PARIS (Mon Feb. 19, 2001) (AP) _ Singer and songwriter Charles Trenet, whose warm voice and love songs captured the hearts of the French for more than six decades, has died. He was 87.

Trenet wrote nearly 1,000 songs, including the celebrated, ``La Mer' (The Sea) and ``La Douce France' (Sweet France). He died of a stroke Sunday evening in a hospital in the Paris suburb of Creteil.

French radio stations paid tribute to Trenet's music with nonstop broadcasts on Monday, and French leaders and entertainers voiced condolences for the man, who playwright Jean Cocteau once called France's ``last troubadour.'

President Jacques Chirac issued a statement hailing Trenet as ``a magician with words' and the ``symbol of a smiling and imaginative France.'

Singer Henri Salvador, 83, speaking on the radio, praised Trenet as ``the Sun King of French song,' while Culture Minster Catherine Tasca said in a statement: '`La Douce France' is sad. Charles Trenet, the poet has left us.'

Trenet's love songs were known for his clever play on words and his images of fantasy.

``I make songs like an apple tree makes apples,' Trenet once said. ``They come from inside of me.'

Trenet was born May 18, 1913 in Narbonne, in southern France. He moved to Paris in 1933 and soon became a star.

He was drafted into the military in 1936, and wrote the sentimental, patriotic, ``La Douce France,' while still in uniform in 1943. When World War II ended, Trenet spent six years abroad, including several years in the United States, where he appeared on Broadway.

Trenet returned to France in 1951 and resumed a celebrated career in old-world music halls. He continued performing until his retirement in 1971, which was interrupted by rare concerts. Trenet's last performance was in November 1999, in Paris.

President Chirac decorated Trenet as a commander of the Legion d'honneur, France's highest civilian honor, in 1998.

A religious ceremony was to be held Friday at Paris' Madeleine church.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.