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SINGER

Jacques Brel

1929 - 1978

Photo of Jacques Brel

Icon of person Jacques Brel

Jacques Romain Georges Brel (French: [ʒɑk ʁɔmɛ̃ ʒɔʁʒ bʁɛl], listen ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond, Neil Hannon, and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many performers, including Bowie, Walker, Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, The Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, James Dean Bradfield, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams.Brel was a successful actor, appearing in 10 films. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Jacques Brel has received more than 1,785,638 page views. His biography is available in 69 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 68 in 2019). Jacques Brel is the 35th most popular singer (up from 38th in 2019), the 29th most popular biography from Belgium (down from 28th in 2019) and the most popular Belgian Singer.

Jacques Brel is most famous for his song "Ne me quitte pas" which was translated into English as "Don't Leave Me."

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.8M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 71.11

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 69

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.32

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.20

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Jacques Brels by language


Among SINGERS

Among singers, Jacques Brel ranks 35 out of 3,528. Before him are Cesária Évora, Brian Johnson, Whitney Houston, Barry White, Nana Mouskouri, and James Brown. After him are Patti Smith, Plácido Domingo, Nico, Amanda Lear, Andrea Bocelli, and Ozzy Osbourne.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, Jacques Brel ranks 13. Before him are Milan Kundera, Lev Yashin, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jürgen Habermas, Sergio Leone, and Imre Kertész. After him are Hassan II of Morocco, Max von Sydow, Jean Baudrillard, Yayoi Kusama, Frank Gehry, and Hafizullah Amin. Among people deceased in 1978, Jacques Brel ranks 7. Before him are Pope John Paul I, Pope Paul VI, Golda Meir, Aram Khachaturian, Kurt Gödel, and Aldo Moro. After him are Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Giorgio de Chirico, Adolf Dassler, Mohammed Daoud Khan, Ramón Mercader, and Margaret Mead.

Others Born in 1929

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Others Deceased in 1978

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In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Jacques Brel ranks 29 out of 1,019. Before him are Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480), Georges Lemaître (1894), Jacques Rogge (1942), Albert I of Belgium (1875), Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960), and Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (1697). After him are Mary of Hungary (1505), Baudouin of Belgium (1930), César Franck (1822), William III of the Netherlands (1817), Hergé (1907), and Eleanor of Austria (1498).

Others born in Belgium

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Among SINGERS In Belgium

Among singers born in Belgium, Jacques Brel ranks 1. After him are Lara Fabian (1970), The Singing Nun (1933), Stromae (1985), José van Dam (1940), Violetta Villas (1938), René Jacobs (1946), Edgar P. Jacobs (1904), Solange Berry (1932), Kate Ryan (1980), Sandra Kim (1972), and Natacha Atlas (1964).

Belgian born Singers

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