Editing Singer-songwriter (section)

=== Chanson, the French tradition ===
French "[[chanson]]" comes from an old tradition, since the [[Middle Ages]]. It is driven by the rhythms of the French language. It can be distinguished from the rest of French "pop" music or [[soft rock]] format that began to spread in France during the 1960s until today, under the cultural influence of Anglo-American rock music and the rock band era.

The first modern French singer-songwriter was [[Charles Trenet]], who began his solo career in 1938. He was the first to use jazz rhythms in chanson. He would remain an isolated act until the creative blooming of a new generation during the [[Post-war|post-World War II era]] (mid-1940s and 1950s), where such artists as [[Léo Ferré]], [[Georges Brassens]], [[Félix Leclerc]] (from [[Quebec]]), [[Serge Gainsbourg]], [[Jacques Brel]] (from Belgium), [[Henri Salvador]] (from French Guiana), [[Charles Aznavour]], and [[Barbara (singer)|Barbara]] appeared, with contrasted and rich imagination. Most of them are recognized as great masters by younger generations of French artists, especially Ferré (for the richness of his lyrics, his melodic genius, his critical density on social issues and his body of work's profoundness) and Gainsbourg (for the bright and tasteful adaptation of pop or rock music with French language-driven rhythms).

During the 1960s and 1970s, prominent singer-songwriters included [[Claude Nougaro]], [[Jean Ferrat]], [[Boby Lapointe]], [[Françoise Hardy]], [[Reinhard Mey|Frédérik Mey]], [[Michel Polnareff]], [[Nino Ferrer]], [[Christophe (singer)|Christophe]], [[Bernard Lavilliers]], [[Véronique Sanson]] and [[Jacques Higelin]], amongst others.