Jacques Morali

Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for collaborating with Henri Belolo to create acts such as The Ritchie Family and Village People.





== Early life ==

Morali was born in 1947 (although some sources say 1946) in Casablanca, French Morocco to a Moroccan Jewish family.





== Career ==





=== Beginning in France ===

Morali made his start in the music business at the end of the 1960s, writing music for orchestras in Paris, for the Crazy Horse, for himself as a solo artist (he played in 1967 show "Elle aime, elle n'aime pas" and released a single of the same title) but also for performers like Peter Fersen. Viva Zapata (Venus VS-71451), one of his first French productions, was sung by "Clint Farwood" - a pseudonym for a member of King Harvest. In the early 1970s, Morali met French music producer Henri Belolo. But he thought quickly that his success in France was not as great as expected and decided to try his luck in North America. Through meeting José Eber, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher's hairdresser, he became familiar with Philadelphia International Records. At the time, Morali proposed several projects to Belolo without convincing him.





=== International ===

In 1975, Morali told Belolo about his intention to adapt the song "Brazil" from The Gang's All Here starring Carmen Miranda. The idea was to make an epic record for the clubs, sung by larger-than-life female singers.