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All Music Guide:
Though sometimes dismissed in his native land as little more than a "chanteur de charme" -- in other words, "a ladies' singer" -- Julien Clerc in fact enjoyed one of the most successful and longest-lived careers in contemporary French pop, shaping the nouvelle chanson aesthetic across a span of decades that began in the shadow of the student rebellions of 1968 and continued well into the following century. Born Paul-Alain LeClerc in Paris on October 4, 1947, he was the product of a wealthy bourgeois family. Following his parents' divorce he was sent to live with his father, a high-ranking UNESCO official, and began studying piano at the age of six. During adolescence Clerc's love of music reached a fever pitch, and he regularly transcribed his favorite songs from the radio.
In time he began writing his own original material, often collaborating with friend Maurice Vallet; under his professional name, Momo, Vallet would continue writing with Clerc for years to follow. However, the singer would not meet his most notable collaborator until 1968, while a student at the Sorbonne. Instead of studying, Clerc spent the majority of his time in area cafés, and while in his favorite haunt, L'Ecritoire, he met Etienne Roda-Gil, the son of Spanish Republicans who had recently returned to Paris after spending almost a decade abroad in opposition to the conflict in Algeria. Clerc asked Roda-Gil to add lyrics to one of his original melodies -- the result was "La Cavalerie," a sardonic protest song that soon earned Clerc a seven-year recording contract with the Pathé-Marconi label.
Upon its May 1968 release, "La Cavalerie" made Clerc an overnight superstar, topping the French pop charts and emerging as one of the anthems of the concurrent student rebellions, thanks in large part to its oft-quoted lyric "I'll abolish boredom." The follow-up, "Ivanovitch," also reached number one and so impressed French superstar Gilbert Bécaud that he invited Clerc to open for his upcoming show at Paris' famed Olympia. The singer's third single, 1969's "Yann et les Dauphins," was his third consecutive chart-topper, and his self-titled debut LP was also a success, winning the prestigious Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros and earning critical favor for combining Clerc's Beatles-inspired pop ingenuity and neo-symphonic arrangements with Roda-Gil and Momo's often surreal and reliably complex lyrics.
Clerc was then invited to star in the French production of the hit Broadway musical Hair, initially refusing the offer but ultimately accepting. Premiering at Paris' Théatre de la Porte Saint Martin on May 31, 1969, the production was a runaway success, as was Clerc's next single, the chart-topping "La Californie," released in July. He also made headlines for going public about his burgeoning relationship with French pop ingénue France Gall. Clerc remained with Hair until February of 1970, when he resigned to resume his recording career; his sophomore LP, Des Jours Entiers à T'Aimer followed three months later, and that December he headlined the Olympia for the first time. A vacation to Argentina inspired the tango-like rhythms of his next single, 1971's "Le Couer Volcan," followed in succession by the Roda-Gil-penned "Ce N'Est Rien" and "Niagara."
Clerc abruptly shifted gears with 1973's Julien, recorded in London with arranger Bill Shepherd, replacing his longtime collaborator Jean-Claude Petit. He returned to Paris in time to begin rehearsals for a new run at the Olympia, with the highlights documented on his 1974 live LP, Julien Clerc avec Vous. Still dismissed in some quarters as little more than a teen idol, Clerc yearned for a more mature image, and in 1975 -- despondent over the end of his romance with Gall -- he reteamed with Momo for the bleak, elegiac No. 7, his most critically acclaimed effort to date. Soon after he agreed to a starring role in the film D'Amour et d'Eau Fraîche, and while on the set entered into a relationship with co-star Miou-Miou that would continue for five years. For his next album, 1976's A Mon Âge et à l'Heure Qu'il Est, he enlisted material from songwriters beyond Roda-Gil and Momo, working for the first time with Maxime Le Forestier and Jean-Loup Dabadie. Le Forestier also authored Clerc's 1978 blockbuster "J'Ai Eu 30 Ans" (written in honor of the singer's 30th birthday), the highlight of his ninth LP, Jaloux. Further bolstered by Dabadie's smash "Ma Preference," the album went on to sell 400,000 copies.
But Clerc's decision to expand his circle of collaborators outside his traditional songwriting partners rankled Roda-Gil, a situation that snowballed after the singer publicly complained that he was tired of fans asking him to explain Roda-Gil's complex, often polemical lyrics. Ultimately, they suffered a very public falling-out and did not speak for over a decade, until Clerc declared a truce by attending the funeral of Roda-Gil's wife, Nadine, in 1992. Nevertheless, in 1979 Clerc agreed to headline the musical 36 Front Populaire, composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Jean-Claude Petit with lyrics by Roda-Gil. For a number of reasons the production never made it to the stage, however, although the songs were still recorded and released as a two-LP set.
After traveling to Canada to record his next solo LP, 1980's Clerc Julian, the singer also ended his long professional relationship with Petit, although he renewed ties with Momo for the follow-up, Sans Entracte, which also featured a pair of contributions from the legendary Serge Gainsbourg. A pair of sold-out March 1981 appearances in Lyon made up Clerc's second live album, Vendredi 13. Shortly after, his romance with Miou-Miou dissolved, and he channeled his anguish into the starkly intimate Femmes, Indiscrétions et Blasphemes, his first recording for new label Virgin and one of the best-selling LPs of his career.
After meeting horse-riding champion Virginie Couperie, whom he married in 1985, Clerc returned to a more optimistic approach for his next LP, Aime-Moi. With "Mélissa," co-authored with a new collaborator, David McNeil, he scored one of his biggest-ever hits, selling over 700,000 copies. Clerc then toured Africa, Canada, and Brazil before taking a 12-month break, resurfacing in 1987 with Les Aventures à l'Eau; McNeil again contributed the album's biggest hit, "Hélène." After another lengthy hiatus, he traveled to New York City to work with producer Phil Ramone on 1990's Fais Moi une Place, widely hailed as his most consistent record in years. At the end of 1990 he headlined a production of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf featuring the Radio France Orchestra. With 1992's Utile, Clerc reunited with Roda-Gil for an album's worth of new collaborative material, and the following year he headlined the Olympia for the first time in close to two decades.
In 1997, he issued Julien, and in 1998 toured the U.S. for the first time as part of an international tour spanning close to three years in all. On 2000's Si J'Étais Elle, Clerc teamed with everyone from supermodel Carla Bruni to Franco-Algerian author Nina Bouraoui. The two-volume live set Julien Déménage followed in 2002, and the following year he issued Studio, a collection of American pop standards.
During 2005 Clerc released Double Enfant that dealt with themes that were highly personal to the singer. One that was well documented on the record is the divorce of his parents that led to the title Double Enfant -- which refers to Clercs two childhoods via the separation of his parents. Three years later he released Où Sen Vont les Avions which marked 40 years in show business for the French crooner. Over one hundred tour dates were scheduled in support of the album, culminating in a five day stint at the Palais des Sports arena in Paris. In 2011 Clerc released his 22nd studio album Fou, Peut-Être that included tracks written by the winner of French TV show Nouvelle Star, Julien Doré and renowned French entertainer Charles Aznavour.
Wikipedia:
Julien Clerc, pronounced: [ʒy.ljɛ̃ klɛʁ], born as Paul Alain Leclerc on 4 October 1947 in Paris, Clerc's parents divorced when he was still young. He grew up listening to classical music in his father's home, while his mother introduced him to the music of such singers as Georges Brassens and Edith Piaf. He began to learn the piano at six, and by 13, started to play by ear everything he heard on the radio.
During his high school and university days, he met Maurice Vallet and Etienne Roda-Gil, two of his main songwriters, and began to compose his first songs. He changed his name to Julien Clerc upon signing a contract with Pathé Marconi, releasing his first album in May 1968.
Clerc's famous vibrato voice and neosymphonic music, coupled with the almost dreamlike lyrics written by Vallet and Roda-Gil, fitted in with that period of change. The album went on to win the Charles Cros Academy Record Award. In 1969, Clerc went on the Olympia stage for the first time to open for Gilbert Becaud's concert. Despite having been in show business for only one year, his performance was a great success. He would later return repeatedly to the Olympia for a series of concerts.
From May 1969 to February 1970, he starred in the highly successful Paris run of the musical, "Hair", which gave him an ideal platform to enhance his growing stature as an artist.
By the age of 24, Clerc already had his wax effigy in the Paris Musée Grevin. He had become a major star and continued to record hit after hit, many of which were sold abroad, translated and distributed in other languages.
In 1979, he took part in two new collaborative ventures, singing the title song of the children's musical, "Emilie Jolie" and participating in "36 Front Populaire", a double album musical about a turbulent historical period. Over the years, Clerc's repertoire has ranged from his own compositions to classic French songs like "Comme Hier" by Brassens and "L'hymne à l'amour" by Edith Piaf. He has performed in Africa, the Americas and Europe.
In January 1999, Clerc went on stage at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and delivered an unplugged acoustic set that was a long way from the rock/pop-based shows that he had been giving his audience for some years. In 2000, he appeared, along with many other artists, in a number of benefit concerts for Restaurants du Coeur, a charity which provides food to the needy in France, particularly during the difficult winter months.
In 2003 Clerc recorded a new album of classic American "standards", in French. On another front, Clerc was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador at a ceremony in Paris in November 2003 after working for nearly two years with the agency on various benevolent projects for refugees. In March 2004, he undertook his first field mission to meet with refugees and aid workers in Chad. His mission was documented by "Envoyé spécial" and was broadcast on a national French TV channel in April 2004.
Family [edit]
Clerc is divorced and has five children: daughters Angèle (adopted) and Jeanne with French actress Miou-Miou; daughter Vanille and son Barnabé with then-wife Virginie Coupérie; and son Léonard with his current companion, Hélène Grémillon.
