Born in Toulon, France, Bécaud learned to play the piano at a young age, and then went to the Conservatoire de Nice.

His first hit in the English-speaking world was Jane Morgan's cover version of "Le jour où la pluie viendra" (as "The Day the Rains Came", with English lyrics by Carl Sigman) in 1958.

[4] Translated as "What Now My Love", the song became a hit by Shirley Bassey,[2] Sonny & Cher, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Andy Williams, Herb Alpert and Frank Sinatra.

[4] In 1962, he completed his largest composition, the 2-act opera L'Opéra d'Aran, which was premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 25 October 1962 (Georges Prêtre conductor).

[9] After the opera's performances, he toured Europe and continued recording a string of pop music hits, including "Crois-moi ça durera" and "Tu le regretteras".

[13] His song "Seul sur son étoile" became "It Must Be Him" (with English lyrics by Mack David), a hit in 1967 for the American singer Vikki Carr,[4] and the following year another Bécaud song, "L'important c'est la rose" was given an English lyric (by Norman Newell) and became a hit for the British singer Vince Hill under the title "Importance of Your Love".

On 19 June 1968, the American Broadcasting Company aired a half-hour colour special starring Bécaud that had been taped in Saarbrücken.

Bécaud performed "Nathalie", "Mademoiselle Lise" and "The Day the Rains Came" and sang a duet with Inge Brück, "Sand and Sea".

[15] Later in the century, he began writing with Pierre Grosz and then Neil Diamond, also penning the Broadway musical Roza with Julian More.

On 18 December 2001, he died from lung cancer, aged 74,[16][2] on his houseboat on the Seine,[4] and was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Bécaud's song "L'Orange" was the featured track in one of the trailers of the movie Léon (aka The Professional) by Luc Besson.