Histoire de Melody Nelson ("Story of Melody Nelson") is a 1971 concept album by the French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, arranged and co-written by Jean-Claude Vannier. Produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty, the album was released on March 24, 1971 through Philips Records. Its narrative follows an illicit romance which develops between the middle-aged narrator and fourteen-year-old girl Melody Nelson, portrayed on the album and its cover art by Gainsbourg's then-partner Jane Birkin.
The album is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished work, as well as one of the greatest French-language albums in popular music history.
At just under twenty-eight minutes, the short running time and the stylistic consistency and similarity throughout Histoire de Melody Nelson give it qualities more in line with an extended play or a single continuous suite. Its mix of funk-style electric guitar and bass guitar, Gainsbourg's spoken word and Sprechgesang vocal styles, and lush string and choral arrangements by arranger and co-writer Jean-Claude Vannier, have proven to be highly influential amongst later musical performers.
The cover photograph was shot by Tony Frank. It depicts Gainsbourg's partner Jane Birkin wearing a red wig, and with her jeans rolled down slightly to accommodate her early stage of pregnancy.
1 Melody 7:33
2 Ballade De Melody Nelson 2:00
3 Valse De Melody 1:32
4 Ah! Melody 1:46
5 L'Hotel Particulier 4:08
6 En Melody 3:27
7 Cargo Culte 7:40
