Introduction
Johnny Hallyday, or “Johnny” as he is lovingly known to millions of fans in France, was the French version of Elvis Presley. Relatively unknown in English speaking countries, he was often introduced to audiences outside France as "the biggest rock star you've never heard of". A national treasure, Hallyday appeared on more than 2,500 magazine covers, and had 190 books dedicated to him during his lifetime.[1] He is remembered as "a hip swiveling, leather-clad Gallic answer to Elvis Presley who shook up his home country's music scene with American-style rock-n-roll and bad-boy antics”.[2]
Remembering “Johnny”
Johnny Hallyday, 1965. Photo Credit: Erling Mandelmann.
Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950’s rock and roll revolution, Johnny Hallyday, born Jean-Philippe Smet on June 15th, 1943 in Paris, became known for singing rock and roll in French. His debut single, “Laisse les Filles”, was released in 1960. His cover of “Let’s Twist Again” in 1961 sold over one million copies topping almost every European chart (with the exception of the UK). Johnny Hallyday appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show with American pop star, Connie Francis, in a taped show that was filmed at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. Under the management of Bruno Coquatrix, Johnny made many appearances at the Paris Olympia. Jimi Hendrix and The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in the French city, Nancy, on October 14th, 1966. Hallyday socialized with other pop music stars, such as Keith Richards and Bob Dylan.
Johnny Hallyday, 2009. Photo Credit: Georges Biard.
Johnny Hallyday continued to make a series of alums in the late 1960s; and by 1969, his record sales exceeded twelve million units. His popularity continued throughout the decades, and in the year 2000, his 100% Johnny: Live à la tour Eiffel attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers who watched the live broadcast on French TV.
Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring in 2007, he released a blues-flavored album, Le Coeur d’un Homme, which contained the lead single, “Always”, and features "T'aimer si mal", a duet with blues musician Taj Mahal, and "I Am the Blues", an English-language song (uncharacteristic for Hallyday) written by U2’s lead singer Bono.
Tour 66: Stade de France 2009 was a live set recorded at Stade de France during his farewell tour. In 2011, Hallyday realeased “Jamais Seul”, recorded with Matthieu Chedid, and started touring again. More albums were released, including the 2012 “On Stage and Born Rocker Tour, which was a recording of his 70th anniversary of concerts in Bercy and Theatre de Paris. Albums, “Rester Vivant” and “De L’Amour” were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In 2015–2016 Hallyday went on the road with his Rester Vivant Tour. A concert in Brussels was released as a live album in 2016.
Photo Credit: Johnny Hallyday fan Facebook page.
As early as 2009, Hallyday experienced ill health, having been diagnosed with colon cancer. He died of lung cancer on 6 December 2017 in Marnes-la-Coquette, near Paris at the age of 74. At his funeral, held in Paris, 900,000 lined the Champs-Élysées as his body was taken to the Madeleine Church. The service was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and two of his predecessors. He was buried on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy on December 11th, 2017.
For more information about Johnny Hallyday, please check out: Marinella ReveaneJohnny / Elvis Les Légendes et les autres.
Videos
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Hallyday
[2] Credited to The Daily Beast