Johnny Hallyday
| Johnny Hallyday | |
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Hallyday in 2003
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jean-Philippe Smet |
| Born |
15 June 1943 Paris, France |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Jean-Philippe Smet (born 15 June 1943), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday (French pronunciation: [dʒɔ.ni a.li.dɛ]), is a French singer and actor. He has been called "the French Elvis". He was married for 15 years to popular Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan and the two were considered a "golden couple" for 20 years. Hallyday has completed 181 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
Hallyday remains largely unknown outside of the Francophone world, thus earning the nickname "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" in English-speaking countries. Nevertheless, at an international level he is still considered as the only non-Anglophone rock musician having a large international reputation. He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1997.
Hallyday's father, Léon Smet (1908–1989), was Belgian; his mother, Huguette Clerc (1920–2007), was French. Born in Paris, Hallyday took his stage name from his aunt Desta's husband and dance partner Lee Hallyday, a pseudonym for Lee Ketcham, an expatriate Oklahoman, performer, and MC at the Café de Paris where Johnny began his singing career. Johnny was raised by Desta and Lee from a very young age, with Lee being his first manager. Johnny was always very loyal to Lee and secured him a permanent job as a producer and A&R man with his label, Philips Records until Lee's retirement and relocation back to Oklahoma.
Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock n' roll revolution, Hallyday became famous in the 1960s for singing rock and roll in French. His debut single, "Laisse les filles" was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His first album, Hello Johnny, was released in 1960. In 1961 his cover of "Let's Twist Again" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It topped almost every European chart, although the track did not appear in the UK Singles Chart. He appeared on the American The Ed Sullivan Show with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. He also staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of the late Bruno Coquatrix. For their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Évreux on 13 October 1966. Black-and-white footage, also from October 1966, exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler and others. There also is a widely published monochrome photograph of Hallyday walking somewhere in Paris in late May 1966 with Bob Dylan.
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