Les Double Six

Les Double Six (also known as the Double Six of Paris) was a French vocal jazz group established in 1959 by Mimi Perrin. The group established an international reputation in the early 1960s. The name of the group was an allusion to the fact that the sextet used double-tracking techniques to enhance and 'fatten' the sound, very much like Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys did in the recording studio. The membership of the group varied from recording to recording. The six members would all sing once to a recording track, then sing the exact duplicate performance again to a second track, "doubling" each individual vocal part. Singing in French, they performed jazz standards, particularly themes by Quincy Jones and Dizzy Gillespie, adding the poetic or humorous lyrics written by the imaginative Perrin. Inspired by several American groups, the singers vocalized in the manner of instruments, reconstructing brilliant improvisations of saxophones, trumpets or trombones. The group was not long-lasting. Because of Perrin's health problems (she had contracted tuberculosis in 1949), Les Double Six dissolved in 1966. They recorded four albums between 1959 and 1964. Many members of the group went on to join the Swingle Singers, which notably reproduced the works of Bach in the jazz vocal style. The Double Six were nominated for Best Vocal Group Performance at the 1965 Grammy Awards for their LP The Double Six of Paris Sing Ray Charles, but were beaten by The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night".