Jean-Louis Murat

The poet laureate of contemporary French rock, Jean-Louis Murat is an enigmatic and reclusive figure who communicates with the world at large almost exclusively via his poignant and deeply elegiac songs. Born Jean-Louis Bergheaud on January 28, 1954, in the Massif Central mountain community of La Bourboule, he spent the majority of his childhood at his grandparents' farm in remote Murat-le-Quaire; not only would the village's name later double as his creative alias, but its rural austerity would deeply influence his songwriting as well. Murat began learning music at age seven,...