雷蒙•勒菲夫1929年出生在法國(guó)北部的卡雷,1946年進(jìn)入巴黎音樂學(xué)院,3年后以鋼琴和黑管兩科第一名的成績(jī)畢業(yè)。1956年,他成立了自己的樂隊(duì),樂隊(duì)風(fēng)格不是當(dāng)時(shí)流行的爵士風(fēng)格,而是以古典為主并成為當(dāng)時(shí)紅極一時(shí)的歐洲歌手達(dá)麗達(dá)的專業(yè)伴奏樂隊(duì),1957年,達(dá)麗達(dá)的歌曲《巴比諾》成為當(dāng)時(shí)最流行的歌曲。從此以后,雷蒙•勒菲夫樂隊(duì)成為電視節(jié)目中的常客。
1969年,雷蒙•勒菲夫皇家樂隊(duì)發(fā)表了新曲《La Reine De Saba(薩巴女王)》,成為全世界無人不知、無人不曉的名曲,而雷蒙•勒菲夫皇家樂隊(duì)也一舉聞名于世。雷蒙•勒菲夫的兒子米歇爾•勒菲夫一直擔(dān)任著樂團(tuán)指揮,他完全繼承了父親的音樂信念,帶領(lǐng)著雷蒙•勒菲夫皇家樂隊(duì)始終保持著世界著名現(xiàn)代樂隊(duì)的榮譽(yù)。雷蒙•勒菲夫皇家樂隊(duì)把古典音樂和現(xiàn)代輕音樂的不同特征巧妙地結(jié)合,融為一體,曲風(fēng)浪漫、優(yōu)雅,令人聆聽時(shí)如感輕風(fēng)拂面,絲絲柔情觸動(dòng)心扉,充分領(lǐng)略到深蘊(yùn)其中的法式浪漫情懷。
The instrumental smash "Ame Câline" vaulted conductor and arranger Raymond Lefèvre to the front ranks of the easy listening renaissance that followed the commercial vogue for stereophonic sound. Born in Calais, France on November 20, 1929, Lefèvre studied flute as a child and at 16 entered Paris' Conservatoire National de Musique, moonlighting as a jazz pianist in local clubs and cabarets. After a stint behind jazz bandleader Hubert Rostaing, Lefèvre joined conductor Bernard Hilda's Club des Champs-Elysées orchestra--he established himself as a composer and arranger during a lengthy tenure as a Barclay Records staffer, concurrently serving six years behind Egyptian born-singer Dalida and in 1957 scoring the first of more than a dozen films with director Guillaume Radot's Fric-frac en dentelles. A year later, Lefèvre notched a minor U.S. hit with his interpretation of Gilbert Bécaud's "Le Jour Ou La Pluie Viendra," retitled "The Day the Rains Came" for American consumption--by this time, he was also established as the musical director for the French television variety series Musicorama, leading his orchestra in accompaniment of countless singers. While scoring the 1964 feature Faites Sauter La Banque!, Lefèvre first collaborated with fellow easy-listening maestro Paul Mauriat, his greatest commercial rival in the years to follow--while Mauriat scored the biggest instrumental hit of the period with the chart-topping "Love Is Blue," Lefèvre's lush symphonic approach was a fixture on the European pop charts throughout the Sixties as consumer demand for stereo recordings guaranteed impressive sales for singles including "La La La (He Gives Me Love)," "Puppet on a String" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale." He scored his biggest hit in 1968 when composer Michel Polnareff's haunting "Ame Câline" (a.k.a. "Soul Coaxing") emerged as a staple on pirate station Radio Caroline, and while his commercial fortunes dwindled in the decade to follow, Lefèvre remained a ubiquitous presence in French cinema, winning widespread acclaim for the 1971 thriller score Jo. He also continued recording until 2001, enjoying his greatest commercial renown in Japan. Lefèvre died in Seine-Port, France on June 27, 2008.