Jean Sablon; Elegant French Jazz Singer

Jean Sablon, the regal troubadour who recorded popular medleys of anguished love songs accompanied by some of the biggest names in French jazz, has died.

The Clinica, a hospital in the French Riviera town of Cannes-La-Bocca where he was admitted recently, said Sablon died Thursday night at age 87.

At the height of his popularity in the decades of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, he was known as the “French Bing Crosby.” But he had been out of the public eye and reportedly ill for several years.

Sablon was gifted with a sensuous sound that was first heard in public in his late teens at the Bouffes Parisiennes, a celebrated Paris variety house.

He was performing for $50 a month alongside another future star, Jean Gabin. There, Sablon attracted the attention of singer Mistinguett, and became a sought-after performer in other Parisian cabarets. Sablon cut his first record in 1930.

Although he became a near-overnight success, some criticized him for being the first French singer to use a microphone.

Detractors of the new amplification device called him the “singer without a voice.” But with songs such as “J’attendrai” (I’ll Wait), “C’est le Printemps” (It’s Spring), “La Chanson des Rues” (Song of the Streets), “Please, James” or “Sur le Pont d’Avignon,” Sablon established a lasting repertoire enhanced by his elegant silhouette and soft, Continental style in which he sometimes whispered rather than sang terms of endearment.

One of his early influences was the American singer “Whispering” Jack Smith.

From France, Sablon traveled to cabarets in Mexico City, Montreal, London and in 1934 to the United States.

It was in this country that he began wearing the pencil-thin mustache that became his trademark.

He also was credited with helping popularize jazz in France through his collaborations with violinist Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt.

For years he resisted offers to perform on American radio because networks would not import his favorite musicians for the broadcasts.

Sablon was known as a man of character. He refused to accept the prestigious Legion of Honor, saying his brother and sister--who created the “Song of the Partisans” in London during the World War II occupation of France--earned the award for military contributions.

“I’m not going to get it,” he said, “for pushing little songs.”

His farewell concert was in 1983 in Rio de Janeiro.