Though Léo Ferré is accurately described as an avant-garde chanson artist, his approach to his life's work was, essentially, punk. He started as a traditional balladeer whose songs were made famous by Edith Piaf and Juliette Gréco, but his “Les anarchistes” made him the musical figurehead of the barricades in the Latin quarter of Paris in May 1968, which spurred him to deconstruct rock with greater verve. Ferré toured with prog group Zoo and delivered Rimbaudian monologues on stage. The French government tried to bestow wreaths and honors upon him, but, ever defiant, he never acquiesced.