Cat No 636872

21 track, Hits collection by French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat, who is a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit, "Chariot." In 1963, the song was given English lyrics, renamed "I Will Follow Him," and became a number one American hit for Little Peggy March. Mauriat is best remembered for his 1968 smash, "Love Is Blue", which was Luxembourg's submission to the 1963 Eurovision Song contest, and  became an international hit, reaching number one on a number of charts, including America.

At the age of 17, he had formed an orchestra and began touring concert halls throughout Europe. These concerts earned him the attention of Charles Aznavour, who hired Mauriat as an arranger and conductor. Through Aznavour, he began working with a variety of other French artists, and for the remainder of the '40s and the '50s, he was mainly an arranger for other musicians.

Although Mauriat's popularity dipped in the early '70s - he only had two other minor U.S. hit singles, "Love in Every Room" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," - he continued to sell respectably throughout the world, particularly in Europe. He continued recording into the '80s.