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Claude François: Hey Potatoes (1962)

Mark Frauenfelder at 9:24 am Fri, Sep 16, 2011

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Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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  • irksome

    The terrorists have won.

    • Grant Bishop

      And if they haven’t, they should.

  • Rich Keller

    Now why couldn’t we have sung this in Madame Hauge’s class instead of Sur le Pont d’Avignon?

  • isaacb2

    Thank you so much for that. Loved it.

  • http://twitter.com/EngelGW Engel Garcin-Weiher

    Something to know (or not): Claude Francois is for the french people as iconic as Elvis Presley can be in the US. I have to admit that the performance above didn’t contribute too much for the myth, to say the least…

    • Marc Leclair

      Listen to Elvis sing Clam Bake. Every icon has an off day.

  • namnezia

    This just made my day. Thanks!

  • http://www.granitegeek.org DaveBrooks

    The Melbourne Shuffle dates back in 1962. And those kids today think they invented it!

  • http://www.kmoser.com kmoser

    I never realized how similar the Mashed Potatoes dance is to the Charleston.

  • chaours

    believe it or not, but this dude wrote “my way”  !!!

    yes, he did.

  • http://twitter.com/simeonstar Simeon Weinraub

    parkour 

    • Guest

      LOL

  • Grant Bishop

    I see your Claude Francois and raise you one Chubby Checker. http://bit.ly/qaVMXI

  • voiceinthedistance

    Riverdance 1.0

  • nosehat

    Nothing says zany, rebellious, energetic, breaks-all-the-rules youth culture like . . . mashed potatoes?

  • http://www.epinardscaramel.com TokenFrenchDude

    I’m French and what is this ?

  • Rich Keller

    Wasn’t Claude given the Palme Frites for this performance?

  • MrMarieBlanc

    If he is Elvis, what does this make Joe Dassin? :P  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpQV3r5w7k

  • Bernard Dubuisson

    Claude François was iconic because he was a huge popstar in France for the babyboomer gen, and also because of his sudden, somehow ridiculous and still pretty much mysterious death. He electrocuted himself while trying to repair a deficient lightbulb on the ceiling… while standing in his (filled) bathtub.

    Still today, we have many Claude François impersonators, just like Elvis impersonators in the US. There’s a french novel and movie called “Podium” about this.

    It’s true that Joe Dassin had more physical and vocal resemblance with Elvis, though.

    • MisterH4x0r

      “because of his sudden, somehow ridiculous and still pretty much mysterious death.”

      Why anyone would want to impersonate this ridiculously odd character, is another mystery altogether.

  • Guest

    Bouge de la! XD

  • Nezrite

    Now, how many videos today are a long tracking shot, huh?

  • lewis_stoole

    are mashed potatoes the french equivalent of black beauties?

  • pjcamp

    “Bonjour, je suis Shelly Duvall.”

  • Aaron Walker

    This music film is suspiciously lacking Claude’s famous Claudettes. Check out their dance routine in “Alexandrie Alexandra” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waTF010zFl4

    • Bernard Dubuisson

      I believe the Claudettes probably didn’t appear until the seventies. Just like the Vegas trip for the King. (I’m far from a specialist, could be mistaken). The mashed potatoes video is from his early days.