Serge Gainsbourg | Our exclusive playlist to celebrate the 97th anniversary of his birth !

Today he would have been exactly 97 !

The late Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) needs no introduction. His work, widely broadcast around the world, remains a fertile ground from which many artists have skillfully built new works. His catalog has frequently been revisited through the use of sampling, a subject we will focus on in this article.

In 2000, for their hit “Ready for War,” Busta Rhymes and M.O.P borrowed the brilliant instrumental from the track “L’homme à la tête de chou,” which would also be recycled, six years later, by DJ Clue and Nas on “War.” The unforgettable “Requiem pour un con” would catch the attention of many artists, including Folk Implosion (led by Lou Barlow, better known for his work with the bands Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh) who would decline it on “Serge” in 1999, his fellow American rappers EPMD and Redman would use the first bars of the work for the opening of their unstoppable “Symphony 2000”, while in France it was IAM (“Hold up mental”) and Alépacha (“Requiem pour un keuf”) who would successively appropriate it in 1997 and 2010. Another legendary success by Serge Gainsbourg, “Bonnie & Clyde” performed as a duet with the iconic Brigitte Bardot, would experience several successive resurrections, notably under the leadership of MC Solaar on “Nouveau western” (1994), but also Kylie Minogue “Sensitized” (2007) or Ateyaba “Fin de journée” (2012). The song “Melody” would also experience a second youth in the hands of The Beatnuts via “Superbad” (1994), David Holmes “Don’t die just yet” (1997), Sneaker Pimps “Half life” (1999) and The Dining Rooms “M. Dupont” (1999), but also thanks to Massive Attack and Portishead through their remix of “Karmacoma” (1995). Among the crowd of celebrities who have borrowed from Serge Gainsbourg’s repertoire, we can also cite international stars of the caliber of Beck, Texas, Die Antwoord, Fatboy Slim, Goldfrapp, Jay Jay Johanson, Jota Quest or Luke Vibert; as well as many of his compatriots such as Assassin, Mirwais, Big Red (Raggasonic), Philippe Katerine, Alkpote, Dimitri From Paris, Guizmo or Odezenne.

Thanks to our playlist “Who sampled Gainsbourg?”, we invite you to (re)discover a selection of his tracks sampled by artists from all over the world. After each original track, find one or more tracks created using it.

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Who Sampled Gainsbourg ?

Discover a selection of Serge Gainsbourg creations that were sampled by artists worldwide.

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