The damn cancer has taken away our star of French song, our Johnny Hallyday alias Jean Philippe SMET died at the age of 74.
All of France mourns the icon that was Johnny. The courageous Johnny never stopped fighting with courage and dignity in the face of illness and life. He always knew how to give us the best of himself by sharing all the incredible energy that drove him.
We already miss the immense humility that characterized him so well, and he was right because we all have something of Tennessee in us.
The King was a big-hearted man with a rocker's soul that never left him, his bent knee on the ground being his way of connecting with his audience. The flame he represented has been extinguished, leaving behind an immense cloud of sadness and mourning over the capital and all of France.
He was able to offer us a magnificent life lesson because despite the illness and this fierce struggle, the rocker never gave up, he had the strength to stay standing and resist to make all his passion for music felt and the song "Que je t'aime" speaks for itself.
He had this incredible strength to make each of his passages on stage vibrate, he was inhabited by this musical light which made all of his fans dance by transporting his audience into a universe which he knew was tailor-made and where he was the star, because no detail escaped him.
For the French Elvis, as he was nicknamed in Los Angeles, where he had lived for many years, the stage was his life and his audience was his oxygen, his reason for living. The musical registers in which he excelled were varied: rock, pop, blues, French chanson, and country.
The famous French-speaking singer was the most fashionable personality in the media world, who never stopped immortalizing him through their various photos because he knew how to pose and had his own way of taking the spotlight.
It all began with a unique event in France in 1961 with its first Rock'n'roll Festival at the Palais des Sports in Paris, which brought together more than 5000 spectators, all of whom came to applaud their mentor.
In total, he has toured 183 times and has been watched by over 28 million spectators throughout his career. Johnny loved to compose these songs, and he shared over 100 songs with us, along with 1000 titles that have marked the history of French music, with 110 million records sold.
The man with a formidable ear for music knew how to influence new generations with his magnificent legacy of French song, a superb gift that he leaves us before leaving us.
In 2016 he appeared fitter than ever for his motorcycle road show on the famous Route 66 where he seemed to have rediscovered his 20 years, it was his moment of escape.
The awards ceremony was a very symbolic moment for Johnny, as he received 40 gold records, 22 platinum, 5 diamond and 10 Victoires de la Musique awards, with 80 albums in total. This list of achievements is simply a gallery of well-deserved awards for the music lover that he was.
Johnny Hallyday was the first to introduce the world of rock 'n' roll to France. He made his mark with artistic shows entirely designed by himself. The man of the stage knew how to get people talking about himself and his various talents because cinema was also a part of his life.
He loved cinema and played a role in it from the age of 12. The film "Les Parisiennes" with Catherine Deneuve in 1962, where he sang "Retiens la nuit", a song written by Charles Aznavour, was a huge success.
In 1970 he played in "Point de Chute", a crime film by Robert Hossein with whom he worked, in 1972 "L'aventure c'est l'aventure" by Claude Lelouche and in the same year the Cannes Film Festival opened with the documentary film "J'ai tout donné" by François Reichenbach.
About this shoot François Reichenbach will say: "I thought it was time to show the private and professional life of Johnny Hallyday. For me, he represents a myth, a character who symbolizes both the anxieties and the desires of everyone. Through this film, I hoped to reveal this very complex character who, by turns, touches me, worries me and surprises me and I believe that it was necessary, to better understand his talent, to show what happens behind the scenes. I discovered, to my great joy, that the court of King Johnny no longer existed and that everything was replaced by a common desire to put on a beautiful show."
In 1985, Jean-Luc Godard's "Detective" was a huge success at the Cannes Film Festival. Then in 2000, he played a lost singer in Laetitia Masson's "Love Me."
In 2003 he received the Jean Gabin Prize for “The Man on the Train” by Patrice Leconte.
His fascination with the world of cinema led him to take on a string of roles. The film we must mention is undoubtedly "Salaud on t'aime" (Salaud on t'aime) in 2013 by Claude Lelouch, starring his close friend and brother Eddy Mitchell.
His 36th and final film will be "Rock'N'Roll" which we invite you to discover.
Even though he was abandoned by his father when he was still an infant, Johnny found in the great artist Charles Aznavour the father he never had because he knew how to take him like a real son. In a private interview, Johnny confided that he had always dreamed of having Jacques Brel as a father.
Just like the Johnny Loved Women awards, it all began in 1965 with the meeting with Sylvie Vartan, followed by Elizabeth Etienne in 1981, then Nathalie Baye in 1982, and Adeline Blondieau in 1990. Finally, the magnificent Laeticia Boudou would be his fifth and last woman, whom he met in Miami and for whom he fell in love at first sight.
Their magnificent wedding was celebrated at the Neuilly-sur-Seine town hall on March 25, 1996, followed by the adoption of their two Vietnamese daughters, Jade and Joy, in 2004. In all, Johnny shared ten years of happiness and joy with the lovely Laeticia, who knew how to support him and help him through all circumstances with her energy and love, respecting in every way the marriage pact that bound them together.
Johnny Hallyday was always a loving father to these children, wanting to give them the love and affection he never had. He loved to sing Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" to these girls, but no one had ever sung a song for him.
All the music we love comes from there, it comes from the blues, Souvenir, souvenir, hold on to the night... are our favorite songs forever engraved in our memories, in memory of a legend.
Bouchra
