Although chanson réaliste was a musical genre dominated by female vocalists, one of its earliest performers—and credited by some as "the creator" or "the father" of genreMoore Whiting, Steven (1999). Satie the Bohemian: From Cabaret to Concert Hall, Oxford University Press. p. 20. Robb, David (2007). Protest Song in East and West Germany Since the 1960s, Boydell & Brewer. p. 36. .—was cabaret singer and comedian Aristide Bruant. Bruant began a career at Le Chat Noir in 1885 and his vaudeville-inspired mix of song, satire and entertainment became very popular with the bourgeoisie slumming in the poorer Montmartre district.Wilson, Elizabeth (2003). Bohemians: The Glamorous Outcasts, Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p 224. . His compositions were novel for the time because they included the everyday language and slang used by the commoners.
