French singer-songwriter Charles Dumont, who composed Edith Piaf’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, has died at the age of 95.
Dumont was 27 years old when he wrote the song in 1956. But it was not until 1960 that he was persuaded to approach the star, who enthusiastically accepted it.
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (I regret nothing) – which expresses a wish to make peace with the past and start anew – became one of Piaf’s signature songs.
It topped the charts in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada. The song is also well known throughout the English-speaking world – it was notably quoted in 1993 by Britain’s then-Chancellor Norman Lamont.
When asked at a news conference whether he regretted optimistic statements he had made as the economy was struggling, Lamont replied: “Je ne regrette rien”, sparking laughter among reporters but controversy later.
In a 2018 interview, Dumont told AFP news agency that he initially did not dare approach Piaf with the song because she “had already fired me three times and I didn’t want to see her again”.
But the song’s lyricist, Michel Vaucaire, convinced him to try four years later. Dumont added that Piaf showed extreme reluctance when the pair turned up at her flat, but she allowed Dumont to play the song on her piano.
“From then on we were inseparable,” he said. Dumont would eventually compose more than 30 songs for Piaf before her death in 1963.
Edith Piaf became an international star after spending most of her early life on the streets of Paris.
She is famous for singing ballads – including La Vie en Rose, Milord and La Foule.
Dumont also wrote for stars such as Jacques Brel, Juliette Gréco and Barbra Streisand. He went on to have a successful solo career from the 1970s.
