About Jean Ferrat Jean Ferrat (born Jean Tenenbaum on December 26, 1930 in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French author, poet and singer.Biography The youngest of four children from a modest Jewish family which moved to Versailles in 1935, Ferrat studied at the Jules Ferry College. His father was deported to Auschwitz during the war, where he died. Ferrat dropped out of school to help the family survive. In the early 1950s he started in Parisian cabaret. Since then he has avoided any particular musical style, but has remained faithful to himself, his friends and public. In 1956, he set "Les yeux d'Elsa" ("Elsa's eyes"), a Louis Aragon poem which Ferrat loved, to music. Its rendition by popular artist André Claveau brought Ferrat some initial recognition as a songwriter. His first 45 RPM single was released in 1958, without success. It was not until 1959, with publisher Gérard Meys, who also became his close friend and associate, that his career started to flourish. He signed with Decca and released his second single, "Ma Môme", in 1960 under the musical direction of Meys. In 1961 Ferrat married Christine Sèvres, a singer who performed some of his songs. He also met Alain Goraguer, who became an arranger of his songs. His debut album, Deux Enfants du Soleil, was released that year. Ferrat also wrote songs for Zizi Jeanmaire and went on the road, sharing billing with her at the Alhambra for six months. Nuit et Brouillard, which followed in 1963, was awarded the Académie Charles Cros's Grand Prix du Disque. Ferrat toured again in 1965, but stopped performing on stage in 1973. In 1990, he received an award from the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, (SACEM) the French association of songwriters, composers and music publishers.