The Franciscan Sisters on stage: Joe Dassin, his hits written by Pierre Delanoë, Claude Lemesle and Bertrand Pénisson

"Les Champs-Élysées", "Les p’tits pains au chocolat", "Le Chemin de Papa", "L’Amérique", "Billy le Bordelais"… The notebooks containing the manuscripts of songs written by Pierre Delanoë (1918–2006), held at Les Franciscaines, reveal the drafts and final versions of Joe Dassin’s greatest hits.

This artistic partnership continued into the 1970s with the collaboration of Claude Lemesle, writer of other hits for Joe Dassin (1938–1980). One day, the singer suggested they work together. This led to the creation of new hits, credited to Delanoë & Lemesle: “Si tu t’appelles mélancolie”, “Dans les yeux d’Émilie” and “L’Été indien” (the single of which sold 4 million copies).

Claude Lemesle began his career as a singer before meeting Joe Dassin in 1966. He was standing opposite him when, in Papeete in 1980, Joe Dassin collapsed during a meal, aged 41, from a heart attack. Today, he performs Joe Dassin’s repertoire, accompanied by Philippe Hervouet, whilst sharing many memories.

Bertrand Pénisson, a historian with a passion for popular music of the 1970s and 1980s, has spent a great deal of time analysing and transcribing the development of these songs from Pierre Delanoë’s handwritten notebooks.

An evening to rediscover Joe Dassin and the memories of those who accompanied him in Deauville, where he performed regularly at the casino from 1972 to 1976.