Johnny Hallyday

Jean-Philippe Léo Smet

Johnny Hallyday (born June 15, 1943 in Paris - died December 5, 2017 in Marnes-la-Coquette, Île-de-France) was a French singer, songwriter, performer and actor. He was married to the french singer Sylvie Vartan from April 12, 1965 until November 4, 1980.

As of November 2011, Johnny Hallyday had sold more than 100 million records, and earned 40 gold records, 22 platinum records, 3 diamond records and 8 Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent of the Grammy). 28 million spectators have attended his concerts over more than 100 tours in France and Europe. However, like most French singers and musicians, his international career never really took off. Despite some tours abroad in the 1960s and 1970s, and a concert in Las Vegas in 1996, Hallyday is virtually unknown to the public outside the French speaking world.

Hallyday recorded some 1000 songs, including a little more than a hundred self-penned titles and around 250 French adaptations of original songs in English. Especially in the beginning of his career, during the early 1960s, Hallyday built his career mostly on French adaptations of songs by his American idols.