Johnny Hallyday in Sri Lanka with Hollywood star Beau Bridges acting in The Iron Triangle
French rocker Johnny Hallyday was hardly known in the English speaking world but in France and the Francophone countries he was a legend.
Hallyday who died on 6 December at the age of 74 was inspired by Elvis Presley and he was an avid fan of American music. In the earlier part of his career he was known as ‘French Elvis’ but he was much more than the American icon.
His debut single, ‘Laisse les Filles’ was released in March and the first album, Hello Johnny, followed in the same year. The singer who was only known as ‘Johnny’ in France embraced many genres of rock such as rhythm and blues, acid rock, apocalyptic rock and of course country and western, and towards the latter part of his career he mellowed down singing ballads.
Hallyday was in Sri Lanka in 1988 to act in The Iron Triangle, a film about the Vietnam War, directed by Eric Weston. American star Beau Bridges played a main character in the war film in which the French rocker played the role of a French mercenary. Many in Sri Lanka would not have known him for sure.
Johnny’s singing career reached dizzying heights with more than 28 million spectators attending his concerts and record sales topping 110 million, with a repertoire of 1000 songs and winning dozens awards and 40 gold discs.
“My first idol was Elvis” Johnny confessed in an interview. But his rock and roll was different, a critic said. He sang about common people, about rebellion, driving a brand new car or a motorbike and earthy, basic things about everyday life. He went on tours more than 200 times and also covered many small towns, unlike the stars of his stature.
He loved America, befriended many US singers – Bob Dylan fronted for him in France and Jimmy Page played the guitar for him – sang in English including many cover versions and had a home in Los Angeles and spoke good English, but he was ignored in the Anglo-Saxon world of music. He toured several US cities and even appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show” in the hope of charming Americans with his cover versions of “Blueberry Hill” and “Be Bop A Lula”. But there was mix response.
It did not bother him. Johnny told AFP: “I don’t specially want to succeed elsewhere. It’s better to be king in one’s own country than a prince elsewhere.” He was the undisputed king in France and it is surprising how he became an icon in a very nationalistic country. He lived in Switzerland to evade high taxes in France, epitomized French postwar youth’s love affair with all things American infuriating the older generation in France that was snooty about American taste and still more wary of US domination, and protective of their language.
I would say Johnny was more like Bruce Springsteen towards the end of his career with the same kind of high adrenaline-charged performances and terrific stage presence belying advancing age. Johnny’s off-stage antics – five marriages, cocaine addiction, passion for Harley Davidsons on which he crisscrossed America, fast cars, many accidents, a suicide attempt – acquired quite a notoriety and he was in the headlines almost everyday.
Popular French cigarette brand Gitanes dangled from Johnny’s lips often, and he died of lung cancer.
He was born during the war to a French mother and Belgian father on June 15, 1943 as Jean-Philippe Smet. Soon his parents abandoned him and was adopted by an aunt. He took his stage name from a cousin-in-law from Oklahoma who performed as Lee Halliday. He became a father figure to the rising star and introduced him to American music. Johnny decided to stick with his second name as Hallyday after it appeared on a poster by mistake replacing ‘i’ with ‘y’.
Hallyday married five times. The first wife was a French singer Sylvie Vartan who bore a son named David. His second marriage to Babeth Étienne lasted only two months and two days, followed by a four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye who gave birth to his daughter Laura. Nathalie remained in touch with him till his last days. A few hours after the announcement of his death, the actress posted a black square on her Instagram account and then wrote: “My sorrow is immense.”
He married his third wife Adeline Blondieau twice. His last wife is Laeticia Boudou who woke up French President Emmanuel Macron at 2 in the morning to convey the message of his death. Laeticia and Johnny adopted two girls from Vietnam.
Canadian singer Céline Dion who was a close friend of Hallyday said in a tweet: “He was a giant in show business…a true icon! He will be sadly missed, but never forgotten.” The French rocker performed in Quebec 1990s and 2000 and appeared at 2011 edition of the Quebec festival.
In his film career Johnny acted in many movies starring along with popular stars like Catherine Deneuve, Lino Ventura, Nathalie Baye, Gérard Depardieu, Hollywood actors Harvey Keitel and Beau Bridges, and Marion Cotillard.
(His popular ballad Seul (Alone) is posted on top of the right column).
