The proverbial “BB” is perceived above all as an icon of French and international film. Rightly so. But her musical work is not without its own either. Definitely more than a casual byproduct of her acting career. In the 1960s, Brigitte Bardot developed her own, distinctive pop aesthetic that combined French chanson, international pop and Latin American rhythms.
Their songs exemplify a new form of pop music that focused less on vocal virtuosity and more on atmosphere, personality and contemporary style. Her singing style can sometimes be described as “breathy”, sometimes as reserved or almost speaking.
The rock critics of their time thought little of it. Nevertheless, it shaped the style over the decades. It was precisely their apparent imperfection that gave their recordings a modern intimacy that fit well with the pop culture of the Sixties and clearly set them apart from classic French chanson. It wasn’t just bands like Nouvelle Vague who later took up their “technique” in a retro style.
Brigitte Bardot: Her 7 best pop songs
“La Madrague” (1963)
Your musical business card. The song is dedicated to her “retreat” on the Côte d’Azur, characterized by a calm guitar accompaniment and a quasi-meditative mood. The recording embodies Bardot’s longing for simplicity and nature at the time. One of her key successes that is still closely linked to her public image today.
When the track was released, Bardot herself was initially not very enthusiastic about the fact that this very personal, quiet song had become the trademark of her music career. Friends reported that she found the title “too intimate” and didn’t expect it to be a hit. Ironically, the song was later used in political events and advertising campaigns. Something that Bardot always detested and publicly criticized.
“Moi je joue” (1964)
Bardot’s playful side. With its light rhythm and self-confident, almost flirtatious message, it fits perfectly into the pop landscape of the early sixties. “Moi je joue” shows Bardot as a modern woman who plays with role models instead of simply fulfilling them.
“L’appareil à sous” (1965)
A typical example of Bardot’s humorous pop recordings. The song takes a simple, memorable motif and combines it with an ironic distance that is characteristic of many of her recordings. Light in content, musically effective, it reflects the zeitgeist of the decade.
“Bonnie and Clyde” (1968, with Serge Gainsbourg)
The duet with Serge Gainsbourg is one of the best-known French pop recordings of the late 1960s. The song is based on a minimalist, almost hypnotic structure and thrives on the contrast between Gainsbourg’s laconic delivery and Bardot’s gentle voice. In terms of content and music, “Bonnie and Clyde” marks a turning point towards a darker, more modern pop aesthetic.
“Tu veux ou tu veux pas” (1964)
A flirty, rhythmically influenced title that clearly shows Bardot’s proximity to bossa nova and mambo. The song is playful and determined at the same time and shows Bardot as a figure between seduction and self-determination.
“Ne me laisse pas l’aimer” (1962)
One of Bardot’s more emotional recordings, which underlines her ability to credibly convey even quiet, vulnerable tones. The song is closer to traditional chanson, but remains clearly anchored in pop.
“Harley Davidson” (1967)
With this title Bardot approached a more rock sound. The song quickly became a symbol of freedom, mobility and youth rebellion – themes that became increasingly important in the late 1960s.
A conscious image correction: freedom, engine noise, American lifestyle. Behind the scenes, however, Bardot is said to have had little interest in motorcycles. Contemporary witnesses report that she viewed the piece rather ironically and was amused by journalists who interpreted the song as an authentic expression of her personality.
Timeless attitude to life
Overall, Bardot’s music is inextricably linked to her film persona, but goes beyond mere image cultivation. Their songs integrated international influences such as bossa nova, samba and mambo early on and gave French pop a new lightness. At the same time, they conveyed an attitude to life that oscillated between hedonism, melancholy and joie de vivre (joy in life).
Bardot was not a classical singer, but a projection surface for a new understanding of pop: personality before perfection, mood before technique. That’s precisely why their best songs endure to this day – not as nostalgic curiosities, but as precise snapshots of an era in which pop music began to redefine style, attitude and attitude to life.
Behind the scenes
Despite her status as a pop icon, Bardot hated public singing performances. She suffered from severe stage fright and consistently refused to pursue a classical singing career. Many of their songs were recorded in just a few takes, often late at night when there were as few people as possible in the studio. Producers described her as nervous but highly focused – in complete contrast to her casual image. Her collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, particularly on “Bonnie and Clyde”, was musically fruitful but personally tense.
Gainsbourg is said to have been frustrated several times because Bardot wanted to change lyrics spontaneously or not sing lines exactly. Bardot, for his part, often found Gainsbourg’s provocative nature exhausting. Still, that friction worked – many observers are convinced that the song’s cool, distant atmosphere arose from it. As her pop songs became more and more successful, Bardot’s discomfort with her sex symbol status grew. She is said to have repeatedly asked producers to choose “less sexy” sounding arrangements – an unusual request at a time when her image guaranteed huge sales.
Some light, almost childlike recordings from the mid-1960s are direct consequences of this attitude. An often-quoted insider saying from those around Bardot is: “She sang pop because it was fast.” In fact, she never viewed music as a career plan, but rather as a snapshot. Paradoxically, it was this indifference to the music business that made her songs seem so timeless – they never sounded calculated.