SINGER

Jacques Brel

1929 - 1978

Photo of Jacques Brel

Icon of person Jacques Brel

Jacques Romain Georges Brel (French: [ʒɑk ʁɔmɛ̃ ʒɔʁʒ bʁɛl] ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Brett Anderson, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond, Neil Hannon, and Rod McKuen. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Jacques Brel is the 55th most popular singer (down from 46th in 2019), the 41st most popular biography from Belgium (down from 36th in 2019) and the most popular Belgian Singer.

Jacques Brel is most famous for his song "Ne me quitte pas" which was translated into English as "Don't Leave Me."

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Jacques Brel by language

Loading...

Among SINGERS

Among singers, Jacques Brel ranks 55 out of 4,381Before him are Axl Rose, Mireille Mathieu, Jay-Z, Nana Mouskouri, Sammy Davis Jr., and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. After him are Albano Carrisi, Sade, Shakira, Kate Bush, Sinéad O'Connor, and James Brown.

Most Popular Singers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, Jacques Brel ranks 15Before him are Hassan II of Morocco, Imre Kertész, and Irene Papas. After him are Yayoi Kusama, Michael Ende, Jean Baudrillard, Frank Gehry, Oriana Fallaci, Peter Higgs, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Max von Sydow, and Sándor Kocsis. Among people deceased in 1978, Jacques Brel ranks 9Before him are Golda Meir, Kurt Gödel, Aram Khachaturian, Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Manne Siegbahn, and Aldo Moro. After him are Mohammed Daoud Khan, Giorgio de Chirico, Robert Shaw, Harry Martinson, Ramón Mercader, and Adolf Dassler.

Others Born in 1929

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1978

Go to all Rankings

In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Jacques Brel ranks 41 out of 1,190Before him are Albert I of Belgium (1875), Mary of Hungary (1505), Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (1697), Eleanor of Austria (1498), Georges Lemaître (1894), and William III of the Netherlands (1817). After him are Hergé (1907), Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564), Henri La Fontaine (1854), Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864), Pepin of Herstal (635), and Margaret of Parma (1522).

Among SINGERS In Belgium

Among singers born in Belgium, Jacques Brel ranks 1After him are Lara Fabian (1970), The Singing Nun (1933), Violetta Villas (1938), Stromae (1985), José van Dam (1940), René Jacobs (1946), Edgar P. Jacobs (1904), Sandra Kim (1972), Kate Ryan (1980), Arno (1949), and Natacha Atlas (1964).