Mimi Perrin 1926-2010

[brownie]

French singer (turned translator) Mimi Perrin who created the Les Double Six vocal group died Monday night in Paris. She was 84.

A former Double Six thread.

Mimi Perrin and Les Double Six in 1962. From left: Jean-Claude Briodin, Eddy Louiss, Ward Swingle, Claude Germain, Mimi Perrin, Claudine Meunier.

Photo by Jean-Pierre Leloir.

[Tom Storer]

Sad news.

An anecdote: my wife was for many years a literary agent, and the agency she was with represented the novelist John Le Carré in France. She got to know Mimi Perrin, and one day she mentioned in passing that she was going to have lunch with her. I said, "Really?? The singer?" "No," she replied, "She's a translator, not a singer. She translates Le Carré." I thought it was odd that there should be two Mimi Perrins, and explained about the Double Six, etc. To my wife's surprise, it turned out to be one and the same.

[paul secor]

I've always enjoyed the Dizzy & Double Six recording. And good to know that Ms. Perrin had talents outside of the musical world.

R.I.P.

[Teasing the Korean]

My parents were group singers in NY back in the day, and their ideal of vocal group harmony was the Hi-Lo's and the Double Six. My Dad had a US issue of the Quincy Jones Double Six album (released on Capitol of the World) and he would put that on when they had friends over. When I was old enough to reach his LPs and put them on the tube hi-fi, I would frequently spin that one. I felt very adult listening to it. I still have his copy.

I was very happy when that album came out on CD circa 2000, paired with another of their albums from that period.

RIP Mimi.

[GA Russell]

My Dad had a US issue of the Quincy Jones Double Six album (released on Capitol of the World) and he would put that on when they had friends over. When I was old enough to reach his LPs and put them on the tube hi-fi, I would frequently spin that one. I felt very adult listening to it. I still have his copy.

I was very happy when that album came out on CD circa 2000, paired with another of their albums from that period.

TTK, that sounds like the cd I have, except that I got mine about 1990.

I think that in the mid-60s Time Magazine had a staffer who was a fan of the Double Six and the Swingle Singers, because I seem to recall reading references to them more than once.

I wish that more of the Double Six's work was available on cd. They were not only great, they had a unique sound as well.

Isn't it interesting that Mimi Perrin was a success (in her own way) in two unrelated fields! RIP.

By the way, can a francophone here explain the translation of the term Double Six, and why the group was called that?

[Big Beat Steve]

By the way, can a francophone here explain the translation of the term Double Six, and why the group was called that?

Well, the "Six" sure look "Double" here:

As for how the name came about, this ad from the June, 1960 copy of JAZZ MAGAZINE may give a clue:

"6 voices x 2 = one jazz group"

An article on jazz vocals in the same issue of the mag implies that this calculation has to do with the voicings of the individual vocalists. The article says something like this: "The Double Six have an advantage over Lambert Hendricks and Ross in being twice as numerous so they have a wider scope of double voicings... Where a member of Lambert Hendricks and Ross has to sing four parts, a Double Six sings only two parts." I.e. Two times six = Double Six.

But no doubt Brownie will be able to pin this down more accurately.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Big Beat Steve

[Teasing the Korean]

The CD I mentioned was reissued circa 1999 or so. There were lots of promos for the new release in record stores in Beantown at that time.

The Double Six meaning has to do with their overdubbing themselves to fully mimic the brass and reed sections of the jazz orchestra (as is evident on the Q album pictured above). When you listen in stereo, the two groups are spread across the spectrum (on some tunes at least).

[brownie]

The Double Six meaning has to do with their overdubbing themselves to fully mimic the brass and reed sections of the jazz orchestra (as is evident on the Q album pictured above). When you listen in stereo, the two groups are spread across the spectrum (on some tunes at least).

That was how I understood it when that Double Six/Quincy Jones LP came out.

Another scan from the album cover:

Les Double Six sing Boplicity and Rat Race

INA video

Edited November 19, 2010 by brownie

[P.L.M]

A great lost. Love Les Double Six.

RIP Mimi.

Her lyrics was a magnificent work on the french language in the trad of Boris Vian and all.

And it swings.

[Big Beat Steve]

Listened to the Quincy Jones LP last night (after not having dug it out for a long time), indeed nice vocals, nice lyrics (that are an ear opener and it is all the better that the lyrics are printed on the cover ) etc. and they do swing, though I must say that the extreme vocal(ese) gymnastics thrown in liberally really are an acquired taste.

Straight after that I put on the reissue of the EmArcy LP by the BLUE STARS

http://microgroove.jp/mercury/MG36067.shtml Probably relatively conventional compared to the Double Six, but at least as highly enjoyable for the vocal quality and the reworking into French lyrics too IMHO.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Big Beat Steve

[Teasing the Korean]

Washington Post obit:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111805655.html