1925年3月4日,保罗-莫里哀诞生于法国南部马思圣街15号旧港尤波而附近。在四兄弟之中,他排行老幺。他的父亲除服务于当时的邮局之外,也从事业余的音乐活动。4岁时,保罗-莫里哀开始弹奏钢琴;5岁时,他的音乐才华受到家人的注意。10岁开始进入马赛国立音乐院研习4年正统音乐,并以第一名的优异成绩毕业。马赛音乐院毕业之后,保罗-莫里哀立志要成为古典音乐会上的钢琴演奏家。后因迷上当时流行的爵士乐,而改变此雄心大志。17岁时,其自组乐团开始在欧洲各地巡回演奏。他的音乐才华被巴克雷|(Barca)唱片公司总裁发掘,邀他为该公司旗下的首席歌星,担任录音伴奏。
曾分别为法国著名的歌星夏而-亚兹纳弗(C.Aznayour)、米洛依-马缔欧(M.Mathieo)、达莉妲(Dida)及莫利斯-西瓦利耶(M.Chevaier)…等作曲、伴奏。除为歌星伴奏外,他也写过多首当时曾流行的歌曲,如《怀念的约会》(Rendez-Vous Au avandou)、《赌命》(Sur Ma Vir)、《浪漫行程》(a ongue Marche)等。
1963年与法国另两位情调音乐乐团指挥法兰克-波赛而(Frank Pource)及雷蒙-鲁菲而(Raymonf efevre)合写了一首著名的流行曲《天涯海角永相随》(I Wi Foow Him),后来由小莅姬-玛琪(itte Peggy March)唱红,风靡一时。96年,此歌再度出现在喜剧片《修女也疯狂》中,重燃热门。
1965年离开巴克雷唱片公司,同年正式组成了一支象征着他个人的大乐团--e Grand Orchestra De Pau Mauriat。
1966年保罗-莫里哀与法国飞利浦唱片公司签订长期合约。此后他的一系列演奏录音正式由飞利浦唱片公司(总公司在荷兰)向全球发行。同时,他最灿烂的音乐生涯也由此展开。
1967年他将一首欧洲电视网歌唱大赛(Euovisio Contest)的第四名歌曲《爱情是忧郁》(ove Is Bue/'Amour Est Bue)改编灌录成演奏曲后,收录这首乐曲的该张专集唱片也在全球各地创下了销量六百万张的辉煌纪录。从此,保罗-莫里哀扬名国际。
1968年《爱情是忧郁的》冲出欧洲大陆,风靡全美,连续6周蝉联美国Biboard热门歌曲排行榜第一名。2月,保罗-莫里哀应邀参加美国最具权威的电视节目《苏利文剧撤(Ed Suivan Show)的演出。同年并获法国ACC唱片大奖。
1969年保罗-莫里哀首度率团前往日本公演,他那清新鲜明的瑰丽音色立刻席卷整个日本乐坛。自1971年起,保罗-莫里哀每年都率团前往日本公演,至1998年止,他已经连续第22次率团赴日公演。
1970年应墨西哥乐迷之请,灌录了《爱情海的珍珠》(Peneope),同时也风靡全球。
1975年保罗-莫里哀率团首度前往韩国汉城公演,对亲耳听到的韩国民谣《阿里郎》非常喜爱;1976年在巴黎专属录音室Studio Des Danes完成了这首韩国民谣的演奏录音,题名是(Eastern ove Song);
1976年将他每年访日公演时的印象化作音符,由他自己谱曲、编曲兼指挥,在巴黎完成了一张《日本纪行》(ove Sounds Journey)的录音专辑。
1979年保罗-莫里哀将日本的一些流行歌曲改编灌录成一张《日本流行歌曲演奏专集》(Message D' Amour)。
1981年保罗-莫里哀亲自担任日本版画家池田满寿夫所执导的电影(Roma Daa Finestra)的全片配乐工作。
1982年在巴黎专属录音室灌录了一首台湾校园民谣《龙的传人》,除首张华语乐曲世界级大乐团演奏之外,更在华人世界掀起了一阵"保罗-莫里哀"的狂飙。除此之外,保罗-莫里哀也为香港女歌星雷安娜谱写了一首港剧的主题曲《痴情劫》。
1982年该团钢琴手杰拉而-冈比斯(Gerard Gambus)离开乐团,另寻独立。从此编曲工作完全落入保罗-莫里哀一个人的手中。
1983年12月11日及12日保罗-莫里哀首度率团赴台湾地区公演。保罗-莫里哀旅行公演的足迹已经遍及全球五大洲,所到之处,无不受到热烈的欢迎。
1984年他演奏了齐豫的《橄榄树》。
1985年再次赴台访问,带来了黄莺莺的《只有分离》。
1986年他为台湾乐迷写了一首创作曲《台北之歌》(Song For Taipei/Thinking Of You)。
1987年他推出三部不同主题的专集《小夜曲》(Serenade),《伊比利亚》(Iberia)、《长记我心》(Remember)。
1988年推出《法国金曲集》(Best Of France)。
1990年台湾当红歌星童安格演唱了保罗-莫里哀的创作曲《爱的主题曲》成为当时热门话题,此曲至今仍在中国东方航空公司班机上作为安全须知安全短片的背景音乐使用,估与原曲名称(PM Eastern ove Song)有关。同年还推出一张保罗-莫里哀乐团自身的名曲回顾专集(Retrospective),用全新的编曲手法改编演奏了过往二十年乐团的招牌曲目。
1991年出版了保罗-莫里哀乐团生涯纪念的音乐会集锦《金色音乐会》(God Concert)以及一张收录改编12首台湾地区流行曲的专辑《其实你不懂我的心》,包括标题曲及《大约在冬季》、《我的未来不是梦》等等,91年起,他暂停对日本的巡回演出,专心录音工作和享受晚年。
1992年爵士乐名曲改编集(Nostaiazz)。
1993年为飞利浦灌录最后一张唱片《激情》(Emotion)。正式告别当时宝丽金集团。签约日本玻丽佳丽(Poy Canyon)。此时正值保罗-莫里哀灌录了第1000首曲目。
1994年-1996年陆续出版《电影金曲集》(Soundtracks)与《恰克与飞鸟名曲改编集》。
1996年2月美国( board杂志)出版特刊《保罗-莫里哀30年乐坛成就特辑》。保罗-莫里哀乐团于96年两度访日演出,回馈乐迷三十年的支持。
1997年保罗-莫里哀再度访日。在28个城市作了36场公演,这也是他三十年间第21次在日本公演。访华事宜在继续洽谈中。
1998年保罗-莫里哀宣布正式告别演出舞台,并与乐团接班人Gies Gambus同台指挥。音乐会定名为《再见音乐会之旅》(SAYONARA Concert Tour)。在横滨及东京,保罗-莫里哀见到了邀他访华的中国乐迷徐毅,再商访华行程。
1999年保罗-莫里哀开始了退休生活,而乐团也暂休一年准备新世纪的出发。
2000年12月8日在结束日本巡回之后,乐团首度巡回出访中国内地。
French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat 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 worldwide smash "Love Is Blue."
Mauriat's ancestors were all classical musicians and he originally planned to follow in their footsteps, studying the music as a child and enrolling in the Conservatoire in Paris when he was ten years old. As a teenager, he became infatuated with jazz and popular music, which made him stray from his initial career path. At the age of 17, he formed an orchestra and began touring concert halls throughout Europe. These concerts earned him the attention of vocalist/songwriter Charles Aznavour, who hired Mauriat as an arranger and conductor. Through Aznavour, he began working with a variety of other French artists. For the remainder of the '40s and the '50s, he worked primarily as an arranger for other musicians.
Mauriat began a solo career in the early '60s, recording a series of instrumental albums that were distinguished by their sweeping, melodic strings and gently insistent contemporary rhythms. Using the pseudonym Del Roma, he co-wrote "Chariot," which became a hit for Petula Clark in 1962. The following year, the song was given a new, English lyric by Arthur Altman and Norman Gimbel and was recorded by Little Peggy March as "I Will Follow Him"; it became a number one hit in the U.S.
Throughout the '60s, Mauriat continued to record his pop instrumental albums, which became more popular as the decade progressed. His popularity peaked in 1968, when his version of "L'Amour Est Bleu" (Love Is Blue), which was Luxembourg's submission to the 1963 Eurovision Song contest, became an international hit, reaching number one on a number of charts, including America. The single was supported by Blooming Hits, an album that featured a selection of '60s pop hits; the album was massively popular and it is estimated that it sold in excess of two million copies worldwide. Mauriat became an international recording star, touring North and Latin America, Europe, and Japan, and making television appearances in several countries.
Although Mauriat's popularity dipped in the early '70s — he only had two other U.S. hit singles, "Love in Every Room" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," which were both minor — he continued to sell respectably throughout the world, particularly in Europe. After the '80s his recorded output slowed as his Western audience dwindled, but in the Far East he found a loyal following. Tours of Russia, China, and Japan would continue until 1998 when the conductor gave his last live performance in Osaka. A year later, former lead pianist Gilles Gambus would become conductor of the orchestra, and then in 2005 French horn player Jean-Jacques Justafre would be handed the baton. On November 3, 2006, Mauriat died in the southern French city of Perpignan.