Serge Gainsbourg (French pronunciation: [sɛʁʒ ɡɛ̃zbuʁ] (listen); born Lucien Ginsburg;[a] 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative and scandalous releases which caused uproar in France, dividing public opinion. His artistic output ranged from his early work in jazz, chanson, and yé-yé to later efforts in rock, zouk, funk, reggae, and electronica. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorise, although his legacy has been firmly established and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians.
His lyrical works incorporated wordplay, with humorous, bizarre, provocative, sexual, satirical or subversive overtones. Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than 1,000 times by diverse artists.
Since his death from a second heart attack in 1991, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France, and he has become one of the country's best-loved public figures. He has also gained a cult following all over the world with chart success in the United Kingdom and Belgium with "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and "Bonnie and Clyde", respectively.
Lucien Ginsburg was born in Paris on 2 April 1928. He was the son of Ukrainian-Jewish migrants, Joseph Ginsburg (27 March 1896, in Feodosia, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) — 22 April 1971, in Paris) and Olga[b] (née Besman; 15 January 1894, in Odessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) – 16 March 1985, in Paris), who fled to Paris via Istanbul after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Joseph Ginsburg was a classically trained musician whose profession was playing the piano in cabarets and casinos; he taught his children—Gainsbourg and his twin sister Liliane—to play the piano. Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Germany during World War II. The identifying yellow star that Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg; in later years he was able to transmute this memory into creative inspiration. During the occupation, the Jewish Ginsburg family was able to make their way from Paris to Limoges, travelling under false papers. Limoges was in the Zone libre under the administration of the collaborationist Vichy government and still a perilous refuge for Jews, and it became even more dangerous after Germany occupied it in 1942. Gainsburg attended the Lycée Condorcet high school in Paris but dropped out before completing his Baccalauréat.

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