] Produced by Hughes de Courson, the concept album Entr'acte was released in November 1974 and promoted through the songs "Ce soir", "Je te cherche" and "Il y a eu des nuits".[71] It was a commercial failure.[72] The singer then decided to stay away from music and devote more time to raising her child, releasing only two singles between 1975 and 1976.[5][71] The first one was the Jean-Michel Jarre-penned "Que vas-tu faire?"—backed by "Le compte a rebours"—[73] which sold poorly.[72][71] The second one was "Femme parmi les femmes", the main theme of Claude Lelouch's film Si c'était à refaire, featuring lyrics by Pierre Barouh and music by Francis Lai.[71]

Around 1976, Berger recontacted Hardy with the intention of signing her to his new record label Apache and she sent him the songs "Ton enfance", "Star" and "L'impasse".[72] However, Berger was keen on releasing an album with compositions structured around a unifying concept, so she gave up the idea of joining the label.[72] She finally signed a three-year contract with Pathé-Marconi.[74]

Hardy in Deauville, Normandy, July 1992

For 1977's Star, her first album released under Pathé-Marconi, Hardy enlisted Gabriel Yared as a producer and arranger.[74] The "patchwork album" includes six tracks written by Hardy, along with songs written by Serge Gainsbourg, William Sheller, Catherine Lara, Luc Plamondon, Roland Vincent and Michel Jonasz.[74] At first, their relationship was tense,[74] and Star was recorded under a "strained atmosphere", which earned her the nickname "ice queen".[5][75] According to Frédéric Quinonero, "the singer deemed it necessary to immediately dispel any misunderstanding, physical or sentimental, before being integrating into a faithful friendship."[74] Star was a commercial success that put the singer back into the media spotlight, introducing her work to a new generation of young people.[5] Despite their stiff relationship in the recording studio, Hardy and Yared would continue to work together for nearly six years and record five albums.[5][74] In 1991, the singer recalled her work with the producer:

Gabriel [Yared] is demanding, rigorous and, consequently, disturbing, destabilizing, in work as in friendship. He had great influence over me. The five albums we made together were not easy, there were even tensions on the verge of breaking up, but I consider that it was one of the great chances of my life to find myself again under the guidance of a musician of this dimension.[74]

Her 1978 follow-up Musique saoûle included compositions by Yared, Alain Goldstein and Michel Jonasz.[76] The album changed Hardy's musical direction to a more danceable sound with commercial success, aided by the popularity of lead single "J'écoute de la musique saoule", especially its extended remix version.[77] It was promoted through intensive televised appearances, which showed the singer "awkwardly" performing the track among a dancing crowd.[77] Fueled by the popularity of "J'écoute de la musique saoule" with young people, Yared and collaborator Bernard Ilous worked on her following 1980 album Gin Tonic with an even more commercial approach.[77] Its album cover attempted to present a "furiously modern" image of the singer and was photographed by a collaborator from Façade, a French magazine modelled after Andy Warhol's journal Influence.[77] Gin Tonic was promoted through singles "Jazzy rétro Satanas" and "Juke-box", with only the former achieving modest commercial success.[77] Despite reduced sales and mixed reviews, the singer's respectability remained intact and she was invited as a distinguished guest in Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier's TV show Numéro Un in 1980.[77] Hardy's following album À suivre was released in April 1981 on label Flarenasch, in breach of contract with Pathé-Marconi.[78] It featured a new array of collaborators—presumably because of her dissatisfaction with her previous songs—with Yared enlisting composers Louis Chedid, Pierre Groscolas, Jean-Claude Vannier, Michel Bernholc, Daniel Perreau, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Étienne Roda-Gil.[78] À suivre was promoted through singles "Tamalou" and "Villégiature", with only the former achieving commercial success.[78]

The album Quelqu'un qui s'en va was released in the spring of 1981 and featured an album cover photographed by Serge Gainsbourg.[79]

Décalages was released on 2 May 1988.[80] Promoted as Hardy's final album, it was a commercial success and was certified gold for selling a hundred thousand copies.[80]

In 1990, the singer wrote the song "Fais-moi une place" for Julien Clerc, which was included in his album of the same name.[4]

Hardy resumed her music career in the 1990s, signing a contract with Virgin Records in December 1994.[4]

In 1995, Hardy collaborated with English band Blur in the French version of "To the End", recorded at Abbey Road Studios.[81] It was included as a B-side to their single "Country House".[82]

In 1997, Hardy collaborated with French duo Air in the track "Jeanne", which was included as a B-side to their maxi single "Sexy Boy".[83]

In 2000, her album Clair-obscur received the Grand Prize awarded by the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique.

In 2005, Hardy received the Female Artist of the Year award for her album Tant de belles choses at the Victoires de la Musique.

In 2006, Hardy received the Grande médaille de la chanson française award given by the Académie Française, in recognition of her music career.[84]

In 2012, Hardy celebrated her 50th anniversary in music with the release of her first novel and an album that shared the title L'Amour fou. Diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, the singer declared it her last album but nevertheless returned nearly five years later with the 2018 release of Personne d'autre.

In March 2021, Hardy announced that she could not sing anymore as a consequence of cancer treatments.[85]

Although Hardy's music has covered a wide range of genres, she has maintained a signature sound since the beginning of her career,[119] which is defined by her breathy alto vocals[120] and predilection for melancholic songs.[121][122] Rock & Folk's Basile Farkas has dubbed her the "queen of melancholy",[123] and the singer herself stated in 2012: "In music, I like above all the slow, sad melodies, that stir the knife in the wound. Not in a way that plunges, but in a way that uplifts. Because it feels good that the pains of feelings turn into something beautiful: a beautiful text, a beautiful melody. I still aspire to find the heartbreaking melody that will bring tears to my eyes. A melody whose quality gives it a sacred dimension."[122] Cosette Schulz of Exclaim! described the singer as a "master of crafting simple but stellar tracks".[24] Writers have likened Hardy's music to that of English singer Marianne Faithfull.[124] Comparing both singers, The Guardian's Keith Altham wrote in 2014: "They both sing sad songs with a simple folksy style. They both have the same shy, wistful, almost waif-like appeal about them. They both have a dramatic, 'all-alone' quality about their voices which commands sympathy and attention."[125] Her deadpan delivery, characterized by its "cool, aloof air", has also been compared to that of German singer Nico.[126] The recurring themes of her lyrics are sadness, personal pain, heartache, one-sided love, sleeplessness, boredom, loneliness and confinement.[65][121]

Hardy is known for her demanding attitude towards her music—such as her decision to leave low-quality French studios to go record in London during the mid-1960s—something that set her apart from her French compatriots.[39] As she matured, Hardy honed her own despairing songwriting, but also chose with alacrity the works on offer from leading professionals.[127] Producer Erick Benzi recalled: "From when she was 18, she knew she was different. She was capable of going in front of big artists like Charles Aznavour and saying, 'Your song is crap, I don't want to sing it.' She never made compromises."[128] Tony Cox recalled his experience working with Hardy: "Françoise was good in that she liked things to be slightly more adventurous than the norm. There was a bit of the Left Bank[note 1] about her – she's not your average pop singer, that's for sure."[128] She is also known for her disapproving views towards her skills as a singer and musician,[129][117] telling Rock & Folk in 2018: "I'm not a musician, that's it. By stopping to compose, I went towards ease, but also towards realism. I understood that even if I did learn things, I would never be able to do as well as real melodists. That's why I thought it was best to bring in musicians whose work touched me."[123]

Most of Hardy's musical output took place in the 1960s and is thus the one that attracts the most attention by music journalists. She told The Independent in 1996: "Most people don't really know me artistically. The proof is always having to talk about the Sixties and the Beatles."[127] Her earliest musical tastes were French chanson singers—including Cora Vaucaire, Georges Guétary, Charles Trenet and Jacques Brel—since in the 1950s it was the only music played on the radio.[120][132][2] She has expressed that Trenet "touches [her] more than the others because his music is sad and light".[133] Hardy was also a big fan of singer and songwriter Barbara, who inspired her to write her own compositions.[128] In the early 1960s, she was introduced to English-language rock and roll and Brill Building pop through Radio Luxembourg, receiving inspiration from artists such as Brenda Lee,[60] the Everly Brothers, the Shadows, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, Connie Francis, and especially, Elvis Presley and Paul Anka.[120][134][132][135] Hardy felt "completely spellbound" by these foreign young artists and began to sing and play the guitar to try to imitate them.[2] She recalled in 2008: "I immediately identified with them, because they expressed teenage loneliness and awkwardness over melodies that were much more inspiring than their texts".[9] Although she is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the yé-yé pop phenomenon of the early-to-mid 1960s, she was set apart from her peers by writing much of her own material,[136][137] which allowed her songs to be "devoid of older, male sexualization or control, a privilege not many others of her era enjoyed."[23] She also distanced herself from the other yé-yé singers by "eschewing the easy road of sunny, good girl pop".[138] According to Jean-Marie Périer: "She was the opposite of all the French new artists trying to look and sound American. And her melodies were sad, she didn't try to make them dance the twist."[128] Aside from original compositions, much of her 1960s repertoire consisted of versions of foreign artists that spanned a wide range of styles, including American girl-groups, early rockabilly, pre-Beatles British rock and roll, country music, folk, folk-rock and, to a lesser extent, doo-wop and soul.[136]

Her rockabilly-tinged full-length debut Tous les garçons et les filles is the closest she was to the yé-yé genre and its noted for its simplicity, featuring minimalist accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar, bass and jazz-influenced percussion.[23][130] Robert Ham of Paste felt that the album "reveals a musician that had yet to fully absorb her influences and make them her own."[139] Russell Warfield of Drowned in Sound felt that "her first record sticks out like a sore thumb" and described it as "the product of a patriarchal music industry", as Hardy was untrusted to shape her own material.[131] Considered an artistic growth,[139] her sophomore record Le premier bonheur du jour incorporated more complex instrumentation and lyricism,[24] including electric organs and "weeping" string arrangements.[131] It includes compositions inspired by jazz music, as well as American girl groups such as the Crystals and the Ronettes.[23] Despite their enduring popularity, Hardy is highly critical of her first releases.[128] She told Clash in 2018: "From very early on I felt very frustrated because I wanted to have beautiful electric guitars like those of the Shadows in the sixties or those of Cigarettes After Sex now. Instead, I had very bad French musicians and a terribly bad musical production. My albums began to improve when I went to London to record them. My first songs were not very interesting either."[102]

Beginning in the mid-1960s, her music became lusher and richer,[128] as she eschewed the poor quality of French studios in 1964 to go record in London with arranger Charles Blackwell, who allowed her to "reach new levels of sophistication."[39] She told The Guardian in 2018: "I was happy from that moment. I was free to make another kind of music, not this mechanical music I had been trapped in."[7] Hardy's music during the second half of the decade incorporated influences from the British Invasion pop phenomenon and "a strong comeback of the traditional values of French chanson, neither yé-yé nor 'Left Bank',[note 1] but rather romantic."[141] Released that year, Mon amie la rose showcased a growing complexity in her music, with stronger vocals and increased experimentation in song structure.[24] Her most varied album yet,[126] it incorporated influences of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique,[131] as well as Italian composer Ennio Morricone.[23] Her 1965 and 1966 output showcased a stylistic maturation, with productions that "moved from the tinny sound of yeh-yeh pop into a fuller brand of rock arrangements."[142] The overall sound of her follow-up L'amitié is considerably more expansive.[143] According to Pitchfork's Hazel Cills: "It wasn't until her fifth record La maison où j'ai grandi that Hardy grew into a more grown-up, baroque sound, one that matched the depth of her sorrow and its complexities."[23] Likewise, Warfield considered that it was the album in which "she really settles into her sound, giving us a glimpse of the performer we can still recognise as a 70-year-old".[131] With Ma jeunesse fout le camp, her last 1960s album recorded in London, she "moved toward a more adult, sedate form of orchestrated pop balladry".[144] It has been described as "her farewell to the yé-yé years".[145]

Her return to French recording studios, 1968's Comment te dire adieu is more MOR-oriented than her previous releases.[149] Richie Unterberger considered its music to be "perhaps even sadder and more sentimental than was the norm for Françoise".[149] As the yé-yé era faded away following the May 68 protests, Hardy "smartly reinvented herself as an elusive folk rock jazz chanteuse" with her early 1970s releases.[150] The singer looked for a more mature and less-pop oriented style in an effort to reflect her inner self to a greater extent.[5] Described as "the first truly personal Françoise Hardy record",[151] the 1971 album La question is regarded as an important turning point in her career, moving towards a less commercial sound with no apparent hooks.[55][152] It is one of her "most sparsely produced efforts," with subdued and acoustic-flavored arrangements that feature guitar, touches of bass, and subtle orchestration.[136][146] Through the work of Brazilian guitarist and arranger Tuca, the album incorporates marked influences of bossa nova music.[55][62] Her vocals have been called "sultry" and "breathy", at times "[substituting] melodic humming in the place of singing, wordlessly articulating the emotional essence of the song."[153] La question also marked the first time that Hardy had a part in choosing the string arrangements of her work.[49]

Following the poor commercial performance of La question, Hardy leaned towards a more folk and rock-influenced sound.[65] Around this time, she became an admirer of then little-known English folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake and championed his work in interviews.[154] She recalled: "For me, he didn't belong to a particularly British tradition: his style was quite different from that of The Beatles, the Stones and other groups that I was listening to a lot around this time. It is the soul which comes out of his songs that touched me deeply – romantic, poetic... but also the refined melodies. As well as the very individual timbre of his voice, which adds to the melancholy of the whole thing."[154] According to Tom Pinnock: "There are certainly analogues with Nick Drake, in their personalities, voices and even a similar taste in chords and harmony."[128] This led Joe Boyd to propose that the English musician write an album of songs for her, which would be produced by Tony Cox.[128] Although Drake and Hardy met several times, including a visit to her recording sessions in London, the project was never carried out.[128][154] Nevertheless, Cox was keen to work with Hardy regardless and, in late 1971, they recorded If You Listen, which featured a "crack team" of British folk-rock musicians.[128] Influenced by Drake,[155] the album showcases Hardy's taste for this musical style at the time, featuring "cinematic" arrangements that emphasize the acoustic guitar and light strings.[156] The same year, she released Et si je m'en vais avant toi, also known as "the orange album" in reference to its cover, which incorporated influences from American blues, folk and rock music.[65][157] The album features a slightly humorous tone and catchier rhythms, which were atypical for the singer.[65]

In 1972, Véronique Sanson's debut album made a great impact on Hardy, who began to feel her own music was "very outdated".[135] She described her impression of Sanson in her autobiography: "The originality and quality of the melodies, the lyrics, the production, and the singing made all other French singers, starting with me, seem like hasbeens. (...) It was as if the English and American influences that yé-yé had been happy to simply copy with varying degrees of success had been thoroughly digested and allowed for the emergence of something much more musically mature, as well as more personal."[67] Hardy thus enlisted Michel Berger, the producer of Sanson's album, to oversee the production of her 1973 album Message personnel,[67] which features arrangements by Michel Bernholc, who directed "a basic rock band backed by a lush set of strings [underlining] Hardy's wispy yet compelling vocals."[158] The album is characterized by its sad, introspective mood and "classy, adult tone".[150] The 1974 release Entr'acte was Hardy's first attempt at a concept album, with lyrics that narrate "the successive phases of a one-night stand between a stranger and a young woman, who, abandoned by the man she loves, is looking to give him a taste of his own medicine."[70] It featured orchestral arrangements by Del Newman, who had recently worked on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman.[70]

A jazz-oriented pop record, 1977's Star was Hardy's first album arranged by Gabriel Yared, who would produce her output for the next ten years.[159] In 1978, as disco dominated the music industry, his team sought to adapt her sound to the era with the release of Musique saoûle, which incorporated a marked binary rhythm influenced by funk music.[77] The singer later stated that she felt uncomfortable and embarrassed when singing over danceable rhythms.[77] The 1988 album Décalages is noted for its layered, atmospheric sound.[160] It incorporated the use of a Synclavier synthesizer, despite the singer's wishes to avoid fashionable digital sounds in favor of an acoustic album.[161]

Deeply inspired by the alternative rock scene, Hardy veered into an assertive, guitar-oriented modern rock style with Le danger, her first album in seven years.[120][162] She incorporated influences from English band Portishead,[120] and the grunge, Britpop and roots rock genres.[162] Pitchfork's Jazz Monroe described its music as "adult-contemporary space rock".[151] The album's harsh sound and lyrics reflect the "very dark" period that the singer was living in her personal life at that time.[129] The commercial failure of Le danger, among other reasons, caused Hardy to return to her characteristic soft and light style in her following album Clair-obscur, released in 2000.[129] Her last five albums are characterized by their elegant and melancholic sound.[145] 2006's (Parenthèses...) is a collection of twelve duets with a production that "[keeps] tricks and mixing slick-ery to a tasteful minimum," drawing comparisons to previous uncluttered releases such as La question.[163] Compared to previous albums, 2010's La pluie sans parapluie features a "sunnier" sound, with a few of its songs being driven by a typical rhythm track of drums and bass, rather than by piano or strings.[164] Her 2012 album L'amour fou features half-sung, half-spoken vocals and is characterized by its "resigned, philosophical" mood.[165] Hardy is backed by "classy" pianos, minor chords and brushed drums.[166] The lyrics of her last album Personne d'autre, released in 2018, deal with her advancing years in repose and her own mortality, having survived a major health crisis after the release of her previous record.[151] Her vocals in the album show the wear and tear resulting from her illness.[167] The dark lyrical subject matter of Personne d'autre is contrasted with the singer's characteristic delicate and intimate sound.[151][167]

Hardy and fellow musician Jacques Dutronc began their famous relationship in 1967 and got married in 1981.

In mid-1962, Hardy met Salut Les Copains photographer Jean-Marie Périer and they soon developed a romantic and professional relationship.[16][88] The couple never moved in together and were constantly distanced because of their respective work obligations, which took a toll on the relationship.[30] They broke up in 1966,[93] but have remained close friends and collaborators ever since.[85] Hardy began her much publicized relationship with fellow singer Jacques Dutronc in 1967.[244][245] They had a somewhat distant relationship and did not live together until after the birth of their only child, son Thomas, on 16 June 1973.[246] In the autumn of 1974, Hardy and Dutronc moved in together in a three-storey house near Parc Montsouris, with separate bedrooms.[246] Every summer, the family moved to a house owned by Dutronc located in Lumio, on the island of Corsica.[246] As an adult, Thomas Dutronc also developed a career as a musician.[247]

Hardy and Dutronc got married on 30 March 1981 in a discreet ceremony away from the press.[248] According to Hardy, they formalized their relationship for "fiscal reasons",[75] stating in 1989: "I don't know if I should talk about this stuff but at the time, I had a little health problem and since I am of a hyper-anxious, hypochondriac temperament, I already saw myself in Heaven, or in Hell. So I had gone to see a lawyer to find out what would happen if something happened to me. And as a result, if anything happened to me, everyone had an interest in Jacques and I being married. That's why we got married. Stupidly! I have always considered marriage as an uninteresting formality."[248] Having a troubled relationship, compounded by infidelities on both parts and Dutronc's alcoholism, the couple separated in late 1988.[71][249] Nevertheless, they never got divorced and their relationship evolved into that of a "special friendship".[249] In 2016, Hardy told Le Parisien that although Dutronc rebuilt his life with a new partner, it is he who does not want to divorce.[250] She said: "One day, a long time ago, regarding another relationship, I told him he had to make a commitment. And that's when he said to me, 'I'll never get a divorce.' What do you want me to say?"[250]

Hardy has discussed the intimacies of her family history in depth, including the tragic fate of her father and younger sister. In the early 1980s, she learned that her distant father led a double life as a closeted homosexual when one of his young lovers bragged about his financial support to one of Dutronc's friends.[104] She wrote in 2008: "The revelation that someone is a homosexual is not shocking in itself, even if it is your own father, but the fact that at the age of almost eighty he was picking up young guys turned my stomach, despite the loneliness and suffering such degraded behavior implied."[104] He died in hospital on 6 February 1981 after being assaulted,[104] presumably by a young male prostitute,[251] a cause that was not reported by the press at the time.[78] Raised without the affection of their parents, Hardy's sister grew up to be suicidal, paranoid schizophrenic.[252] In late May 2004, she was found dead at her home in L'Île-Rousse, possibly a suicide.[107]

Between late 2004 and early 2005, Hardy was diagnosed with MALT lymphoma,[114][253] which inaugurated a "hellish period" that disrupted her life.[107] The singer then underwent chemotherapy treatment that was initially successful.[107] In March 2015, Hardy's condition worsened and she had to be admitted to the hospital, where she was put into an artificial coma and nearly died.[116] During her hospitalization, the singer also broke her hip and elbow.[116] That month, she told Le Figaro: "I am very isolated, very handicapped by illness. I was diagnosed with lymphoma over ten years ago. But it is especially in the last three years that my symptoms have worsened. I also have a lot of difficulty walking. (...) There are times when I absolutely cannot see anyone and I cannot go out. But I remain positive, I live from day to day, I have no choice, I avoid thinking about it, it does not obsess me."[254] The singer then underwent further chemotherapy and immunotherapy sessions.[255]

Her health has since worsened and in 2021 she made news as a proponent for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in France, expressing her desire to have recourse to euthanasia.[256] She told RTL's Flavie Flament: "It's absolutely appalling, but for the moment I'm reassured. I manage to cook for myself. As long as I can do that, okay! But if it does become even worse, if I am weakened to the point of not being able to do anything, I would seriously think about euthanasia. I cannot stay like this waiting for death to come, because I cannot live any more. I can't do the things that my life requires."[255] She also disclosed her inability to continue singing as a result of the effects of the treatments.[85]

As a public figure, Hardy is known for her frankness regarding her sometimes controversial political views,[127] which have been described as right-wing.[80][189] Raised in a Gaullist family, she told Télérama in 2011: "I kept that sensitivity. I don't like everything that is said or done on the right, and I don't denigrate everything that is done or said on the left. To be honest, basically I'm pretty centrist."[3] In her 2008 autobiography, she claimed: "I only identify with ecology, which I absolutely believe is neither right nor left, but the fact I am not a puppet of the established authority will probably be enough to pigeonhole me."[161]

In promotion of her album Décalages in 1988, Hardy was interviewed by the magazine Rockland in a conversation that branched off into political news, as the presidential election had taken place the day before.[80] Believing that the off-the-record discussion would not be included in the final article, Hardy expressed her contempt for people on the left.[80] Although outraged by the publication of the political conversation, Hardy defended her position on 13 May in a televised interview with Thierry Ardisson, in which she recounted an altercation with singer Renaud, claiming he had insulted her for her support of Minister of Culture François Léotard.[80] In the Rockland interview, she also caused controversy with her statements about racism in France, claiming that: "we do not talk about anti-French racism, that there are places where you are more likely to enter if you are not French";[80] as well as antisemitism, suggesting that "those who see it everywhere could actually be sowing its seeds."[161] The singer later distanced herself from these remarks, writing in her autobiography: "Since then, I have become more aware of the ethnic, social, and cultural differences that separate individuals. However, I still believe that the affinities of the heart and soul weigh more heavily on the scales and also have the marvelous power of transforming opposites into complementarities."[161]

Hardy was a known opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (French: impôt de solidarité sur la fortune; ISF). In 2010, she defended the tax shield put in place by the government of Nicolas Sarkozy and, in 2012, caused controversy when denouncing François Hollande's tax program amidst the presidential elections, telling Paris Match: "I believe that most people do not realize the tragedy that the ISF causes to people in my category. I am forced, almost 70 years old and ill, to sell my apartment and move out."[214][257] This prompted her son Thomas Dutronc to write on Twitter: "But no mom, don't worry I'll invite you over to my place just in case...".[258][259] Annoyed by the extent of her remarks, the singer later complained: "First, contrary to what has been written, I did not speak of the 'tragedy' of people who pay the ISF. The tragedy is the people who are losing their jobs because of offshoring and the crisis, and about whom we hear about every day in the newspapers. Then I never said I was going to be homeless. It's absurd. And even less that I was going to go into exile!"[214]

Hardy has expressed her support for the legality of abortion, while at the same time distancing herself from feminism.[252] She wrote in 2008: "It is better to forgo having a child if you are not able to supply the minimum resources and time required for it to develop into a healthy, balanced adult. (...) In contemporary French society, we hear a lot more talk about rights than we do their inseparable duties. This can be seen in how the feminist discourse has advanced the right of women to do as they wish with their own bodies, while passing over in silence — exactly like the puritan position — the fate of the children, although their fate should take precedence over everything else."[252] In 2015, the singer caused controversy for her criticism of feminist activists in her essay "Avis non autorisés ...", in which she wrote: "I find them surly, ugly, that is to say not feminine for two cents. I have never been able to identify in anything with feminists. There are, however, some that I could have idealized..."[258][260]

Amidst the 2017–2018 protests in France, Hardy expressed her support for President Emmanuel Macron, stating: "We must let him reform France. Part of the French people don't want to see the reality and are stuck in the Marxist ideology. What I like about President Macron is that he is an idealist but not an ideologue and is firmly grounded in reality."[87]