Born Under an Assumed Name

Jean-François Dandrieu was born in August or September 1682 on rue Saint-Louis, Île de la Cité, Paris. He was the eldest of at least four children and showed such musical precocity that it is reported he played the harpsichord for Louis XIV and his court at the age of five. It can be assumed that his reputation led to great demand for his services as a performer, since he travelled outside Paris as a musician on several occasions. He was not the first musical Dandrieu: his uncle, Pierre, trained as a priest and organist in Angers. It is possible that it was he who organised Jean-François’s studies with the harpsichordist and composer Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a fellow Angevin and near contemporary.

Idiosyncratic Belgian pop composer Ozark Henry broke through to mainstream success with his 2001 album, Birthmarks. Born Piet Goddaer in Kortrijk on April 29, 1970, he was the son of classical and jazz composer Norbert Goddaer, and began playing saxophone and piano at age six. Upon receiving an electric guitar for his 16th birthday, he and brother Jan formed a rock band, Church of the Nemesis. (Goddaer later assumed vocal duties as well, and the group changed its name to Heather O'Rourke in honor of the ill-fated child actress from the horror movie Poltergeist).