Johnny Hallyday

Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 years, Hallyday released 79 albums and sold more than 110 million records worldwide, mainly in the French-speaking world, making him one of the best-selling artists in the world. He had five diamond albums, 40 gold albums, 22 platinum albums and earned ten Victoires de la Musique. He sang an estimated 1,154 songs and performed 540 duets with 187 artists. Credited for his strong voice and his spectacular shows, he sometimes arrived by entering a stadium through the crowd and once by jumping from a helicopter above the Stade de France, where he performed nine times. Among his 3,257 shows completed in 187 tours, the most memorable were at Parc des Princes in 1993, at the Stade de France in 1998, just after France's win in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as well as at the Eiffel Tower in 2000, which had record-breaking ticket sales for a French artist. A million spectators gathered to see his performance at the Eiffel Tower, with some 10 million watching on television. Usually working with the best French artists and musicians of his time, Hallyday collaborated with Charles Aznavour, Michel Berger and Jean-Jacques Goldman. Hugely popular in France, he was referred to as simply "Johnny" and seen as a "national monument" and a part of the French cultural legacy. He became a symbol of the Trente Glorieuses, France's prosperous postwar era, after he emerged in 1960, and was a familiar figure to four generations. More than 2,500 magazine covers and 190 books were dedicated to him during his lifetime, making him one of the people most widely covered by the media in France. His death from cancer in 2017 was followed by a "people's tribute", during which a million people attended the funeral procession in Paris and 15 million others watched the ceremony on TV. Hallyday remained relatively unknown outside the French-speaking world, where he was dubbed "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" and introduced as the French version of Elvis Presley. Jean-Philippe Smet was born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris on 15 June 1943 to a Belgian father, Léon Smet, and a French mother, Huguette Eugénie Pierrette Clerc. Léon Smet, who worked as a nightclub performer, left his wife and son a few months later. Clerc started a modeling career, which left her with little time to care for her son. Hallyday grew up with his aunt, Hélène Mar, and took his stage name from a cousin-in-law from Oklahoma (Lemoine Ketcham) who performed as Lee Halliday. The latter called Smet "Johnny" and became a father figure, introducing him to American music. ... Source: Article "Johnny Hallyday" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Jean-Philippe Smet war ein französischer Sänger, Songwriter und Schauspieler. In den 1960er Jahren wurde er als Johnny Hallyday mit in französischer Sprache gesungener Rockmusik bekannt.

Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (15 de junio de 1943 - 5 de diciembre de 2017), más conocido por su nombre artístico Johnny Hallyday, fue un cantante de rock and roll y pop y actor francés, al que se le atribuye haber introducido el rock and roll en Francia.

Jean-Philippe Smet, dit Johnny Hallyday, né le 15 juin 1943 à Paris 9e (Seine) et mort le 5 décembre 2017 à Marnes-la-Coquette (Hauts-de-Seine), est un chanteur, compositeur et acteur français. Durant ses 57 ans de carrière, il s'impose comme l'un des plus célèbres chanteurs francophones et l'une des personnalités les plus présentes du paysage médiatique français. S'il n'est pas le premier à chanter du rock en France, il est dès 1960 le premier à y populariser le genre. Bien qu'il interprète de nombreuses ballades sentimentales et des airs country au cours de sa carrière, le rock reste sa principale référence au travers de ses différents courants, puisant tous leurs origines dans le blues: rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues, soul, rock psychédélique, soft rock ou encore pop rock. Sa longévité au premier plan de la scène artistique et ses prestations vocales et scéniques lui attirent la reconnaissance de ses pairs et du public. Au total, il réalise 80 albums, dont 51 albums studio ainsi que 165 singles. Il totalise 6 disques de diamant, 22 disques de platine, 40 disques d'or et 10 Victoires de la musique. En dehors des pays francophones, s'il ne parvint pas à s'imposer durablement malgré plusieurs tournées à succès, notamment en Amérique du Sud, sa réputation d'homme de scène franchit en revanche les frontières. Il effectue ainsi 184 tournées et donne plus de 3 425 concerts, totalisant près de 30 millions de spectateurs, avec des prestations à gros budgets et effets scéniques. Alors qu'il est atteint d'un cancer du poumon, il effectue sa dernière tournée en juin et juillet 2017, aux côtés de ses amis Jacques Dutronc et Eddy Mitchell, avec qui, en 2014, il a formé le trio des Vieilles Canailles. Sa mort, survenue quelques mois plus tard des suites de sa maladie, donne lieu à un important hommage populaire. Au moment de sa mort, les ventes de ses disques se chiffrent à 110 millions d'exemplaires. Jean-Philippe Léo (son second prénom), fils d'Huguette Clerc (1920-2007), alors employée de crèmerie, et de Léon Smet (1908-1989), artiste de cabaret belge, naît à la clinique Villa Marie-Louise située 3, cité Malesherbes dans le 9e arrondissement de Paris, le 15 juin 1943. ... Source: Article "Johnny Hallyday" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA.