French guitarist, singer and composer. He achieved his first minor hit in 1959 and his greatest hit in 1970 with the release of his version of “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head.” A nephew of the French bandleader Ray Ventura, Distel took up guitar at the age of 14 and joined a college jazz band at the Lycee in Paris. He won an amateur contest and a few years after that was voted France’s top guitarist for five straight years. He played with many visiting American jazz bands and recorded with noted others. After the war he began to play and sing his own compositions.
In 1958 Distel started a relationship with Bardot at the beginning of her peak popularity. They were companions for a year before she met and subsequently married Jacques Charrier.
In 1970, he had battled thyroid cancer and a decade later he suffered from skin cancer. In 1985, the car he was driving crashed in central France. His passenger was severe;ly injured and his later albums did not garner the success he had experienced earlier in his career. However, in 1997, he was awarded the Legion of Honor award in France.
The French jazz singer, songwriter and guitarist died at age 71 on July 22, 2004 at his family home near St. Tropez, France. His obituary did not disclose a cause of death, but said it came after a long illness.
Distel was married for more than 40 years to the former French ski champion Francine Breaud. The couple had two sons.
Link to Wikipedia biography