R.I.P. Johnny Hallyday 1943-2017

That's not true at all. Throughout his career, he could sing anything from rockabilly to light ballads to pop, soul and hard rock. I recognise that and I'm not a fan!

 

Illusionniste de la mise en scène.

 

To be fair, it's mostly a French guy who's trashing him.

I've always liked Johnny Hallyday, have a fair amount of his music, and smile whenever he pops up on a playlist. And IM A MURICAN!

 

Here, here.

 

Wrong, this was "Je veux te graver dans ma vie".
And Cliff Bennet's cover version, a hit single in the UK, is based on Hallyday's version.

 

Where's that then?

Good to know. Was he big in Japan as well?

 

Surely that would be Serge.....

 

It's hard to put Serge Gainsbourg in the rock genre. He is from chanson and later went to RnB. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

i wasn't talking about different styles, but that he was always singing with the same tone, almost atonal. because he brokes his vocal chord concert after concert , cigaret and alcohool and people confounds this with a "powerful voice".

and this is wrong : it's only 25 millions albums certified sold (including singles ). a lot of his LP were totally bad sales (less than 50 000 ) and don't forget that at the high times of his career in France people were only buying singles , not LPs !
i am not playing trolls; only trying to tell the truth behind lies of the medias .

 

Well said.

 

He had a wonderful pop/swinging London phase in 1967-1969.

 

I once saw him filming a video clip in New York in the nineties. As a Dutchman I recognized him and shouted 'Johnny'. How could somebody recognize him over there in NYC? Going from memory I think he looked puzzled for a brief moment.

 

Whilst on a holiday in the south of France in 1993 a song called 'Je Serai Là' by Johnny was a hit in France and it got a lot of airplay. Bought the cd-single as a kind of souvenir.
In 2006, once again on a holiday in France, I saw cars with Johnny's face painted on it and I wanted to learn why he was such an icon in France. Decided to buy a dvd of his show 'Olympia 2000'. At home I started watching it and from then on, I'm a fan. The man had such a great voice! I loved his mixture of rock and ballads and the way he interacted with his audience.
In 2008 a tour was announced for 2009 and it was said that it would be his last (which wasn't true...). Decided to buy tickets for a show in Brussels. It was probably one of the most exciting shows I've ever seen. (Also, never seen so many Johnny look-a-likes...) All in all a great experience!

RIP Johnny!

 

Please, check your facts right if you wanna tell others about the "truth". Even if he came out during a singles era, all his albums were blockbusters and when they started to pick up, he sold more of them than anyone else. Since mid-60s all his studio LPs sold at the very least 200,000 units. Not to mention that he got a 2 million seller almost 40 years into his career.

You ridiculously refer to certified sales forgetting to mention that awards started in 1974, that Platinum discs arrived in 1980 only and that no cert exists over 1 million. I studied his album sales 6 years ago in France only and even with tons of missing figures, I identified more than 36,6 million album sales:

Johnny Hallyday

1960 Hello Johnny - N/A
1961 Au Festival Du Rock 'N Roll - N/A
1961 Nous Les Gars, Nous Les Filles - N/A
1961 Salut Les Copains! - N/A
1961 Tête A Tête Avec Johnny - N/A
1961 Viens Danser Le Twist - N/A
1962 La Fantastique Epopée Du Rock - N/A
1962 A L'Olympia - N/A
1962 Johnny Hallyday Sings America's Rockin' Hits - N/A
1962 Johnny Hallyday Succès - N/A
1962 Le Disque D'Or - N/A
1962 L'Idole - N/A
1962 Madison Twist - N/A
1962 Retiens La Nuit - N/A
1962 Twist In The Rock - N/A
1963 D’Où Viens Tu Johnny - N/A
1963 Da Dou Ron Ron - N/A
1963 Les Bras En Croix - N/A
1963 L'Idole Des Jeunes - N/A
1964 A L'Olympia 64 - N/A
1964 Bonne Chance - N/A
1964 Le Pénitencier - N/A
1964 Les Rocks Les Plus Terribles - N/A
1965 Halleluyah - N/A
1965 Johnny Chante Hallyday - N/A
1966 La Génération Perdue - N/A
1967 Au Palais Des Sports 67 - 150 000
1967 Johnny 67 - N/A
1967 Olympia 67 - N/A
1968 Coffret Vogue - N/A
1968 Jeune Homme - 200 000
1968 Le Disque D'Or, Vol 1: Pas Cette Chanson - N/A
1968 Le Disque D'Or, Vol 2: Elle Est Terrible - N/A
1968 Le Disque D'Or, Vol 3: Le Pénitencier - N/A
1968 Le Disque D'Or, Vol 4: Retiens La Nuit - N/A
1968 Le Disque D'Or, Vol 5: Que Je T'Aime - N/A
1968 Rêve Et Amour - 200 000
1969 Que Je T'Aime / Au Palais Des Sports 69 - 250 000
1969 Rivière… Ouvre Ton Lit / Je Suis Né Dans La Rue - 250 000
1970 Coffret, 10 Ans De Ma Vie - N/A
1970 Vie - 300 000
1971 Flagrant Délit - 300 000
1971 Fontana, Vol 1: L'Idole Des Jeunes - N/A
1971 Fontana, Vol 2: Les Bras En Croix - N/A
1971 Fontana, Vol 3: Les Rocks Les Plus Terribles - N/A
1971 Fontana, Vol 4: Tes Tendres Années - N/A
1971 Les 24 Premiers Succès - 150 000
1971 Live At The Palais Des Sports - N/A
1971 Pleins Feux Sur… - N/A
1972 Country-Folk-Rock - 200 000
1973 Hallyday Story, Vol 1: 1961-1966 - 300 000
1973 Hallyday Story, Vol 2: 1967-1973 - 250 000
1973 Impact, Vol 1: Le Pénitencier - 900 000
1973 Insolitudes - 400 000
1973 Succès 2 Disques: Retiens La Nuit - 250 000
1974 Impact, Vol 2: L'Idole Des Jeunes - 800 000
1974 Je t'Aime, Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime - 500 000
1974 Les Premières Années - N/A
1974 Rock'n Slow - 300 000
1974 Souvenirs, Souvenirs, Festival Rock - N/A
1974 Succès 2 Disques: Le Pénitencier - 250 000
1975 Impact, Vol 3: Noir C'est Noir - 700 000
1975 La Terre Promise - 400 000
1975 Rock A Memphis - 500 000
1975 Succès 2 Disques: Les Coups - 200 000
1976 Atout Collection - N/A
1976 Derrière L'Amour - 650 000
1976 Hamlet - 250 000
1976 Impact, Vol 4: Retiens La Nuit - 600 000
1976 Palais Des Sports 76 - 500 000
1976 Succès 2 Disques: Noir C'est Noir - 200 000
1976 Succès 2 Disques: Olympia 62 et 64 - 175 000
1977 C'Est La Vie - 550 000
1977 Impact, Vol 5: Que Je T'aime - 400 000
1977 Johnny Hallyday Chante Ses Succès - N/A
1977 Réimpression - 250 000
1978 Elle M'Oublie - N/A
1978 Impact, Vol 6: Génération Perdue - 300 000
1978 Impact, Vol 7: Cheveux Longs, Idées Courtes - 250 000
1978 Solitudes à Deux - 500 000
1979 20 Ans De Carrière - 100 000
1979 Album, Vol 1: Retiens La Nuit - 100 000
1979 Album, Vol 2: Rock 'N Roll Man - 100 000
1979 Album, Vol 3: Que Je T'Aime - 100 000
1979 Au Pavillon De Paris - 500 000
1979 Hollywood - 300 000
1979 Impact, Vol 8: Memphis USA - 250 000
1979 Itsy Bitsy, Petit Bikini - N/A
1979 Le Disque D'Or De Johnny Hallyday - 200 000
1979 Souvenirs Souvenirs - N/A
1979 Succès 2 Disques: 24 Rocks Célèbres - 100 000
1979 Succès 2 Disques: Ceux Que L'Amour A Blessé - 100 000
1980 À Partir de Maintenant... - 225 000
1980 Face Au Public 1962-1969 - N/A
1980 Face Au Public 1962-1979 - N/A
1980 Face Au Public 1971-1979 - N/A
1980 Impact, Double Impact Vol 1: Mes Yeux Sont Fous - N/A
1980 Impact, Double Impact Vol 2: Viens Danser Le Twist - N/A
1980 Impact, Double Impact Vol 3: Que Je T'Aime - N/A
1980 Impact, Double Impact Vol 4: Comme Si Je Devais Mourir Demain - N/A
1980 Impact, Vol 9: Gabrielle - 250 000
1980 Le Double Disque D'Or - N/A
1980 Succès 2 Disques: Oh! Ma Jolie Sarah - 100 000
1980 Succès 2 Disques: Rock 'N Roll Man - 100 000
1981 33 Tours Puzzle - N/A
1981 En Pièces Détachées - 275 000
1981 Impact, Vol 10: J'ai Oublié De Vivre - 150 000
1981 J'Etais Fou - N/A
1981 Johnny Live 81 - 200 000
1981 Pas Facile - 400 000
1982 Impact, Vol 11: Elle M'Oublie - 150 000
1982 Intégrale Des Chansons 1960-1982 - N/A
1982 La Peur - 525 000
1982 Quelque Part un Aigle - 300 000
1982 Ses 32 Premières Chansons Version 1982 - N/A
1983 Entre Violence et Violon - 375 000
1983 Impact, Coffret Blanc: Vol 1,6,8 - N/A
1983 Impact, Coffret Bleu: Vol 10-12 - N/A
1983 Impact, Coffret Noir: Vol 2,5,7 - N/A
1983 Impact, Coffret Rouge: Vol 3,4,9 - N/A
1983 Impact, Coffret: Vol 1-4 - N/A
1983 Impact, Vol 12: Le Bon Temps Du Rock 'N Roll - 150 000
1983 Les Années 60 - N/A
1983 Palais Des Sports 82 - 175 000
1984 Au Zénith - 300 000
1984 Drole De Métier - 300 000
1984 En V.O. - 150 000
1984 Hallyday 84 Nashville: Les Enfants Du Rock - N/A
1984 Hallyday 84: Nashville en Direct - N/A
1984 Hallyday Story, Vol 3: 1974-1981 - 150 000
1984 Impact, Vol 13: Ma Gueule - 150 000
1984 Souvenirs, Souvenirs (BO) - N/A
1985 Collection - N/A
1985 Impact, Vol 14: Je T'Ai Aimée - 150 000
1985 Rock'n'Roll Attitude - 550 000
1985 Souvenirs, Souvenirs - N/A
1986 Gang - 725 000
1986 Silver Serie - N/A
1987 Les Grands Succès - N/A
1987 Master Serie 1 & 2 - 450 000
1988 A Bercy - 375 000
1988 Hallyday Story, Vol 4: 1982-1985 - 100 000
1989 Cadillac - 825 000
1989 Exclusivité Club Dial: Johnny Hallyday - N/A
1989 Exclusivité France Loisirs: Johnny Hallyday - N/A
1990 Exclusivité Club Dial: San Francisco - N/A
1990 Les Tendres Années, 61-62 - N/A
1990 Les Tendres Années, 62-63 - N/A
1990 Les Tendres Années, 64-65 - N/A
1990 Les Tendres Années, 66-68 - N/A
1990 Les Tendres Années, 69-75 - N/A
1990 Master Serie 2 - 300 000
1990 Ses Premiers Succès, Coffret Vol 1-3 - N/A
1990 Ses Premiers Succès, Vol 1 - N/A
1990 Ses Premiers Succès, Vol 2 - N/A
1990 Ses Premiers Succès, Vol 3 - N/A
1991 30 Grands Succès - N/A
1991 Ça ne change pas un homme - 350 000
1991 Coffret CD Virgin Megastore - 5 000
1991 Dans La Chaleur De Bercy - 275 000
1991 Exclusivité Club Dial: C'Est Fini Miss Molly - N/A
1991 Exclusivité Club Dial: D'Aujourd'hui 1972-1989 - N/A
1991 Exclusivité Club Dial: D'Hier 1961-1971 - N/A
1992 Master Serie 1 & 2 - 200 000
1993 Bercy 92 - 250 000
1993 Intégrale - 8 000
1993 Parc des Princes - 500 000
1994 A La Cigale - N/A
1994 Rough Town - 225 000
1995 Lorada - 725 000
1995 Paroles d'Hommes (Rock 'N Roll + Gang) - 600 000
1996 Destination Vegas - 200 000
1996 Lorada Tour - 475 000
1997 Anthologie 1 - 150 000
1997 Anthologie 2 - 100 000
1997 Anthologie 3 - 100 000
1998 Anthologie 1975-1984 - 100 000
1998 Anthologie 1985-1997 - 200 000
1998 Ce que je sais - 660 000
1998 Master Serie 3 - 100 000
1999 Ballades Et Mots D'Amour - 500 000
1999 Hallyday Par Johnny: Les Inédits - 40 000
1999 Johnny Allume Le Feu: Stade De France 98 - 450 000
1999 Sang pour sang - 1 950 000
2000 100% Johnny, Live A La Tour Eiffel - 350 000
2000 Mes Jeunes Années - 50 000
2000 Nashville 84 - 25 000
2000 Olympia 2000 - 140 000
2000 Talents Du Siècle 1 - 100 000
2000 Talents Du Siècle 2 - 100 000
2000 Talents Du Siècle 3 - 100 000
2000 Talents Du Siècle 4 - 100 000
2002 À la vie, à la mort ! - 1 550 000
2003 Intégrale Live 2003 - N/A
2003 Les 100 Plus Grandes Chansons De Johnny - 280 000
2003 Les Années Vogues - 100 000
2003 Parc des Princes 2003 - 290 000
2003 Succès Garantis - 250 000
2004 Long Box 1: L'Idole Des Jeunes - 20 000
2004 Long Box 2: Rock 'N Roll Man - 5 000
2004 Long Box 3: Hallyday Attitude - 5 000
2004 Tendres Années 60 - N/A
2005 Ma Vérité - 830 000
2006 Flashback Tour Live - 275 000
2006 Jean Philippe - 15 000
2006 Les 100 Plus Grandes Chansons De Johnny 2 - 140 000
2006 Les Indispensables - N/A
2006 Souvenirs, Souvenirs 5CD - 10 000
2006 Talents 1 - 5 000
2006 Talents 2 - 5 000
2006 Talents 3 - 5 000
2006 The Nashville Sessions 62 - N/A
2007 Go, Johnny, Go - N/A
2007 In Italiano - 10 000
2007 La Cigale - 50 000
2007 Le Cœur d'un homme - 575 000
2007 Les 50 Plus Belles Ballades - 10 000
2007 Les 50 Plus Grands Rocks - 10 000
2007 Prestige: Johnny Hallyday - 25 000
2008 Black Es Noir - 5 000
2008 Ça ne finira jamais - 480 000
2008 Live At Montreux 88 - 20 000
2008 Triple Best Of - 90 000
2009 Coffret 10 EP: 1961-1962 - 2 000
2009 Coffret 10 EP: 1963-1964 - 2 000
2009 Faces A Faces - 10 000
2009 Les #1 de Johnny Hallyday - 55 000
2009 Tour 66: Stade De France 2009 - 275 000

Le total de ces albums est de 36,657,000 albums vendus.

 

As for the news of his passing, as a French I very often mocked Hallyday. I give him very little credit artistically speaking, although his singing is great and powerful and his charisma impossible to contest. I still feel bad for his loss quite simply because he was obviously a nice guy and because I can only be sad about something that will affect negatively so many people.

Having said that, I feel the need to explain what he is for France. I studied deeply record sales and impact of various similar artists from other countries (Elvis, James Last, Cliff Richard, John Farnham, Luis Miguel, Roberto Carlos, Tony Carreira, etc) and what I can say is that Hallyday has no comparison. We often say that he is the "French Elvis", it's untrue, he is much bigger for France than Elvis was for the US. You need to pile together the catalog of Elvis, then Bruce Springsteen, then Garth Brooks to get something similar to Hallyday's catalog in terms of comprehensive popularity. Elvis has been the songbook of America during 22 years, Hallyday has been the one of France for 57 years. French market has been historically about half of the UK's market, yet he sold way, way more albums and way more singles than the Beatles in the UK. If we weight their respective results as per their market, Hallyday out-performed the Beatles by about 4 to 1.

Obviously, I'm not trying to put down Elvis or the Beatles - far from that - just trying to illustrate how insanely massive the figure of Johnny Hallyday is/was in France.

 

Belle offrande ! Merci

 

RIP. Although I only know of him by name, this thread will lead me to listen to the tracks that have been posted here.

However he was very popular in Quebec and Celine Dion among others has expressed condolences

'Greatest rock star you never heard of' dead at 74

 

He certainly was. I lived in Switzerland for a year, and he was practically everywhere; on magazine front covers, in record shops, and on radio and television. Just because he barely made a ripple in the UK doesn’t mean he wasn’t huge in the rest of Europe, especially in francophone countries.

 

People are barely leaving work here and the impact is already surreal. Below is the current iTunes in France:

France

iTunes:
1. Je te promets
2. L'envie
3. Quelque chose de Tennessee
4. Requiem pour un fou
5. Diego libre dans sa tête
6. Que je t'aime
7. Sang Pour Sang
8. Laura
9. Marie
10. Gabrielle
11. Le pénitencier
12. Vivre pour le meilleur
13. Vivre Pour Le Meilleur
14. J'ai oublié de vivre
15. L'envie
16. Allumer Le Feu
18. J'oublierai ton nom
20. L'hymne à l'amour
21. Retiens la nuit
23. La musique que j'aime
24. Ma gueule
28. Allumer le feu
29. Que je t'aime
31. Je Te Promets
32. Noir c'est noir
35. Quelque chose de Tennessee
38. Un jour viendra
39. Derrière l'amour
42. Le chanteur abandonné
44. J'ai un problème
46. L'idole des jeunes
47. De l'Amour
51. Mon plus beau Noël
53. Oh ma jolie Sarah
54. Requiem pour un fou
57. Elle m'oublie
59. Requiem Pour Un Fou
63. Je te promets
72. Pour moi la vie va commencer
75. Diego Libre Dans Sa Tête
78. Laura
85. J'ai Oublié De Vivre
89. Un Jour Viendra
90. L'envie
92. J'oublierai Ton Nom
93. Diego Libre Dans Sa Tête
95. Retiens La Nuit
96. Que Je T'aime
97. Marie
107. L'hymne À L'amour
110. Le bon temps du Rock and Roll
111. L'envie
113. Gabrielle
119. Mirador
125. Diego
127. Marie
131. Le Pénitencier
133. Derrière L'amour
135. Allumer le feu
144. Vivre Pour Le Meilleur
151. Diego, libre dans sa tête
152. Allumer Le Feu
153. Gabrielle
154. Diego
155. Ce que je sais
156. Retiens la nuit
158. L'attente
165. L'envie
166. Je Te Promets
167. Que je t'aime
170. 20 Ans
176. Requiem Pour Un Fou
178. Le Chanteur Abandonné
179. Laura
180. Requiem pour un fou
185. Ne Me Quitte Pas
186. Toute la musique que j'aime
187. Quelque chose de Tennessee

 

My first exposure to French music (his EP "Amour Dete" on the Phillips label) and one that has lasted my entire life. I have many of his very expensively imported LP's and EP's, and loved his work in English as well. I thrilled growing up to the "golden couple" Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan (who, in response to the previous comments about Bulgaria) was born in Bulgaria). RIP Mr. Hallyday!





BTW: He spoke almost perfect English -- check out this interview....

Johnny Hallyday Interview In English

 

Again, not true. I think you are thinking of Tom Waits' voice. No, Hallyday had an absolutely colossal baritone voice. Nothing to do with him being croaky or anything. He also put a lot of tenderness into love songs, etc.
Not a lot of vocal range, but he could really sing. Remember that he half-spoke many lyrics rather than sticking with the sheer musicality of the song and that was very effective.

 

That is just superb, one of the best duets i’ve ever heard, THANKS.

 

This is so true. I lived one year in Paris (1992), and in my view he had already passed his prime time. However he was refered to all the time in tv and radio. When he scheduled some live shows in Paris it was BIG news... He had a huge following, never seen anything like that

 

Is in France. His passing is moarned/celebrated in France at the moment like nothing you've ever seen. It's comparable to the death of Lennon and the wave of emotion that that generated in the UK and USA (even though Hallyday's passing isn't a shocker like Lennon's was). It's enourmous.
Talking of Lennon, Johnny's childhood was similar to John's in that he was abandonned by his father when he was very young and brought up by his aunt (just learnt that from the non-stop TV tributes).

 

Very much "rock" imho, but I know what you mean.