Jean Cussac

Born in Paris, Jean Cussac studied lyrical singing at the Conservatoire de Paris, and subsequently turned to jazz and joined the Swingle Singers at their creation in 1962, alongside Anne Germain, Jeanette Beaucomont, Christiane Legrand, Jean-Claude Briodin, Claude and José Germain. Together, they recorded many albums and received several awards including the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1964 and the Grand Prix du disque of the Académie Charles-Cros.

The same year, he was chosen to be the sung voice of the prince during the redubbing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He therefore began a regular collaboration with the Walt Disney Pictures as a singer. (One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Pinocchio,[1]) then as musical director (Dumbo,[1] The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Lady and the Tramp,[1]) an opportunity for him to continue working with his Swingle partners.

As music director, he also supervised The Secret of NIMH (1982), Annie and An American Tail (1986) among other things.

He also took part in the recording of songs from French films such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and Moi y'en a vouloir des sous (1973) and to albums such as L'Aigle noir by Barbara (1970) and Les Chansons de Sylvain et Sylvette.

Nevertheless, he didn't abandon the lyrical repertoire, recording among others the Coronation Mass by Mozart, Les Malheurs d'Orphée by Darius Milhaud alongside Claudine Collart, Janine Collard, Jacqueline Brumaire, Bernard Demigny and André Vessières. He was also Kapellmeister at Les Invalides church in Paris.

• Portrait in La Gazette du doublage