Raymond Lefèvre (Calais, November 20, 1929 – Seine-Port, June 27, 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer. He is best known for the 1968 theme “Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline)“, which became an international hit. He also wrote soundtracks for movies with Louis de Funès such as La Soupe Aux Choux (1981) or the legendary series Le Gendarme de Saint Tropez.
He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay label and recorded his debut album that year. From 1972 until the early 2000s (decade), he undertook several successful tours of Japan. In 1956, he had a great success, “best-seller” in the United States, with the title “The day that the rains” came by Gilbert Bécaud. It was during the “Le Coq d’Or de la Musique” competition, organised by Eddie Barclay and also attended by Paul Mauriat, that he became friends with the latter.
These two conductors worked and composed together for several years. Tireless composer and arranger, he is pianist and flutist with Franck Pourcel, with whom he often collaborates (for example “Schuss” during the 1964 Winter Olympics or “Chariot”, Petula Clark’s great success), and especially with Paul Mauriat for arrangements and conducting.
He is very famous in Japan since 1972, where he obtained gold records, but also in Germany and many other countries. In 1996, the four conductors, Raymond Lefebvre on flute, Paul Mauriat on piano, Franck Pourcel on violin and Francis Lai on accordion, decided to join forces to compose and perform “Quartet for Kobe”, in memory of the victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Like all the great and renowned French orchestras, such as Franck Pourcel, Paul Mauriat or Caravelli, his discography is very important.
Recordings by Raymond Lefèvre you can hear at Instrumentals Forever:
| 13 jours en France |
| 5th Symphony (Beethoven) |
| A quel printemps viendras-tu ma belle |
| Abrazame |
| Adagio de la sonate n° 3 en Mi majeur |
| Adagio de la sonate pathétique de Beethoven |
| All Of You |
| Alors je chante (Vivo cantando) |
| Amantes |
| Amigo (Gavilan O Paloma) |
| Andante maggiore du concerto pour 2 mandolines de Vivaldi |
| Aria de Bach |
| Bridge Over Troubled Water |
| Bye Bye Barbara |
| Canzone |
| Casatschok |
| Cathérine |
| C’est extra |
| Choral d’Orgue (Prelude) |
| Choral ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ |
| Comme j’ai toujours envie d’aimer |
| Concerto Brandebourgeois n° 5 (Allegro) |
| Concerto en Mi majeur |
| Concerto n° 4 (Allegro Assai) |
| Concerto pour une voix |
| Deux amis pour un amour |
| Dio come ti amo |
| Donna con te |
| Donne ton coeur donne ta vie |
| Don’t Make Me Over |
| Ebony And Ivory |
| Eleanor Rigby |
| Gavotte (suite n° 3 pour violon) |
| Get Back |
| Gloria |
| Here Comes The Sun |
| Here There And Everywhere |
| Hey |
| Il était une fois dans l’ouest |
| Il faut si peu de pluie |
| Ils ont changé ma chanson (What Have They Done To My Song Ma) |
| Imagine |
| Inno |
| Io che non vivo |
| Isadora |
| Jamais je ne pourrai vivre sans toi (Io che non vivo senza te) |
| Je croyais (Yesrterday) |
| Je t’aime moi non plus |
| La bohème |
| La legende de Magdalena |
| La nuit |
| La Passionnata |
| Lady d’Arbanville |
| L’aigle noir dédié à Laurence |
| L’Amérique |
| L’an 2005 (In The Year 2525) |
| Largo de Haendel |
| Largo du concerto en Fa mineur |
| Le clan des Siciliens |
| Le colline sono in fiore |
| Les Champs-Elysées |
| Les étoiles de la route |
| Let It Be |
| Liberté mon amour |
| L’orage |
| Lullaby |
| Michelle |
| Modinha |
| Moonlight Lady |
| Mull Of Kintyre |
| Neretva |
| No Vengo Ni Voy |
| Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) |
| Oh Happy Day (Merci Seigneur) |
| Oh Lady Mary |
| Palmarès des chansons |
| Penny Lane |
| Prelude en Mi majeur (Acapella) |
| Prelude en Mi majeur (suite n° 3 pour violon) |
| Prelude et Fugue en Do mineur |
| Que je t’aime |
| Quiereme Mucho |
| Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head |
| Rêverie (Day Dream) |
| Scat In The Dark |
| Sicilienne |
| Sirop typhon (Lily The Pink) |
| Soul Coaxing |
| Souvenir |
| Stéphanie |
| Storie di tutti giorni |
| Stupidi |
| Summer On A Solitary Beach |
| The Fool On The Hill |
| The Long And Winding Road |
| To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before |
| Tokiniwa Haha No Nai Ko No Yo Ni |
| Un amour dans la ville (entre des millions) |
| Un jour pour nous (A Time For Us) |
| Vattene amore |
| Viens près de moi (Moon Over Naples) |
| Vivace du concerto en Re mineur pour 2 violons |
| Volevo Un Gato Nero |
| Wand’rin’ Star |
| Wig Wam |
| Wight Is Wight |
| Yesterday |