Charles Trenet was among the last of his kind of singer, a holdover from the era of pre-World War II France and the prime of Maurice Chevalier, as well as singer/composers such as Georges Brassens and Léo Ferré. Originally an art student, Trenet turned to singing in his early twenties, initially in partnership with pianist Johnny Hess in a duo billed as "Charles and Johnny." In his earliest stage persona, Trenet was also known as a musical impressionist, with a special penchant for doing exaggerated impersonations of Chevalier. Ironically, amid the manic antics of the act, he actually suffered from deep stage fright, which he never fully overcame, but later learned to mask. After a year working with Hess, he ended up drafted — into the French Air Force, no less — during which time he shaved his head and sported a monocle, two attributes that gave him a bizarre appearance and got him the nickname, for a time, of "The Singing Madman." He resumed...