Christiane Legrand

Who was Christiane Legrand?

Christiane Legrand was a French singer.

Legrand was born in Paris, the daughter of film composer Raymond Legrand, who wrote "Irma la Douce" and sister of the composer Michel Legrand.

She studied piano and classical music from the time she was four. Jazz critic and composer André Hodeir discovered her in 1957, and she became the lead singer in the most notable French jazz vocal groups of the 1960s, including Les Double Six.

She was the original lead soprano of the Swingle Singers and was the vocalist who dubbed the part of Madame Emery in Les parapluies de Cherbourg, the music for which was composed by her brother Michel Legrand. She also sang the part of Judith in his Les demoiselles de Rochefort.

Christiane did the French dubbing for the title role of Disney's film Mary Poppins and lent her talents to numerous other film projects.

Christiane was the featured soprano on the track "Fires" on the 1973 Procol Harum album Grand Hotel. Her niece Victoria Legrand is a member of the American indie rock group Beach House.