Francis Lai

Best remembered for his Oscar-winning scores to A Man and a Woman and Love Story, composer Francis Lai was born April 26, 1932, in Nice, France. After studying piano as a child, he later discovered jazz and during the 1950s followed friend and singer Claude Goaty to Paris, eventually settling in Montmartre. At the local Taverne d'Attilio, Lai met Bernard Dimey, with whom he collaborated on well over 100 songs; a brief stint in Michel Magne's orchestra preceded his tenure as accompanist for Edith Piaf, for whom Lai also composed a number of songs as well. He made his film debut in 1964 with the score to Roger Vadim's remake of Max Ophuls' classic La Ronde, and two years later composed the music for Jean-Luc Godard's Masculin/Feminin; however, it was his work on Claude Lelouch's 1966 hit A Man and a Woman which elevated Lai to international renown, and in addition to earning an Academy Award, he notched a perennial easy listening favorite with the picture's Brazilian-inflected title tune. He won a second Oscar for the 1970 Arthur Hiller blockbuster Love Story, and the film's theme, "Where Do I Begin?," also became a Top 40 hit for Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, and even Lai himself. Although the composer never again reached the same commercial heights, he continued working regularly in the cinema, often in conjunction with director Lelouch, and composed a number of instrumental favorites, including "Today It's You," "Happy New Year," and "Love in the Rain."

from Wikipedia:

Francis Lai (born April 26, 1932, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France) is a French accordionist, and composer noted for his film scores.

While in his twenties, Francis Lai left home and went to Paris where he became part of the lively Montmartre music scene. In 1965 he met filmmaker Claude Lelouch and was hired to help write the score for the film, Un homme et une femme (A Man and A Woman). Released in 1966, the film was a major international success, earning a number of Academy Awards, and for the young Francis Lai, a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Original Score". This initial success brought more opportunities to work for the film industry both in his native France as well as in Great Britain and the United States. He is known for his support of Mireille Mathieu in many compositions and recordings. In 1969, he wrote the score for director René Clément's film, Rider On The Rain ("Le Passager de la Pluie"). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in September 1971.

In 1970 Francis Lai won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. In the United States, the soundtrack album went to No. 2 in the Billboard album charts and the film's theme, "Where Do I Begin" was a hit single with lyrics by Carl Sigman for traditional pop singer Andy Williams. The song would also be recorded successfully by Lai himself with a full orchestra and by Henry Mancini and Shirley Bassey. Francis Lai also wrote the music for the 1978 Love Story sequel titled Oliver's Story.

Lai has also had success with music written for softcore erotic films like Emmanuelle 2 (1975) and Bilitis (1977).

His composition "Aujourd'hui C'est Toi" (Today it's You) is probably best known in the UK as the theme music for the long-running BBC television current affairs documentary series Panorama.

He also earned high praise for his score of the David Hamilton movie "Bilitis", a sound-track that sold over a million copies throughout the world.

In a career spanning forty years, Lai has also written music for television programs and alone or in collaboration with others has composed music for more than one hundred films and has personally written more than six hundred songs.

Awards

Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score for Love Story (1970)Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Love Story (1970)César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988)

Award nominations:

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Un homme et une femme (1966)BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for Vivre pour vivre (1967)Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Vivre pour vivre (1967)Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture for Love Story (1970)BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for La Bonne année (1973)César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Bilitis (1977)César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Les Uns et les autres (1981)César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Hasards ou coïncidences (1998)