THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,007) Les Problèmes — “Je Ne Vois Rien”/”I See Nothing”
An “[a]bsolutely incredible . . . fuzz garage song[]. . . . one of the best sixties french [45’s]”. (vinylomania, https://www.discogs.com/release/7215663-Les-Probl%C3%A8mes-Je-Ne-Vois-Rien-Passe-Ton-Chemin) France? Absolument! “The Fuzz guitar intro is awesome!! [T]he good times where garage rock and that famous 60’s fuzz sound was present even in France!!!” (brunoguerineau8928, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26VC9G47ON4) “Obsessive fuzz, scathing lyrics, the best French group of the 60’s”. (Léonard Michalon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq56Hn3VMQw) “My brain has just exploded ….those damn french have done it again!” (x23skidoox, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcJxOqAFoHA) (All prior quotes courtesy of Google Translate). Apparently, Mo Fuzz, Mo Problèmes!
As to the Problèmes, Wikipedia tells us that:
Les Charlots, known as The Crazy Boys in the English-speaking world, was a group of French musicians, singers, comedians and film actors, who were popular in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. The group was active first from 1965 to 1966 as “Les Problèmes” . . . . They renamed themselves Les Charlots and remained active from 1966 to 1997, then again briefly from 2008 to 2011 (as a duo). Charlots is slang for “clowns” or “idiots” rather than being a direct reference to Charlie Chaplin, who was generally called Charlot in France. Their light-hearted comedy style was influenced by the style of popular Italian group Brutos and by the anarchist humor of the Marx Brothers. . . . Rinaldi and Sarrus were musicians in various short-lived groups . . . and they first met in 1963. They became friends and decided to form a rock band . . . . In 1965, they became the backing band for singer Antoine under the name of “Les Problèmes” (“The Problems”) or sometimes “Antoine et les Problèmes” (“Antoine and the Problems”). They backed him on two his greatest hits . . . . After a spoof of Antoine’s “Je Dis ce que je pense, je vis comme je veux” released under the alias “Les Charlots” became a novelty hit, their manager convinced them to stick to comedy and switch names for good. . . . They became instantly extremely popular for their humoristic/parodic songs. . . . After they left Antoine, they toured a lot from 1966 to 1970, first as the opening act of . . . even The Rolling Stones. One day, as The Rolling Stones were late for their gig, Les Charlots started playing “Satisfaction”. Later in the evening, Sarrus said to Mick Jagger that, if they wanted, the Rolling Stones could play “Paulette la Reine des Paupiettes”. Jagger politely refused. In the late ’60s, Les Charlots began to appear in comedy sketches on French television . . . . In 1968, Rolling Stone . . . named them the best French rock musicians. . . . With their increasing popularity as a genuine rock / comedy group, they received many offers to appear in films. [Movies became their main activity in the ’70s.] All their [eight] films from 1971 to 1976 . . . became phenomenal hits in France and all around the world (especially in India) . . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Charlots
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