Johnny Hallyday
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Johnny Hallyday (born June 15, 1943 in Paris, France) is a French singer and actor.
He sold more than 100 million records in France alone, scoring more than 200 hit singles (including 33 Number Ones). An icon in the French-speaking world since the very beginning of his career, some consider him to be the French equivalent of Elvis Presley. Today Hallyday is still considered as France's number-one singer and is seen as an unbelievable stage performer, giving incredible shows in crowded stadiums. Yet Hallyday remains largely unknown outside of France and the other French-speaking countries.
Johnny Hallyday was born Jean-Philippe Smet in Cité Malesherbes, Paris, France, to a French mother Huguette and a Belgian father Leon Smet. His parents separated not long after his birth, so he was raised by his paternal aunt, Hélène Mar. (His pseudonym was borrowed from his cousin's friend, Lee Halliday). In January 2006, he started a procedure to receive Belgian citizenship. His request is now being reviewed by Belgium's naturalisation commission.
Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950's rock revolution, Johnny, as he is popularly known, became famous in the 1960s from singing rock'n'roll in French. He appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on July 1, 1962 with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. Since then, he has had a 40-year career in the music industry and is one of France's biggest stars. He has made 400 tours, had 18 platinum albums and performed in front of 15 million people.
He was married on April 12, 1965 to Sylvie Vartan (French singer) in Loconville. They have a son, David Hallyday (who is also a singer), born David Michael Benjamin Smet on August 14, 1966.Johnny was seen as a less caring father as his career had taken control of his life, his focus was more on his career and his next song rather than that of his family. Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan were France's "Golden Couple" of their generation. They divorced on November 4, 1980.
A year later, he married a model named Babeth Etienne on December 1, 1981 in Los Angeles, the marriage lasted 2 months and 2 days.
His love affair with the French actress Nathalie Baye began in 1982, after they met on a television programme. Nathalie gave birth to their daughter, Laura, at the end of 1983. They separated in 1986.
He married Adeline Blondiau in 1990. They divorced in 1992.
In 1996 he married Laetitia Boudou. In 2004 the couple adopted a Vietnamese baby girl, called Jade.
In December 2005 Hallyday had his 33rd Number One single in France ,"Mon Plus Beau Noël".
Albums
Studio Albums
- Hello Johnny (1960, Vogue)
- Nous Les Gars, Nous Les Filles (1961, Vogue)
- Tête A Tête Avec Johnny (1961, Vogue)
- Salut Les Copains! (1961, Philips)
- Johnny Hallyday sings America's Rockin' Hits (1962, Philips)
- Les Bras En Croix (1963, Philips)
- Les Rocks Les Plus Terribles (1964, Philips)
- Halleluyah (1965, Philips)
- Johnny Chante Hallyday (1965, Philips)
- La Génération Perdue (1966, Philips)
- Johnny 67 (1967, Philips)
- Jeune Homme (1968, Philips)
- Rêve Et Amour (1968, Philips)
- Rivière... Ouvre Ton Lit (1969, Philips)
- Vie (1970, Philips)
- Flagrant Délit (1971, Philips)
- Country-Folk-Rock (1972, Philips)
- Insolitudes (1973, Philips)
- Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime (1974, Philips)
- Rock'n Slow (1974, Philips)
- Rock A Memphis (1975, Philips)
- La Terre Promise (1975, Philips)
- Derrière L'Amour (1976, Philips)
- Hamlet (1976, Philips)
- C'Est La Vie (1977, Philips)
- Solitudes A Deux (1978, Philips)
- Hollywood (1979, Philips)
- A Partir De Maintenant... (1980, Philips)
- En Pièces Détachées (1981, Philips)
- Pas Facile (1981, Philips)
- Quelque Part Un Aigle (1982, Philips)
- La Peur (1982, Philips)
- Entre Violence Et Violon (1983, Philips)
- Hallyday 84: Nashville En Direct (1984, Philips)
- En V.O. (1984, Philips)
- Rock'n'Roll Attitude (1985, Philips)
- Gang (1986, Philips)
- Cadillac (1989, Philips)
- Ca Ne Change Pas Un Homme (1991, Philips)
- Rough Town (1994, Philips)
- Lorada (1995, Philips)
- Ce Que Je Sais (1998, Philips)
- A La Vie, A La Mort (2002, Mercury)
- Ma Vérité (2005, Mercury)
Live Albums
- Johnny Et Ses Fans Au Festival De Rock'n'Roll (1961, Vogue)
- A l'Olympia (1962, Philips)
- Olympia 64 (1964, Philips)
- Olympia 67 (1967, Philips)
- Au Palais Des Sports (1967, Philips)
- Que Je T'Aime (1969, Philips)
- Live At The Palais Des Sports (1971, Philips)
- Palais Des Sports (1976, Philips)
- Pavillon De Paris (1979, Philips)
- Live (1981, Philips)
- Palais Des Sports 1982 (1982, Philips)
- Au Zénith (1984, Philips)
- A Bercy (1987, Philips)
- Dans La Chaleur De Bercy (1990, Philips)
- Bercy 92 (1992, Philips)
- Parc Des Princes (1993, Philips)
- A La Cigale (1994, Philips)
- Lorada Tour (1995, Philips)
- Live At Aladdin Theatre (1996, Philips)
- Destination Vegas (1996, Philips)
- Johnny Allume Le Feu: Stade De France 98 (1998, Philips)
- 100% Johnny: Live A La Tour Eiffel (2000, Philips)
- Olympia 2000 (2000, Philips)
Films
- [Jean-Philippe] (2006)
- L'homme du train (2003)
- [Crime spree] (2003)
- Rivières pourpres 2 (2004)
See also
External links
- [Official site]
- [Biography of Johnny Hallyday], from Radio France Internationale
- () [DH website] - a Belgian paper
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