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If you're listening to a modern French pop hit, chances are you're listening to a song written by the multi-talented French star Jean-Jacques Goldman. Over the past few years Goldman has become a veritable one-man hit-machine, penning chart-toppers for everyone from Céline Dion and Patricia Kaas to Algerian rai star Khaled. In spite of this incredible success on the international music scene, Goldman has kept an extremely low profile, eschewing the bright lights of the showbiz world to lead a quiet family life in the Paris suburbs. Although Goldman has always refused to conform to the pop star mould, this talented singer/songwriter remains a firm favourite with the French public.
Jean-Jacques Goldman was born in Paris on October 11 1951. His parents, Alter Goldman and Ruth Ambrunn, were both Jewish and had emigrated from their native Poland, arriving in France in the 1930's. The pair, who were militant communists, played an important role in the French Resistance and became naturalized French citizens after the war. The couple married in 1949 and Jean-Jacques was the third of their four children. Jean-Jacques, who claims to have experienced a completely "banal" childhood, grew up in the 19th arrondissement of Paris and then moved with his family to the suburb of Montrouge.
Jean-Jacques's parents made sure that their son learnt to play the violin, then the piano, at an early age. Jean-Jacques went on to become a member of the "Red Mountain Gospellers" in the Montrouge parish church at the age of 14, singing with this choir for the next two years. His first contact with the recording studio came when the choir leader, Father Dufourmantelle, produced his own single (and the young Jean-Jacques played guitar and organ on it).
On the Road
But it was another genre of music altogether which would influence Jean-Jacques's early years, when he discovered Aretha Franklin's soul hit "Think". The song was a veritable revelation and, in 1968, Jean-Jacques abandoned classical music and took up the guitar. He began playing with a number of local groups, performing gigs at dances and clubs. The young Jean-Jacques even performed at the famous "Golf Drouot" club in Paris with the group Phalanster (the group's name is a reference to the Utopian theories of the 19th-century philosopher and economist Charles Fourier). Meanwhile, Jean-Jacques continued his studies, passing his baccalauréat with a special distinction in 1969.
Jean-Jacques's parents were keen for their son to take a degree in commerce and the young Jean-Jacques did not have any particular objection. Thus in 1970 he enrolled at the EDHEC (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales) in Lille, where he studied until 1973. Cut off from the exciting buzz of the Paris music scene, Jean-Jacques became a passionate Jimmy Hendrix fan. He soon began buying records by other 70's guitar heroes and practising his own guitar playing in earnest. Like other students of his generation inspired by Kerouac's "On the Road" philosophy, Jean-Jacques went on to spend his summer holidays back-packing around Canada, Mexico and the United States.
After graduation Jean-Jacques returned to Paris where he soon became caught up in the capital's musical whirl again. Jean-Jacques was soon forced to leave Paris a second time, however, to complete his military service (1974 - 1975) but when he returned he knew that he wanted, above all else, to pursue a musical career. Jean-Jacques had no precise ambition, however, vaguely dividing his time between singing, songwriting and playing his guitar. One of his greatest musical influences in these early days was Léo Ferré, whom the young Jean-Jacques discovered when he went to see the 'progressive rock' group Zoo.
Taï Phong
The turning-point of Jean-Jacques's early career came when he met two Vietnamese guitarists, Khanh (who worked as a sound engineer) and Taï (a bank clerk). The pair were seeking a third musician to complete their new group and when they discovered Goldman could not only play the guitar but also had an impressive voice, they knew they had found their third member. The group Taï Phong (Vietnamese for "Great Wind") soon evolved into a fivesome, with the addition of keyboard-player Jean Alain Gardet and drummer Stéphane Caussarieu. After a year rehearsing together the group were ready to record their first album and, after hiking their demo tape around all the major record companies, they finally signed to WEA. The group's début album, recorded in 1975, produced the single "Sister Jane", a smoochy pop number which proved to be a smash hit that summer. Following this early success the group set to work on their second album, "Windows", which was released in 1977. Certain critics hailed "Windows" as a more mature album, others noted it as an interesting move away from Anglo-Saxon musical role models.
After recording a third album, "Last Flight", the members of Taï Phong finally split up in 1979, Gardet and Taï deciding to go their own separate ways. At this point Goldman, the only remaining member of the original trio, was joined by Welsh guitarist Michael Jones. Over the past four years Goldman had actually recorded three solo singles ("C’est pas grave Papa" in 1976, Les Nuits de solitude" in 1977 and "Back to the City Again" in 1978) but none of these had made a major impact on the French music scene, all eventually sinking without a trace.
Following the split of Taï Phong, Goldman began to concentrate more on his songwriting career, installing a small studio at home. Encouraged by his wife Catherine (whom he had met in 1972) he soon began writing songs in French with the idea of offering them to other singers.
Goldman’s major breakthrough came in 1981 when a young producer by the name of Marc Lumbroso heard one of his songs. Impressed by Goldman’s vocal talent, he encouraged the singer to record a demo tape which he then presented to Epic (a label set up by CBS to showcase new talents). Goldman’s demo tape proved a great success with the label’s directors and the track "Il suffira d’un signe" was released as a single. This innovative single, over 6 minutes in length, proved a major hit with French DJs who enthusiastically programmed it on the airwaves. The single went on to sell nearly 500,000 copies and Goldman signed a contract for a further five albums with Epic.
Encouraged by the success of this single, Goldman would soon go into the studio to record his début 11-track album which he planned to call "Démodé" ("Out of Date"). Epic’s marketing directors were far from enthusiastic when they heard of the singer’s proposed album title and refused to go along with the idea, claiming an album called "Out of Date" would be impossible to sell. The marketing directors finally won the battle and Goldman’s album was released without any title whatsoever. The second single, "Quelque chose de bizarre", failed to have the great commercial impact everyone had predicted but Goldman’s career was well under way by now and there was to be no stopping the ambitious singer this time round.
"Quand la musique est bonne"
Realising the value of Goldman’s songwriting talent, Epic soon persuaded the singer to write new versions of his songs in several different languages. "Il suffira d’un signe" thus became "Just a Little Sign" when it was released in Germany and "Como tu" was aimed at the Spanish market. (Unfortunately, this idea backfired somewhat and the foreign-language adaptations of Goldman’s work actually flopped).
In 1982, bending to pressure from marketing executives at his record company, Goldman went back into the studio to record a second album. Once again the singer had firm ideas about the album’s title, wishing to call it "Minoritaire". But the marketing department refused to go along with his choice and Goldman’s second album, like his first, was released without a title. Nevertheless, the first single, "Quand la musique est bonne", was phenomenally successful. Indeed, it rocketed to the top of the charts within a few weeks of its release, turning Goldman into a household name in France overnight.
The singer's catchy melodies and his original voice (which is relatively high-pitched for a male singer) proved an enormous hit with the public. But it was Goldman's exceptional lyrics which really struck a chord in their hearts. Goldman's lyrics never revealed the secrets of his private life, but his fans considered them to be extremely personal nonetheless and Goldman soon gained a reputation for being sensitive and sincere.
"Comme toi", the second single released from the album in 1983, soon soared to the top of the charts like its predecessor. The single would also go on to win Goldman the prestigious "Diamant d’Or de la Chanson Francaise". By the time the third single, "Au bout de mes rêves", was released, Goldman was confirmed as an important new voice on the French music scene. Despite initial reluctance, the singer would finally agree to perform an extensive national tour (which lasted through to May 1984). This tour included a famous stint at the Olympia in Paris (March 26-April 1).
Meanwhile, Goldman continued to lead an extremely quiet private life, returning to his wife and children (Caroline, born in 76, Michael, born in 1980) whenever he could. Neither Goldman's lifestyle nor his appearance bore any of the traditional rock star trappings and the rather shy singer would literally flee the world of showbizz at the first opportunity. Indeed, throughout his career Goldman has done his utmost to protect his wife and children from the media attention surrounding him.
Faithful Fans
Despite - or maybe precisely because of - the fact that his image does not correspond to that of a modern pop star, Goldman has managed to attract a strong following of fans. Indeed, the singer's third album, "Positif", released in 1984, sold 500,000 copies in just a few months and went on to go diamond in 1995 (when sales topped the 1 million mark!). The album, which featured special guest musician John Helliwell (the famous saxophonist from Supertramp), went on to produce a whole string of hit singles ("Envole moi", Encore un matin" and Long is the Road"). But Goldman appeared wary of his sudden fame, dedicating his album to "the fans who will remain faithful through the hard times".
The cover of Goldman’s next album "Non homologué", recorded in 1985, portrays a more confident, smiling singer, openly more relaxed about his star status. The song "Compte pas sur moi" ("Don’t Count on Me" - a warning to fans?) was released as the first single. But it was the next single "Je te donne", a duet with Michael Jones (Goldman's musical partner of several years) which would really score a major hit with fans. The album "Non homologué", which combined carefully crafted lyrics and middle-of-the-road style American rock, soon proved to be an enormous critical and commercial success.
Goldman has always refused to wear his political opinions on his sleeve, but, like others who grew up in the revolutionary 1968 era, the singer has a strong sense of personal ideology. Throughout his career Goldman has supported various humanitarian causes, participating in the "Feed the World" campaign (to help famine victims in Ethiopia) and performing at the "Concert des Potes" (organised at the Place de la Concorde by the anti-racist organisation SOS Racisme). Goldman also wrote the theme song for "Restos du Coeur" (the charity set up by the late French comedian Coluche to help the homeless).
Goldman's image
Goldman’s popularity continued to increase during the 80’s. Then suddenly, at the very height of his career, the singer found himself under attack from the same French critics who had helped to catapult him to stardom. Several critics began making fun of Goldman’s ‘boringly nice’ image and started complaining that his songs were overly soppy and sentimental. When Goldman appeared in concert at the Zénith in Paris (from September 3 -20 1985) the media unleashed a series of highly personal attacks. The singer promptly responded by placing a double page ad in the daily newspaper "Libération" where he re-published his worst reviews, adding a humourous footnote addressed to his fans which simply said "Thankyou for coming anyway". Goldman need not have worried. Despite the criticisms in the press, tickets for Goldman's 1985 concert tour were sold out without his record company running the slightest promotional campaign. "Goldmania" swept through France regardless of the media, thousands of young fans flocking to the singer's shows. Goldman may not have been a typically sexy young rock god, but his audiences were always full of adoring teenage girls, attracted perhaps by his comforting ‘older brother’ image.
Goldman’s tour carried on well into 1986, following the release of a new single "Pas toi". The singer also took part in a second concert organised by SOS Racisme on June 14, then embarked upon a summer tour with the English group Cock Robin. In July Goldman flew to Canada, where he performed with singer Robert Charlebois, giving one concert in Quebec and two in Montreal.
Meanwhile, Goldman was working hard on his songwriting, penning a whole album of songs for French star Johnny Hallyday ("Gang"). Goldman would then go on to release his own new album (a double live album recorded during that year’s tour). On November 22 1986 Goldman was honoured by professionals in the French recording industry who voted him "Best Singer" at the "Victoires de la Musique" awards.
In June 1987 Goldman released a new single, entitled "Elle a fait un bébé toute seule" ("She’s Had a Baby On Her Own"). Goldman never expected this tender, simple-worded, ballad about female emancipation to become a great hit. But the song appeared to strike a chord with thousands of his fans and once again, Goldman’s single rocketed to the top of the charts. October saw the unexpected release of a new double album, "Entre gris clair et gris fonçé" (which was recorded in a studio with a group of musicians under live conditions). This album proved to be a phenomenal success, selling 250,000 copies in just one month (and sales would eventually top the million mark ten years later). "Entre gris clair et gris fonçé" was a deeply personal album which reflected Goldman’s self-questioning, doubting mood of the time. It contained a number of surprise bonus tracks such as the excellent duet "Là-bas" which Goldman performed with Sirima, a young Sri Lankan woman he had met on the Paris tube.
Goldman continued to shun the media spotlight, but he remained very much in the public eye, embarking upon a phenomenally successful tour in 1988. Goldman kicked off the tour in Paris with 3 concerts at the Bataclan, 3 dates at the Olympia, 10 shows at the Palais des Sports and a fortnight at the Zénith. In July he performed at the "Francofolies" music festival held in La Rochelle. Then in September Goldman's tour continued through the French provinces - and finally ended up in West Africa ! (The singer would play a staggering 147 dates in all !) Goldman’s live performances revealed a stage presence and magnetic charisma that the singer himself had probably never suspected he had. Surrounded by his faithful musicians, including guitarist Michael Jones and saxophonist Pinpin, Goldman drove audiences wild with his hit songs.
Fund-raising with the Enfoirés
After years of its love-hate relationship with Goldman, the media would finally acknowledge Goldman as one of the most talented singer/songwriters of his generation. Indeed, when Goldman appeared at the New York Palladium on March 3 1988 the "Herald Tribune" published an extremely complimentary article about the singer, describing him as a "Normal Pop Idol".
Following his mega-tour of 1988, Goldman retired from the music scene for a while to take a much-earned break. But in November 1989 he returned to perform a fund-raising tour with a host of French stars including Johnny Hallyday, Eddy Mitchell, Véronique Sanson and Michel Sardou. Proceeds from this tour, known as "La Tournée des Enfoirés", were donated to the "Restos du Coeur" charity set up by Goldman’s late friend Coluche.
The following year Goldman’s music underwent a radical change of direction. Instead of concentrating on his solo work, the singer began writing various duets and three-part songs. Goldman began to feel the need to express himself as part of a group (like the Anglo-Saxon stars who had influenced him in the 70’s). Eventually Goldman would go on to team up with two of his long-time collaborators, guitarist Michael Jones (who had already proved his singing talent on one of Goldman’s earlier albums) and Carole Fredericks (who had often accompanied Goldman on tour as a backing singer). The trio’s first collective effort was the single, "Nuit", released in November 1990 as a foretaste of the album "Fredericks-Goldman-Jones" (released in December of that year). The ten songs on this album revealed a perfect fusion between Goldman’s ‘fragile’ singing style, Fredericks’s powerful vocals and Jones’s English accent. This fusion certainly proved to be a winning formula with the public - by June 1991 sales of "Fredericks-Goldman-Jones" had reached 600,000.
Following this success the trio performed a series of concerts (4-9 June) at the Jacques Anquetil Velodrome in the Paris suburb of Vincennes, drawing crowds of 12,000 each night. Goldman then embarked upon one of his habitual marathon tours, playing a series of dates right across the world. (This tour included memorable concerts in Vietnam, Cambodia and Mauritius). In 1992 Goldman's new live album, "Sur scène", appeared in the shops, sealed in a distinctive forged metal cover.
While 1993 proved to be a quieter year on the touring front, Goldman was extremely busy with his songwriting career, penning material for Marc Lavoine (under the pseudonym O.Menor) and Patricia Kaas (c.f. the hit single "Il me dit que je suis belle" written under the pseudonym Sam Brewski).
Amnesty International
At the start of 94 the Fredericks-Goldman-Jones trio would go on to record a new album, "Rouge" (which was memorable for its stirring title track featuring the voices of the Red Army Choir). While this album appeared to be rather less inspired than the trio’s début, the extraordinary lyrics combined with catchy guitar riffs and choral harmonies proved a great hit with the public. (Indeed, "Rouge" went on to sell over a million copies).
Throughout his career Goldman continued to perform benefit concerts for charities and human rights organisations. In May 1994 Goldman accompanied by his two faithful collaborators, Michael Jones and Carole Fredericks, arranged a special series of concerts on behalf of Amnesty International at the "New Morning". The famous Paris jazz club provided Goldman with the perfect intimate setting to perform acoustic versions of his classic songs.
In December 95 Carole Fredericks went on to record her début solo album, "Springfield", for which Goldman composed two tracks, "Change" and "Jesus in Me". But Goldman’s most important songwriting work that year was undoubtedly Céline Dion’s album "D’eux", for which he not only wrote all the lyrics and music but also personally supervised all the arrangements. The phenomenal success of "D’eux" confirmed Goldman’s Midas touch when it came to penning hit songs.
On February 11 1997 the Algerian rai star Khaled triumphed at the "Victoires de la Musique", winning "Best Single" for "Aïcha", the hit song he had co-written with Goldman. The pair brought the house down at the awards ceremony when Goldman appeared from the wings to join Khaled on stage and perform "Aïcha" to a cheering audience.
A Dramatic Change of Style
After writing a new collection of songs for Patricia Kaas’s album, Goldman went on to record a new solo album of his own. "En passant", released in August 1997, has a distinctly melancholy feel to it, full of dream-like songs about escaping from the here and now. The album also marks a dramatic change of musical style from Goldman's earlier work, drawing heavily on rhythm’n’blues guitars as well as using new instruments (c.f. the balalaikas on "Natacha" and the Oriental percussion on the single "Sache que"). The album "En passant" undoubtedly Goldman’s most personal work of the past few years. The album certainly proved a huge hit with the public - "En passant" went on to sell 1,250,000 copies before the beginning of '98.
After a brief warm-up tour in September 97 (Goldman kept things simple, performing with no other backing than his long-standing friend, the French guitarist Gildas Arzel), the singer took to the road again in the spring of 98, embarking upon a major national tour. This time round Goldman broke with tradition - as he had on his 1997 album "En passant" - performing strictly solo, without his usual musical accomplices Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones. (Goldman had not performed without the two other members of his famous 'trio' since 1988!) After bringing the house down at Le Zénith (17-20 May), Goldman went on to perform another 20 dates, delighting music fans up and down the country right through to the end of the summer, fitting in another stint at Le Zénith between 30 September and 4 October.
Following the success of this tour, Goldman turned his attention to his songwriting activities once again, penning ten tracks for Céline Dion's new album "S'il suffisait d'aimer" (released in September '98).
Three years later Jean-Jacques Goldman celebrated his 50th birthday and shortly afterwards the singer walked up the aisle for a second time, marrying Nathalie, a 22-year-old Eurasian student from Marseilles. The ceremony, held on 13 October 2001, took place in the strictest intimacy, one of the few guests invited to the wedding being guitarist Michaël Jones (a long-term friend of Goldman's).
Dance party
Goldman released a new album on November 20th 2001. Having been avoiding the press as usual, the artist had to make an effort to promote the album, and put up with a series of press conferences. He tried to get ahead of problems by imposing his own rules to the journalists and forbidding that either his name or pictures of him should appear on the front pages of magazines or newspapers. But some journalists reacted badly and attacked the singer, interpreting his measures as a form of censorship.
With such a title as "Chansons pour les pieds" ("Songs for Feet"), Jean-Jacques Goldman’s album features twelve tracks but has one motto, "Dance!": "The only ambition of the record is to make people stand up and talk to each other, touch each other lightly and sing and dance together. These songs are just songs for feet," the singer wrote in the booklet of the CD cover. Indeed, the melodies are successful dancy tunes. And all musical genres, such as techno jig, Italian Tarentella, slow dance, pop, and rock and even disco, have been mingled together. The lyrics deal with Jean-Jacques’ usual themes. To put it in a nutshell, there was nothing dramatically new in "Songs for Feet". Even its box office success was quite expectable and the album soon rocketed to the top of the French domestic charts.
Face to face with the public
Although much criticized by the press, the singer was as adored as ever by his concert fans as proved by the success of the Enfoirés concert in January 2002. Organised mostly by the artist, the performance took only place once in Marseilles, where Jean-Jacques Goldman had recently moved. Meanwhile, Goldman had been preparing for a new tour that was to start in Spring. Most of the fifty dates were fully booked several months in advance.
Spring 2002 saw the new French presidential campaign, and Jean-Jacques Goldman did not stay away from it. A committed socialist, he gave his support to the Socialist candidate, Lionel Jospin. For that purpose, he re-recorded his song entitled "Ensemble" ("Together"), backed up by a chorus of 150 singers. It was not the first time that Goldman had backed up the Socialist candidate. In 1995 he had also allowed the Socialist Party to use his song "Il changeait la vie" ("he could change life") for their campaign.
In June 2003, Goldman released a 22-track album entitled "Un tour ensemble" (A tour together) while putting the finishing touch to Céline Dion’s new French album.
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