Alain Goraguer (born May 25, 1927, in Eaubonne Val-d'Oise, France), is a French composer, songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his many soundtracks to French films, television shows and cartoons, as well as having a long-lasting career as an electronic keyboard artist.
Goraguer grew up in a creative household, with both of his parents being members of the artistic and theatrical circles in Paris. As a child he studied classical piano and composition. After he entered the Ecole Normale de Musique in 1950, he made his recording debut in 1953 on Henri Renaud's Antibes Orchestra recording, "Les Recettes du Misoné".
As an innovative arranger, Goraguer's first recorded success was with Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (on the Bayou)" which he arranged for Renaud's orchestra. In 1956, he provided the parisien-pop-style arrangements to Georges Brassens' first LP "Death of a Mogul". His lengthy collaboration with Brassens yielded a self-titled album in 1965.
Goraguer spearheaded a new era of French pop and library music with the 1967 Chorus-by-Festival label release, "Minor Swing", the first known French LP for jazz and popular standards. The album furthered his reputation as a solid arranger and spawned many works in the jazz-funk genre, including such albums as "Go Go Goraguer" and "Vibrations".
Goraguer was asked by composer Pierre Dutour to arrange soundtracks for low budget French films. This established Goraguer as one of the most sought after soundtrack artists of the 1960s and 70s. In 1970, he earned national attention for his work on Alain Resnais's classic film, "Last Year at Marienbad". During the 1980's and 1990's his television credits multiplied as he scored theme songs for dozens of TV shows.
Goraguer is also lauded as one of the pioneers of modern electronic and synthesizer music. He was among the first to work with the Moog modular synthesizer, scoring the soundtrack to the 1967 musical documentary "The World of the Synth". He was also recruited as a main member of the electronics-based cult group Ensemble Intégral at its formation in 1969.
But Goraguer’s signature work was the score to the Cartoon Network’s “Tintin†series. Goraguer composed over 200 pieces for this score, thus earning his nickname “Tintin Manâ€. His other scoring work includes the Aventures Fantastiques, Lebouf Doublerachel, Emmanuelle, and Alexandre le Grand.
Throughout his career as a prolific composer and arranger, Goraguer has managed to craft his own distinct sound that is both unique and revolutionary at the same time. His style crosses easily through many genres such as film, library, jazz, pop, funk, and electronic music.
Alain Goraguer passed away at the age of 91 on June 3rd 2018 in Eaubonne, France. He will be remembered as a major influence in the development of various musical genres, and his contributions to the world of music will live on for generations to come.