A troubadour went
Joan-Pau Verdier was born in Périgueux in 1947.
He studied at the Faculty of Arts in Bordeaux. An occitanist and libertarian activist, he was one of the creators of the Anarchist Communist Federation of Occitanie (FACO) in 1969.
From Ferré to Brassens
He devoted a great admiration to Léo Ferré: in 1975 he translated his song into Occitan « Neither God nor Master », which then becomes « Neither Diu nor Mestre »
After Léo Ferré, it will be Georges Brassens' turn in an album entitled Verdier, Bonnefon, Salinie chant Brassens, followed by a second volume, two years later.
Singer Occitan
An emblematic figure of the renaissance of the Occitane song in the 1970s, Joan-Pau Verdier signed with a Parisian record company (which was criticized for part of the occitanist milieu).
Still very active in the Occitan musical world, he also hosts an Occitan radio program on France Bleu Périgord, as well as various chronicles devoted to the Occitan language.
Libertarian musician
Although claiming to be occitan culture, he always opposed « occitanists » And folklorists. His music spreads on a wide palette: rock, blues, jazz-rock, tango, folk. Whether in French or Occitan, he gave all the musical tones to his songs.
Died in 2020, he was buried in Chancelade in his native Dordogne.
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