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Jitka Zelenková/Francis Lai/Francis Lai/Eduard Pergner

Francis Lai (French: [lɛ]; born 26 April 1932) is a French accordionist, and composer noted for his film scores.

While in his twenties, Francis Lai left home and went to Paris where he became part of the lively Montmartre music scene. In 1965 he met filmmaker Claude Lelouch and was hired to help write the score for the film A Man and a Woman. Released in 1966, the film was a major international success, earning a number of Academy Awards, and for the young Francis Lai, a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Original Score". This initial success brought more opportunities to work for the film industry both in his native France as well as in Great Britain and the United States. He is known for his support of Mireille Mathieu in many compositions and recordings. In 1969, he wrote the score for director René Clément's film, Rider On The Rain ("Le Passager de la Pluie"). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in September 1971.