51-441: Sylvie Vartan ( French pronunciation: [silvi vaʁtɑ̃] ; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian on 15 August 1944) is a Bulgarian -French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured elaborate show-dance choreography, and she made many appearances on French and Italian TV. Yearly shows with then-husband Johnny Hallyday attracted full houses at
102-558: A Canzonissima variety night and "C'est un jour à rester couché" on the Incontro con Sylvie Vartan TV show, recorded in the Gattopardo Club of Messina . Her appearances were popular in Italy and France; she donned a different costume for each song, including plenty of short skirts and Barbarella boots. The cartoonists of both countries even drew Sylvie Vartan lookalikes. Despite suffering
153-536: A French adaption of the controversial 1959 Floyd Robinson hit " Makin' Love " that was also a hit for Dalida the month prior, was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His debut album, Hello Johnny , was released later that year. In 1961, his French-language cover of " Let's Twist Again ", " Viens Danser Le Twist ", sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc . It topped almost every European chart, although
204-536: A career spanning 57 years, he 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
255-617: A chalet in the Swiss town of Gstaad from 2006 to 2015 to avoid the high tax rate imposed by the French government. Hallyday said that he would have moved his residency back to France if it changed its tax laws. In January 2014, Hallyday said that his current residence was in the United States after an investigation by a Swiss journalist showed that Hallyday did not spend enough time in Gstaad to qualify as
306-753: A contract with Decca Records to start recording her own EP; carrying the title song "Quand le film est triste", a cover of Sue Thompson 's " Sad Movies (Make Me Cry) ", the EP was on sale by the beginning of December 1961. It was another hit, that served her first concert in Paris Olympia Hall on 12 December 1961. "Est-ce que tu le sais?", her version of Ray Charles ' " What'd I Say ", was quickly released. She opened for Vince Taylor at Paris Olympia for her second concert. In July she toured France with Gilbert Bécaud . In autumn 1962 she released her version of " The Loco-Motion " on EP and her first LP, Sylvie . Her next hit
357-531: A disco-style cover of a John Kongos track, which topped the French chart for several weeks. Her disco era climaxed at the Dancing star TV show on TF1 , produced by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier, on 10 September 1977. RCA published the show as the Dancing star After a week of concerts in Las Vegas in 1982, she released a duet with John Denver : "Love Again", a #85 single on Billboard Hot 100 followed in 1985 by
408-458: 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 "popular tribute" during which a million people attended the procession and 15 million others watched the ceremony on TV. He remained relatively unknown in
459-552: A great commercial success in France. The album Sylvie à Nashville included the hits " La plus belle pour aller danser " and " Si je chante " and three new songs in English (one featuring Paul Anka). Accompanied by the movie Cherchez l'idole , the EP with "La plus belle pour aller danser" became number one in France, sold over a million copies in Japan, was very successful in Korea and Spain, and
510-592: A medically-induced coma so they could repair lesions that had formed as a result of the surgery, and to relieve his pain. On 17 December 2009, Hallyday and his wife started legal proceedings against Stephane Delajoux, the doctor who had performed the original surgery. The conflict was resolved in February 2012 following Delajoux's vindication by medical investigators. Hallyday died of lung cancer at 10:10 pm on 5 December 2017 in Marnes-la-Coquette , near Paris, at
561-515: 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. Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock n' roll revolution, Hallyday became known for singing rock 'n' roll in French. His debut single, "T'aimer follement" ("Love you madly"),
SECTION 10
#1732859512747612-615: A new album in the US with "Double Exposure" and "One-Shot Lover". In 1986 she took a break from show business; she returned in 1989 with "C'est Fatal" ("E' Fatale" in Italy). In 1990, Sylvie gave a concert at Sofia's Palace of Culture , opening and closing with a Bulgarian song. This was her first visit to the city since her emigration. In 1991, she performed for three weeks at the Palais des Sports in Paris and hit
663-591: A resident. One of his favourite leisure activities was riding his Harley-Davidson on long trips through the California desert, staying in small motels along the way. In July 2009, Hallyday was diagnosed with colon cancer , and underwent surgery. On 26 November 2009, Hallyday underwent surgery in Paris to repair a herniated disc . He suffered complications and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Doctors announced that they had put Hallyday into
714-769: A second serious car accident in 1970, Sylvie Vartan continued to perform and record extensively; and in 1972 she starred in the film Malpertuis . She sold millions of records on the RCA label, which made her its most prolific artist after Elvis Presley. Her most famous songs are "J'ai un probleme", "L'amour au Diapason" (73), "Parle moi de ta vie"(71), " Petit rainbow " (77), "Bye Bye Leroy Brown" (74), "Disco Queen" and "Nicolas" (79), and "Caro Mozart", an international hit in Italian (72). However, her annual world tours and Italian TV shows continued to include her biggest late-1960s hits. In 1976 she recorded " Qu'est-ce qui fait pleurer les blondes? ",
765-677: A single room at the Angleterre Hotel. Young Sylvie had to work hard to keep up at school and blend in with her schoolmates. She spent two years learning French. In 1960, her family moved to an apartment in Michel Bizot Avenue. Thanks to the influence of her music producer brother Eddie , music became teenage Sylvie's main interest. Her most influential genres were jazz and, out of spite toward her strict high school, rock 'n' roll . Her favourite artists included Brenda Lee , Bill Haley , and Elvis Presley . In 1961, Eddie offered Sylvie
816-506: A son, David Michael Benjamin Smet, later known as David Hallyday . Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday were their generation's "golden couple" in France, and their marriage was among the most carefully watched relationships for the nation's publicity. But Hallyday openly preferred his pals to parenting, sparking many disagreements, and the couple finally divorced on 4 November 1980. Vartan later married record producer Tony Scotti , and they have adopted
867-571: A stadium through the crowd and once by jumping from a helicopter above the Stade de France , where he performed 9 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
918-523: A young Bulgarian girl, Darina. Vartan is the aunt of actor Michael Vartan , the son of her older brother Eddie Vartan. Bulgarians in France Bulgarians in France ( Bulgarian : Българи във Франция , French : Bulgares en France ), are one of the immigrant communities of the Bulgarian diaspora. Over 34,000 Bulgarians live in France, with the main concentration in Paris. They form one of
969-603: The Olympia and the Palais des congrès de Paris throughout the 1960s and mid-1970s. In 2004, after a break in performances, she began recording and giving concerts of jazz ballads in francophone countries. Sylvie Vartan was born in Iskrets , Sofia Province , in the then Kingdom of Bulgaria . Her father, Georges Vartanian (1912–1970), was born in France to a Bulgarian mother named Slavka and an Armenian father. He worked as an attaché at
1020-662: The Palais des congrès in 2004 and 2008—all sold-out concerts. In 2009 she toured Turkey, France, Japan, Switzerland, Quebec, USA, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium. In 2005, the singer was appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal and Child Health in the European Region. Vartan is regarded as a gay icon . In 1962, during her second concert in Paris Olympia Hall, Vartan met pop-rock singer Johnny Hallyday ; they were married in Offenburg on 12 April 1965. They had
1071-551: The Rester Vivant Tour. A concert in Brussels was released as a live album in 2016. Hallyday was married five times, including twice to the same woman, with the first four marriages ending in divorce. His last marriage was his longest, lasting twenty-one years. His first marriage was to French singer Sylvie Vartan , lasting fifteen years from 1965 to 1980. Their son David was born in 1966. His second marriage to Babeth Étienne
SECTION 20
#17328595127471122-405: The 1850s and 1860s. From 1879 on, France was the favoured destination for Bulgarians seeking higher education abroad, with particular domination in the fields of pharmacy and medicine . In 1926–1927, for example, of the 1,247 Bulgarians studying abroad, 537 were based in France; of those, 172 studied medicine. Germany took the place of France in the 1930s in terms of higher education. Despite
1173-686: The 23rd-biggest-selling single of 1969 in Italy, Vartan's version did better in Italian charts than Mina's original. Vartan continued with her one-woman shows at the Paris Olympia in December 1968; they were published as the documentary Sylvie à L'Olympia . For nine Saturday nights in winter of 1969, Vartan starred in the Doppia coppia variety nights of RAI , performing her hits " Irrésistiblement " ("Irresistibilmente") and "Le jour qui vient" ("Una cicala canta") in Italian. In March 1969, "Irresistibilmente" entered
1224-478: The Bulgarian origin of the sect. It was not until the mid-19th century that contacts between France and the Bulgarian lands were intensified. France was an attractive centre for Bulgarian students abroad even before the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. Bulgarian public figure Nikola Pikolo spent the years from 1840 to his death in 1865 in Paris. Petar Beron , another Bulgarian enlightener, was also active in Paris in
1275-597: The Eiffel Tower, with some 10 million watching on television. Usually working with the best French artists and musicians of his time, he 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 was a symbol of the Trente Glorieuses when he emerged in 1960 and
1326-485: The English-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
1377-617: The French embassy in Sofia. The family shortened the name Vartanian to Vartan. Her mother, Ilona (née Mayer 1914–2007), daughter of prominent architect Rudolf Mayer, was of Hungarian-Jewish descent. When the Soviet Army invaded Bulgaria in September 1944, the Vartanian family house was nationalised and they moved to Sofia . In 1952, a friend of Sylvie's father, film director Dako Dakovski, offered her
1428-529: The Italian charts at No. 3, peaked at No. 2 and stayed in Top Ten for 10 weeks. In 1969 the single was the No. 22 single on the Italian chart. The tender ballad "Blam blam blam", written especially for Doppia coppia , peaked at No. 14 on the Italian charts and was among the 100 biggest-selling singles in Italy in 1969. After her world tour in autumn 1969, she returned to Italy to perform "Festa negli occhi, festa nel cuore" on
1479-595: The age of 74. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute, saying he "transcended generations and is etched in the memory of the French people". On 9 December, his funeral was held in Paris; 900,000 lined the Champs-Élysées as his body was taken to the Madeleine Church . The service was attended by Macron and two of his predecessors. He was buried on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy in
1530-538: The band and forming Humble Pie with Frampton, and rearranged English language versions of both "Reclamation (News Report)" and "Regarde pour moi (What You Will)" appeared on Humble Pie's debut LP of 1969. Often forgotten is Hallyday's non-LP single and EP track " Que je t'aime " from the same sessions. By 1969 alone, his record sales exceeded twelve million units. One of Hallyday's later concerts, 100% Johnny: Live à la tour Eiffel in 2000, attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers (the show
1581-431: The cemetery of Lorient parish church ( Église de Lorient ) on 11 December 2017. In February 2018, his two oldest children, David and Laura, announced that they were contesting his will, which left his entire estate to his last wife Læticia and their two adopted children. The will was drafted in the US, and their lawyers contended that this violated French law, which prevents children from being disinherited. Hallyday
Sylvie Vartan - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-477: The chance to record the song "Panne d'essence" with French rocker Frankie Jordan . The Decca Records EP was a surprise hit. Although she was not credited on the sleeve, "Panne d'essence" provided Vartan her first appearance on French television . The journalists gave her the nickname la collégienne du twist . After the "twisting schoolgirl" had finished the Victor Hugo High School, she was free to sign
1683-478: The charts with "Quand tu es là". In 1995, she starred in "L'ange noir" directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau. In 1996 Sylvie recorded a successful album ("Toutes les femmes ont un secret") featuring "Je n'aime encore que toi" written by Quebecer Luc Plamondon. After her brother Eddie died in 2001, she took another break from performing in public. In fall 2004 she started recording and giving concerts of jazz ballads in francophone countries and Japan. She performed two weeks in
1734-480: The collaboration with Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier produced a highly entertaining result. The variety night included the performance of " Irrésistiblement ", accompanied by elaborate girl-group choreography, and "Jolie Poupée", a dialogue between a doll Sylvie and an adult one. The hits of the "Jolie poupée" show were released as the Maritza album. In Italy, she released a cover version of Mina 's "Zum zum zum". Being
1785-479: The end of the 1960s, Hallyday made a string of albums with Foreigner 's Mick Jones and Tommy Brown as musical directors, and Big Jim Sullivan , Bobby Graham and Jimmy Page as session musicians. These are Jeune homme , Rivière... Ouvre ton lit (also known as Je suis né dans la rue ) and Vie . On Je suis né dans la rue , Hallyday hired both Peter Frampton and the Small Faces and they all play on most of
1836-414: The hit "Cette lettre-là". On January 16, 1964, Sylvie performed with The Beatles, and opened their show at Olympia. Set in the smart design of the J.C. Averty Show , "Cette lettre-là" was the first of Sylvie Vartan's TV variety night performances. In 1966–67 she recorded more original hits. "Dis moi, que tu m'aimes" premiered on TV on 9 July 1967 was accompanied by a group of male dancers. "Le jour qui vient"
1887-495: The lead single "Always", Le Cœur d'un homme features "T'aimer si mal", a duet with blues musician Taj Mahal and "I Am the Blues", an English-language song (uncharacteristically for Hallyday) written by U2 's lead singer Bono . His next album, Ça ne finira jamais , released in 2008, another No. 1 on the French album chart, and its lead single, " Ça n'finira jamais ", also reached No. 1. Hallyday's album Tour 66: Stade de France 2009
1938-403: The movie D'où viens-tu, Johnny? . Later, after announcing their engagement over the radio, the young couple performed to a noisy audience of 200,000 at Paris' Place de la Nation . At the year's end they traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record an album with The Jordanaires . With the special treatment of vocalists, strings, and brass sections in the true Nashville style, these recordings were
1989-529: The oldest communities of Bulgarians in Western Europe . It is thought that individual groups of Bulgars reached modern France in the Migration Period (5th–6th century). In the 12th and 13th centuries, Bulgarian heretics came to France spreading the ideas of Bogomilism , which provided much of the theological basis of Catharism . The Cathars or Albigensians were also known as bougres , pointing to
2040-515: The role of a schoolgirl in the movie Pod igoto , a film about Bulgarian rebels against the Ottoman occupation. Participating in the film made her dream of becoming an entertainer come true. The hardships of postwar Bulgaria made the family emigrate to Paris in December 1952. At first they stayed in the Lion d'Argent hotel near Les Halles , where Georges found a job, then for the next four years they stayed in
2091-434: The same scholar, another group of over 20,000 Bulgarians are temporarily residing, studying and working in France. Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ filip leo smɛt] ; 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
Sylvie Vartan - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-523: The sizable distance between France and the Balkans , there are reports of Bulgarian gardeners around Metz as early as 1870. Gardeners were the leading force of Bulgarian economic emigration. In 1930, there were 326 Bulgarian gardeners in France. It is estimated that the entire Bulgarian community in France numbered some 1,000–2,000 in 1945. Historian Yordan Kolev estimates the number of Bulgarians permanently residing in France as of 2000 as 9,500. According to
2193-886: 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 staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix . For their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Nancy on 14 October 1966. Film footage from October 1966 exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler and others. He also socialised with Keith Richards and Bob Dylan . At
2244-479: The tracks on the album. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces contributed their compositions "Amen (Bang Bang)", "Reclamation (News Report)", and "Regarde pour moi (What You Will)" to the album. "Amen" is a French-language variation on "That Man", a previously-released 1967 Small Faces song played in a heavy rock style. Tensions between the Small Faces during the recording sessions led to Marriott leaving
2295-568: Was " Tous mes copains ", issued on EP in 1962. She also had her first adult part in a movie with the small part of a singer in the film Un clair de lune à Maubeuge . In 1963, Paul Anka offered her the song " I'm Watching You ", which became her first international hit in Japan and Korea. She rounded out the year with four TV specials and becoming the darling of the teen magazine Salut les Copains . Six of her 31 songs released in 1962/1963 became Top-20 European hits. In late winter 1963, Vartan toured France with Johnny Hallyday and starred with him in
2346-599: Was a live set recorded at Stade de France during his farewell tour. In 2011 Hallyday released album Jamais seul , recorded with Matthieu Chedid , and started touring again. In 2012 he gave concerts in different countries, including Russia, and released the album L'Attente . Later Hallyday released two live albums, On Stage and Born Rocker Tour (a recording of his 70th anniversary concerts in Bercy and Theatre de Paris). Albums named Rester Vivant and De L'Amour were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In 2015–2016 Hallyday had
2397-633: Was aired on the Dim Dam Dom program of the French Television 1 in color on 14 January 1968. "2'35 de bonheur" and " Comme un garçon " were other #1s in France, Italy, Belgium, Japan, or Korea. On 11 April 1968, Vartan suffered injuries in a traffic accident but was back on tour in August. She showed off her new sexy cabaret -dancer image to the French TV audience in the "Jolie poupée" show on 4 December 1968;
2448-459: Was broadcast live on French TV). In December 2005, Hallyday had his third number-one single on the French SNEP singles chart since its establishment in 1984, " Mon plus beau Noël " (after " Tous ensemble " and " Marie "), dedicated to his adopted daughter Jade. Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring in 2007, he released a blues-flavored album, Le Cœur d'un homme . In addition to
2499-824: Was her first release in Italy. "Il n'a rien retrouvé" became another international hit that year. In January 1964, she appeared at the Paris Olympia as one of the support acts (which also included Trini Lopez ) for The Beatles . A commercial for the "Renown" clothing line and a supporting role in the film Patate increased her fame. She also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show , Shindig! , Hullabaloo , and an international concert tour, including Canada, South America and Polynesia. In Tokyo she gave 13 concerts in 12 days. In December 1964, as Hallyday went into military service, Sylvie's brother Eddie hired two English songwriting session musicians , Tommy Brown on drums and Mick Jones on guitar, as they went to record in New York; they wrote her
2550-626: Was his shortest, lasting for 65 days. Hallyday had a four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye . Their daughter Laura was born in 1983. His third and fourth marriages were to the same woman, Adeline Blondieau, from 1990 to 1992, and from 1994 to 1995. Officiated by Nicolas Sarkozy , his fifth and final marriage was to Læticia Boudou from 1996 until his death. The couple adopted two girls from Vietnam : Jade Odette Désirée, born 3 August 2004 (formerly Bùi Thị Hoà), in November 2004, and Joy in 2008. Hallyday, who resided in Los Angeles, owned
2601-470: Was once called "the French Elvis ". The Daily Beast described Hallyday as "a hip swiveling, leather-clad Gallic answer to Elvis Presley who shook up his home country's music scene with American-style rock-n-roll and bad-boy antics." He remained largely unknown outside the francophone world and was sometimes described as "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" in English-speaking countries. He
SECTION 50
#1732859512747#746253