Nino Ferrer

Self-indulgent chameleon or master of artistic disguise? By all means, Nino Ferrer proved himself to be ever the homme a tout faire (jack of all trades) he agitatedly sang about in his theme song to the French television series Agence Interim. Ferrer was a late bloomer of the French yé-yé movement, with a legacy not as widely known as that of Jacques Dutronc or Michel Polnareff. However, his artistic trade should be viewed in the same vein: an eclectic brew of equal parts goofing around, subversive thinking, and pop genius. A few days away from his 64th birthday, he dramatically ended his life by shooting himself in the heart in a corn field not far from a castle he had bought from his royalties. ~ Quint Kik