Alain Souchon
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| Alain Souchon | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alain Kienast |
| Born | May 27, 1944 Casablanca, Morocco |
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Pop French pop Pop/Rock World Music Experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1971 - Present |
| Label(s) | RCA (1973-1984), Virgin (1985-present) |
| Associated acts | Laurent Voulzy, Renaud Séchan, Maurane, Geoffrey Oryema, Zazie, Michel Jonasz, Catherine Lara |
| Website | alainsouchon.net |
Alain Souchon (born Alain Kienast on May 27, 1944, Casablanca, Morocco) is a French singer, songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films.
Contents |
[edit] Profile
Six months after Souchon was born his family returned to France. When he was 15 his father died in an accident. His mother sent him to a French college in England, but due to problems registering he decided to stay in London and work. Upon returning to France he took up guitar, influenced by English and American music. In 1970, he married and had his first son continuing to play in the cabarets and bars in the Rive Gauche of Paris.
Souchon signed his first contract in 1971 with the Pathe-Marconi label but had no success. Bob Socquet, the artistic director of RCA encouraged him to perform his song "L'amour 1930" at the Rose D'Or of Antibes contest. Souchon then began to collaborate with composer/arranger Laurent Voulzy (b. 1948); they would write together, but each released albums under his own name. Souchon's first hit was "J'ai 10 ans" (1974), from the album of the same name. He continued releasing albums and in 1978 wrote the theme for François Truffaut's 1979 film Love on the Run (L'amour en fuite). At this time his second son was born. In 1980, he was invited to perform at l'Olympia. He also began his acting career, most notably starring in the 1983 film L'Ete Meurtrier. Following the album 'On avance', he left RCA and signed with Virgin Records at 40 years old. In 1989 "La beauté de Ava Gardner" was voted best title of the year by the Victoires de la Musique.
Then came Souchon's biggest hit "Foule sentimentale" from 1993's million-selling C'est déja ça. At the 20th anniversary of the Victoires de la Musique in 1995, Alain Souchon received the award for best "Chanson Originale" for his song "Foule Sentimentale." In 1996, he received the "le Prix Vincent Scotto" award given by the SACEM (Societe des Auteurs Compositeurs) for his song "Sous les Jupes des Filles". Souchon returned in 2005 with the hugely successful album La vie Théodore which contained the hit single "...Et si en plus y'a personne".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Year | Album | FR [1] |
BE [2] |
CH [3] |
Sales [4][5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | J'ai dix ans
|
- | - | - | |
| 1976 | Bidon
|
- | - | - | |
| 1977 | Jamais content
|
- | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1978 | Toto 30 ans, rien que du malheur...
|
- | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1980 | Rame
|
- | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1983 | On avance
|
- | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1985 | C'est comme vous voulez
|
108A | - | - | |
| 1988 | Ultra moderne solitude
|
- | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1993 | C'est déjà ça
|
37A | 7 | - | France: Diamond (1,000,000+) |
| 1997 | Sol en si (with Francis Cabrel, Michel Jonasz, Catherine Lara, Maxime le Forestier, Maurane, Zazie)
|
3 | - | - | |
| 1999 | Au ras des pâquerettes
|
1 | 5 | 74 | France: Diamond (1,206,000) |
| 2005 | La Vie Théodore
|
1 | 1 | 3 | France: 2xPlatinum (462,100) |
| 2008 | Écoutez d'où ma peine vient
|
1 | 2 | 27 | France: Platinum (200,000) |
[edit] Live albums
| Year | Album | FR | BE | CH | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Olympia 83
|
- | - | - | |
| 1990 | Nickel
|
49A | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 1995 | Défoule sentimentale - Live
|
- | 9 | - | France: 2xGold (200,000) |
| 2002 | J'veux du live
|
29 | 26 | - | France: Gold (100,000) |
- A Re-release
[edit] Compilations
| Year | Album | FR | BE | CH | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | L'Intégral
|
- | - | - | |
| 1997 | 20 Chansons
|
- | - | - | France: Platinum (300,000) |
| 2001 | Collection (1974-1984)
|
- | 30 | 10 | France: Platinum (300,000) |
Collection (1985-2001)
|
- | - | - | France: Platinum (300,000) | |
| 2002 | Par les Sentiments
|
- | - | - | |
| 2004 | Platinum Collection
|
- | 13 | - | |
| 2007 | 100 Chansons
|
- | - | - |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | FR | BE | French Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "La Ballade de Jim" | 24 | - | |
| 1989 | "Quand je serai k.o. | 29 | - | |
| 1993 | "Foule sentimentale" | 1 | - | Silver (125,000) |
| 1994 | "L'amour à la machine" | 21 | - | |
| 2000 | "Tailler la zone" | 71 | - | |
| 2001 | "Le baiser / Caterpillar" | 80 | - | |
| 2002 | "La vie ne vaut rien" | 46 | - | |
| 2005 | "Et si en plus y'a personne" | 19 | 12 | |
| 2006 | "La vie Théodore" | 68 | - | |
| 2008 | "Écoutez d'où ma peine vient" | - | 7 |
[edit] Awards
1986
- Victoires de la musique: Music Video of the Year (La Ballade de Jim), directed by Philippe Bensoussan
- Victoires de la musique: Song of the Year (Belle-Île-en-Mer)
1990
- Victoires de la musique: Song of the Year (Quand j'serai KO)
1991
- Victoires de la musique: Album of the Year (Nickel)
1994
- Victoires de la musique: Male Artist of the Year
- Victoires de la musique: Song of the Year (Foule sentimentale)
1996
- Victoires de la musique: Album of the Year (Défoule sentimentale)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (French) Official site
- Biography of Alain Souchon, from Radio France Internationale
- (French) Alain Souchon (non-official site)
- Alain Souchon at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Alain Bashung |
Victoires de la Musique Male artist of the year 1994 |
Succeeded by MC Solaar |
 This article on a French singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
