Ronnie Bird

As a student, Bird attended Lycée Claude-Bernard in Paris until he had an argument with a teacher.

As a young singer, he preferred to perform in English in a desire for authenticity.[4][5] He debuted his recording career in 1964 with Decca, with the title track Adieu à un ami, which was a homage to Buddy Holly; this song later appeared in the film US Go Home (1994).[6] According to author Jonathyne Briggs, Bird and other French pop stars of that era, such as Jacques Dutronc, Hugues Aufray, Antoine, and Serge Gainsbourg "created a more diverse pop music landscape".[7] Richie Unterberger later wrote, "During the mid-'60s, Ronnie Bird was the only French artist to successfully emulate the sounds of the British Invasion across the channel".[8]

He was voted the eighth most popular male singer in France in a 1965 poll by Salut Les Copains.[9] He hosted a Radio Luxembourg 208 broadcast on 1 April 1966.[10]

He regularly appeared with popular singers visiting France, including Chuck Berry[11] and Tom Jones.[12]

He recorded the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time" and "Down Home Girl" in French.[13] He recorded songs by Mickey Jones and Tommy Brown in English for Philips.[14] He recorded two songs, "Rain on the City" and "Sad Soul" for the U.S. market before his U.S. tour.[15]

Bird appeared with many other artists in the "photo du siècle" or "photo of the century" taken by Jean-Marie Périer. The photograph published in the magazine Salut les copains in 1966.[16]

Despite his evident ability and the apparent success of songs like Elle m'attend, Où va-t-elle ?, Bird ended his artistic career after 5 years.[17]

He is also noted for participating in the French production of the musical Hair between 1968 and 1972 . Moreover, he wrote the lyrics of the song, Precious Things, sung by Dee Dee Bridgewater, in a duet with Ray Charles, which saw success in 1989.

The song Le Pivert (the woodpecker) was prohibited from being played on Radio-France because of, according to an internal memo, its "vulgar attack on good taste". The memo was published in Charlie Hebdo.

• Ronnie Bird le rock en VF de Didier Delinotte, Camion Blanc, Rosières-en-Haye, 2017. ISBN 9782357799585 [in French]
• Génération Johnny, éditions Gründ, 2010. [in French]
• L’Âge d’or du yéyé, Ramsay, 1983; réédité sous le titre Vinyl Fraise les années 60, Michel Lafon, 1993. [in French]
• "Ronnie Bird." Jukebox Magazine. January–February–March 1985. [in French]
• "Ronnie Bird." Jukebox Magazine. March 1990. [in French]
• "Ronnie Bird: Live 65 & 67." Jukebox Magazine. March 1995. [in French]

• Photo_du_siècle

• Ronnie Bird at IMDb
• Ronnie Bird at Europeana Collections