Eurovision Song Contest 1958
Country France
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: National final
Selection date(s)7 February 1958
Selected entrantAndré Claveau
Selected song"Dors, mon amour"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result1st, 27 points
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1957 • 1958 • 1959►

France participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958, held in Hilversum, Netherlands. André Claveau with the song "Dors, mon amour" was selected as the nation's entry following an internal selection as well as a national final held on 7 February 1958. At the contest, held on 12 March 1958, France won with 27 points.

Before Eurovision

The 1958 contest marked France's third appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest, having participated yearly since the first contest in 1956.[1] Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF) internally selected André Claveau to sing for France, with the song being selected in a national final. A few weeks prior to the national final, RTF asked 20 record labels to send their best songs. 15 songs were submitted, and RTF chose five of them for the national final.[2]

Et voici quelques airs

The music show Et voici quelques airs was used as the national final. It took place on 7 February 1958 at 20:25 CET and lasted 33 minutes.[3][4] It was produced by Claude Dagues and hosted by Marianne Lecène [fr].[2] Five songs were presented. They were sung by their composers or lyricists, with the exception of "Musique magique", sung by singer Jocelyne Jocya.[2]

The interval acts included Francis Lemarque [fr] and Christiane Legrand performing "Marjolaine", Maria Candido [fr] performing "Buenas noches, mi amor", André Claveau performing "Toi l'amour" and Daniele George performing "Mandoline amoureuse".[2]

A jury consisting of 13 music and television professionals decided the winner: Jean Marsac (jury president), Emmanuel Robert, Paul Peyre, Jean-Vincent Bréchignac [fr], Arno-Charles Brun [fr], Armand Lanoux, Ariane Ségal [fr], Agathe Mella [fr][a], André Salvet [fr], Denis Bourgeois [fr], Jacques Seignette, Paul Durand and Eddie Barclay.[2] Only the winning song and the runner-up were announced by jury president Jean Marsac.[2]

André Claveau then performed the winning song, holding a large sheet of paper with the notes and lyrics in front of him as he didn't know the song by heart.[2]

Participants and results[2]
R/O Song Songwriter Place
1 "Parigi Roma" Charles Dumont —
2 "Helena" René Denoncin 2
3 "Musique magique" unknown (performed by Jocelyne Jocya) —
4 "Dors, mon amour" Hubert Giraud 1
5 "Tape dans tes mains" André Richin —

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 took place at AVRO Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands on 12 March 1958.[5] Claveau sang third on the night of the contest, following the Netherlands and preceding Luxembourg. At the close of the voting he received 27 points, placing first of 10 countries, and giving France their first victory at the contest.

Voting

Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to their favourite song.

The members of the French jury were: Armand Lanoux (jury president), Henri Torrès, Jean Marsac, Renée Faure, Jean Delannoy, André Salvet [fr], Jo Bouillon, Line Renaud, Jean Sablon and Henri Jeanson.[6]

The French jury's voting was supervised by Paul Peyre, RTF director of television programming.[6]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ When reading out the list of jury members, presenter Marianne Lecène did not name her despite TV cameras showing her sitting with the other jury members.

References

  1. ^ "Countries – France". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Et voici quelques airs (Television programme) (in French). Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française. 7 February 1958.
  3. ^ "Radiodiffusion et télévision". Le Monde. 8 February 1958. p. 8. ProQuest 2504158005. Retrieved 5 July 2023 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ "Et voici quelques airs : émission du 7 février 1958". INAthèque (in French). Institut national de l'audiovisuel. CPF86614049. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Hilversum 1958". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b 3ème Concours Eurovision de la chanson 1958 (Television production) (in French). Hilversum and Paris: NTS ; RTF. 12 March 1958 – via Institut national de l'audiovisuel.
  7. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Hilversum 1958". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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