yé-yé

[ ye-ye ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the rock-'n'-roll music, fashions, entertainment, etc., of the 1960s, especially in France.
2. of or relating to the people associated with these trends.
3. having exuberance, optimism, and enthusiasm for current fads, as a teenager or young adult.

Word History and Origins

Origin of yé-yé¹

1960–65; < French < English yeah-yeah

Example Sentences

In 2017, Paley collaborated with Victoria Meyer, an environmental scientist at Southern California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on a set of songs inspired by the ’60s French pop style known as yé-yé.

From Los Angeles Times

Françoise Hardy, the French chanson singer, songwriter, fashion “It Girl” and darling of the 1960s “yé-yé” French pop movement, has died.

From Los Angeles Times

As the decades progressed, her muse pushed her away from the commercially driven yé-yé sound toward pop-focused psychedelia, folk-rock and meditative adult pop.

From Los Angeles Times

Alongside peers including Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot, France Gall and Sylvie Vartan, Hardy ascended to become a yé-yé hitmaker in her native Paris, drawing the attention of jet-setting pop stars, tastemakers and fashionistas from London, New York and Tokyo.

From Los Angeles Times

As with other yé-yé singers, Hardy’s music blended mid-1960s bubblegum pop, groovy guitar lines and France’s romantic chanson tradition to create sticky-sweet love songs.

From Los Angeles Times