Released November 1987 Genre Pop | Recorded 1987
Studio CBE, Paris Length 3:48 | |
B-side "Patricia voudrait bien" Format 7" single, 12" maxi, CD single,
CD maxi, cassette,
digital download (since 2005) | ||
"Mademoiselle chante le blues" (Eng: "Mademoiselle Sings the Blues", possibly referring to the Billie Holiday song "Lady Sings the Blues") is the name of a 1987 song recorded by the French singer Patricia Kaas. It was her first single from her debut studio album, Mademoiselle chante..., on which it features as ninth track, and her second single overall. Released in November 1987, it was Kaas' first hit, reaching the top ten in France. It remains one of the most emblematic songs of the singer.
Contents
Background and performances on tours
After the failure of her first single, "Jalouse", written by Élisabeth Depardieu and released in 1985, Kaas decided to collaborate with the famous songwriter Didier Barbelivien who composed for her ten of the eleven tracks on her debut album, Mademoiselle chante..., including "Mademoiselle chante le blues", which was co-written (lyrics) with Bob Mehdi.
According to a specialist of French charts, "Mademoiselle chante le blues" is a song that is so representative of its performer that "we can't manage to separate them, nor to imagine anyone else for singing it".
The song was performed during Kaas' concert tours in 1991, 1994, 1998 and 2005, and was thus included on the live albums Carnets de scène, Tour de charme in an extended edit version, Rendez-vous and Toute la musique... and also on the singer's best of Rien ne s'arrête in a live version and Ma Liberté contre la tienne. The song was a part of compilations Nostalgie Classiques 80 (released in 2006) and 100 Franse klassiekers (2007).
Chart performances
With "Mademoiselle chante le blues", Kaas appeared for the first time on the French charts. It debuted at number 29 on 28 November 1987, then climbed and entered the top ten in its eighth week, peaking at number seven on 30 January and 13 February 1988. It remained in the top ten for five consecutive weeks, then almost did not stop to drop on the chart (top 50) and fell off after 18 weeks. It was finally certified Silver disc by the SNEP.
With about 192,000 sales, this song is Kaas' second best-selling single, just behind "Quand Jimmy dit", according to Infodisc website.