Claude Nougaro

Poet, singer, and French jazz musician, he is the author and performer of the popular hits from the 1970s such as "Cécile, ma fille," "Le Cinéma," and the Brazilian-inspired "Tu verras." He inspires today’s local artists, like the rappers from the group Zebda who come from the same working-class neighborhood as him. Nougaro, like Charles Trenet before him, revitalized French music with rhythms of jazz and java, bringing them to radio waves. Initially overlooked by the public, he made a comeback in 1987 with "Nougayork," a vengeful rock recorded in... New York, which achieved great success. A global troubadour, but first and foremost a Toulousian, he passionately honored his hometown in a song that still echoes through the alleys of the "pink city." "Ô Toulouse" is an anthem, a declaration of love. The city recognized this, and his poem "C’est une Garonne" is inscribed on a plaque under the Pont Neuf, where his ashes were scattered in 2004.