his peers, Paul Mauriat has one of the largest recording catalogs, featuring more than 1,000 titles just from his PolyGram era (1965–1993). Both Mauriat's single recording "Love is Blue" (1967) and the album Blooming Hits each sold over one million copies. The single was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America in March 1968. In 1965, Mauriat established Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, and released hundreds of recordings and compilations through the Philips label for the next 28 years. In 1994, he signed with Japanese record company Pony Canyon, where he re-recorded some of his greatest hits and wrote new compositions. Mauriat recorded many of these albums in both Paris and London, utilising several English classical musicians in these recordings. Recognition He was awarded the Grand Prix (Grand Prize) from the French recording industry, a MIDEM trophy, and in 1997 won the prestigious distinction of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture. He has sold 6 million records in Japan. In 2002, Serge Elhaik published an authorised biography, Paul Mauriat: une vie en bleu. A line of saxophones and trumpets are named for Paul Mauriat, under the brand P. Mauriat, reflecting his popularity in their country of origin, Taiwan. Discography Singles "Puppet on a String" (1967) "Love Is Blue" (U.S. No. 1, 1968; AC No. 1, 1968) "Love In Every Room" (U.S. No. 60, 1968; AC No. 7, 1968) "San Francisco" (U.S. No. 103, 1968; AC No. 16, 1968) "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (U.S. No. 76, 1969; AC No. 24, 1969) "Hey Jude" (U.S. No. 119, 1969; AC No. 24, 1969) "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus" (AC No. 35, January 1970) "Gone Is Love" (AC No. 32, September 1970) "Apres Toi (Come What May)" (AC No. 21, 1972) "Love Theme from The Godfather" (Butterfly) (1972) "Taka Takata" (1972) Albums See also Faites sauter la banque! (film, 1964) References External links 1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century pianists Bandleaders Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Easy listening musicians French male composers French male conductors (music) French male pianists French music arrangers French songwriters Male songwriters Orchestra leaders Musicians from Marseille People from Perpignan Philips Records artists