Biography
Francis Lai was a French composer of film scores. Born in Nice, he began his career as a pianist and accordionist, working as an accompanist to Édith Piaf in Paris before composing songs for her and others.
In 1965 he met director Claude Lelouch and provided the score for A Man and a Woman (1966). The pair collaborated on nearly 40 films over five decades. Lai’s best-known work is the score for Love Story (1970), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Golden Globe; its theme became a hit single for Andy Williams as “Where Do I Begin”.
