Catherine Lara is a French singer who started playing music and more specifically the violin at the age of 5. She was awarded the 1st prize at the Versailles Conservatory in 1958 and the 2nd prize at the Paris Conservatory in 1965.
Just after the Conservatory, she created a chamber orchestra "Les musiciens de Paris". Then the "Quator Lara" which accompanies on stage singers like Claude Nougaro or Nana Mouskouri.
She released her first album "Ad libitum" in 1972, but it would take another ten years and 1981 before seeing her achieve her first laurels with the album "Johan". Album from which the Single of the same name is extracted and which finally opens the way to success.
She did it again two years later in 1983 with the release of the album "La rockeuse de Diamants", an album which produced the hit of the same name and which confirmed its status as a sure bet in the French musical landscape.
The same year, she openly affirms her homosexuality in the song "Autonome" and becomes one of the first singers of the 1980s to display it openly.
A year later in 1984, the relatively successful album "Flamenrock" was released.
A spectacular turnaround in 1986 when Luc Plamondon gave him the best of gifts by writing him the magnificent "Nuit magique", a major hit of her career and which would be one of the biggest hits of that year. The notoriety of the singer is then at its zenith.
The album "Encore une fois" was released in 1987, followed by "Rocktambule" in 1988, albums which unfortunately did not experience the same enthusiasm as the enormous "Nuit magique".
Like the others that will come out in the following decades even if they will not be without interest, far from it.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
Tu sais mieux que personne 1972
Et le Printemps 1972
Les années poussières 1972
Avant le petit jour 1972
Morituri 1972
T'as pas le temps 1972
On s'est trompé d'histoire d'amour 1973
La craie dans l'encrier 1974
J'ai raté ma réussite 1974
Les lions vont boire quelque part 1975
Mon tigre de papier 1975
Sensuelle 1976
L'océan 1976
Ballade pour une boussole 1977
Babylone 1977
Coup d'feel 1979
Eblouis moi 1979
80s Decade :
Bateau de pluie 1980
Vivre dans un trou 1980
Johan 1981
A way 1981
Pirates de la musique 1982
T'es pas drôle 1982
Langage du corps 1982
La rockeuse de diamants 1983
Famelique 1983
Dernière séquence 1984
Dom Juane 1984
Haut les mains 1984
Au milieu de nulle part 1985
Nuit magique 1986
Encore une fois 1987
IEO 1988
Ticket bleu 1988
Rocktambule 1988
90s Decade :
Les romantiques 1991
Le langage des anges 1991
Entre elle et moi 1992
Y'a des nuits 1993
Un seul de ces mots 1993
Maldonne 1993
C'était pas nous deux 1996
Aimez-moi les uns les autres 1996
2000s Decade :
Aral 2000
Unity 2000
Blue dawn 2000
La vérité sort de la bouche du métro 2004
Petit homme 2004
S'offrir pour être belle 2004
Méfie toi des anges (Graal) 2005
L'amour interdit (Graal) 2005
7 hopes for glory 2009
Insomnia 2009
2010s Decade :
Richard 2011
Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent 2011
Le dos au mur 2012
Avant le petit jour 2012
Sélène 2018
Nodus 2018
Aldhibah 2018
Tracks :
1972... at the origin of the beginning of the genesis. Promising first steps, that's for sure, but who imagines at this moment the huge career that awaits this young girl ? Not many people, that's for sure...
1972... the singer's potential is real and it remains to be seen what she will do with this famous potential...
1972...we still have to give her time to make herself known and above all to make a name for herself. Everything in its time...
1972...a first year of career that saw her release a number of titles that were impressive to say the least. It's hard to imagine that it will be like this every year...
1972...a sequel in the form of gothico-mystical delirium. Astonishing, confusing. It is the least we can say...
1972 ... a BIG year 1972 which saw her follow up title after title. We couldn't have a better launch pad !
1974 ... surely one of the most beautiful titles of the decade on the French side. A magnificent duo where the singer shares the poster with a certain Gilbert Montagné. 2 very Great futures ...
1974...some titles like this won't be released as a Single but it's still worth bringing it back to light, that's for sure...
1975 ... another single title year. This does not prevent the Lara style to refine slowly but surely ...
1975...this title will not be released as a Single either, but once again it would have been a shame to hide it. A highlight far from being useless...
1976...it's even some albums that will go unnoticed to say the least. But whose certain titles are far from deserving, the proof...
1976... at the rate of an album almost every year it is clear that all the titles produced cannot all benefit from the favors of the public...
1977...a second half of the 1970s which sees her somewhat struggling with a level of success that fluctuates more and more...
1977...and which unfortunately fluctuates rather downwards. It will therefore be necessary for the young singer to raise the bar and quickly…
1979 ... the end of a decade with little to chew on. Then this title. We immediately see that a new trend is emerging : it will now be punchy and rock !
1979...another title of not insignificant quality but which will not be released officially. Hence the fact of bringing it back to light as for the others...
1980 ... a crossover of decades on the horizon. And who will allow the singer to literally explode ...
1980...not necessarily on this title, but it won't be long. The 70s will have seen her hatch and then rise in power, but it is the 80s that will give her the long-awaited consecration...
1981 ... the title of the revelation, the real one. A title which very subtly mixes strength and softness and which shows all the potential of the artist ... A potential which will produce titles for some exceptional ...
1981 ... she even allows herself the luxury of singing in English ... On a track that is part of the soundtrack of a french emblematic film of the 80s. It seems that "Les hommes préfèrent les grosses" ...
1982...a year of transition which allows the singer to continue to rise slowly but surely in power. And to prepare a sequel that promises to be top notch...
1982...even if the 80s will be HER great decade, that does not mean that all the opuses released will know their hour of glory...
1982...even if some albums will go a little more unnoticed than others, that doesn't mean we won't talk about them at all. Just a little less than the others...
1983 ... then suddenly, THE title that will change everything. The notoriety of the artist literally explodes on a particularly playful and punchy title. A first big success which foreshadows an even more enormous one ...
1983 ... henceforth, it's Miss 100,000 volts ! The 1970s were the decade of rather Intimist titles. The following will be just the opposite ...
1984... that doesn't mean that all the titles that will be released now will meet the same fate. There will be winners and losers...
1984 ... when we talk about losers we are not talking about titles of negligible quality. They will simply be less visible than the others...
1984...the advantage of these articles is precisely to highlight titles which, at the time, were not necessarily as they should have been...
1985 ... the quality rises crescendo, that's obvious. The more the years go by, the more the 'Lara' style stands out as one of the best of the moment...
1986 ... then her Masterpiece arrives. An AMAZING title with extraordinary lyricism and which will undoubtedly remain as one of the most incredible Intimist titles of the decade. Simply MA-GIC !
1987 ... she clearly excels in the 'emotional' register. New proof with this once again particularly inspired song !
1988 ... a timeless track against a background of Celtic-rock inspiration. Surprising...to say the least
1988 ... the end of the decade alternates between Intimist and high energy title. A versatility that allows her to explore almost all possible musical regions ...
1988 ... BIG year 1988 with no less than 3 titles of great caliber. When inspiration is in order, it flows naturally ...
1991 ... her last major success. A decade of 90 which will prove difficult to negotiate for the artist. After a decade of 80 in all exceptional points, this new decade will rhyme with a decline in inspiration and gradual sidelining. Anyway, what a career !
1991...a year 1991 which will see the release of a new special duos opus. Starting with this duet with Maurane which immediately sets the trend : there's going to be quality in all of this, that's clear !
1992 ... when 2 of the biggest feminine sizes on the French side come together for a duo, the result is necessarily up to the task ! The last major title in a decade that will prove to be more complicated to manage than expected ...
1993...complicated to manage, of course, but that doesn't mean the end of the adventure, far from it. She still has things to offer and especially to sing, it is clear...
1993...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind her. After as long as she takes pleasure in what she does, why stop in such a good way...
1993...like most artists who started at the same time as her and are still active, the 90s will be a decade of transition...
1996...a decade to reinvent themselves or disappear, such is the challenge now for all these artists from the 70s...
1996...the musical world has evolved considerably around them and it is therefore urgent that they all ask themselves the right questions. Or not..
2000... suddenly she says to herself that going into the pure and hard instrumental will perhaps be an alternative path. Rightly or wrongly, the future will tell us...
2000...and on the principle why not you will tell me. This will somewhat restrict its audience but the instrumental way is surely the most timeless of all...
2000 ... she is still in her 5th decade of career which is not nothing. An exceptional longevity for one of the most gifted artists of her generation, without a doubt...
2004...she will still try the album with lyrics. It's a good feeling to try the adventure again at this level, but the result in the Charts won't really measure up...
2004... anyway she is still there which is not the case of a lot of artists who started at the same time as her at the beginning of the 70s...
2004...after that, it remains to be seen how long she will still be able to resist in the face of competition from young girls who are a few decades younger than her...
2005...she even went into musical comedy, a very popular musical field at the time. An adventure that will not really be rewarded up to her expectations...
2005...she will at least have tried. It must be said that she chose a theme that is not necessarily the easiest to stage...
2009...back in instrumental mode at the very end of the decade. She now alternates once with words and the next time without words, and why not tell me...
2009...it doesn't matter which musical field she explores as long as she continues to enjoy what she does. Who would blame her...
2011...she decides to revisit the great standards of Leo Ferré in musical modes that are surprising to say the least. Bet for the less daring...
2011... after that it's a way like any other to honor these titles in particular. Often titles that the 'buyer' artist is particularly fond of...
2012...she experiments more and more and moves from one musical field to another without complex. After not sure that the basic fans all follow in the case...
2012...it is clear, however, that we are at the antipodes of what she offered in the past. A 180° turn found in most artists in the second part of their career...
2018...here she is again at the very end of the decade, once again in musical exploration mode. We feel that she will end her career only in this one and only way...
2018 ... quality musical explorations which does not spoil anything, quite the contrary. As long as novelty rhymes with inspiration, why deprive yourself of it...
2018...we imagine that this title will not be the last. Because we now know that with her everything is always possible...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :