Hallyday's father, Léon Smet (1908–1989), was Belgian; his mother, Huguette Clerc (1920–2007), was French. Born in Paris, Hallyday took his stage name from his aunt Desta's husband and dance partner Lee Hallyday, a pseudonym for Lee Ketcham, an expatriate Oklahoman, performer, and MC at the Café de Paris where Johnny began his singing career. Johnny was raised by Desta and Lee from a very young age, with Lee being his first manager. Johnny was always very loyal to Lee and secured him a permanent job as a producer and A&R man with his label, Philips Records until Lee's retirement and relocation back to Oklahoma.
His debut single, "Laisse les filles" was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His first album, Hello Johnny, was released in 1960. In 1961 his cover of "Let's Twist Again" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It topped almost every European chart, although 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 also staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of the late Bruno Coquatrix. For their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Évreux on 13 October 1966. Black-and-white footage, also from October 1966, exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler and others. There also is a widely published monochrome photograph of Hallyday walking somewhere in Paris in late May 1966 with Bob Dylan.
At the end of the 1960s, Hallyday made a string of albums with 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 (a.k.a. Je suis né dans la rue) and Vie. On Je suis né dans la rue, Hallyday also hired both Peter Frampton and the Small Faces. Amongst their contributions are the songs Amen (Bang Bang), Reclamation (News Report), and Regarde Pour Moi (What You Will), which are variations of Small Faces and Humble Pie (Frampton's band) songs—tracks and they all play on the album. Often forgotten is Hallyday's non-LP single and EP track Que Je T'aime from the same sessions. By 1969 alone, his sales of records exceeded twelve million.
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 was broadcast live on French TV). In December 2005, Hallyday had his third number-one single in France, "Mon Plus Beau Noël" (after "Tous ensemble" and "Marie"), dedicated to his adopted daughter Jade. Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring, he released a blues-flavored album, Le Cœur d'un homme, on 12 November 2007. The album hit No. 1 in both France and French-speaking Belgium. In addition to the lead single "Always", Le Cœur d'un homme features "T'aimer si mal", a duet with bluesman Taj Mahal and "I Am the Blues", an English-language song written for Hallyday 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. In 2008 he recorded a series of acoustic songs with French musician Drexl Jonez. Hallyday's most recent album, also a No. 1 hit in France, is Tour 66: Stade de France 2009, a live set recorded at Stade de France during his farewell tour with appearances by Drexl Jonez on the guitar.
French movie producers Michèle and Laurent Pétin introduced Johnny Hallyday to Hong Kong film director Johnnie To. Hallyday was cast as the main role of To's Vengeance after meeting with the director in early 2008. The shooting began in November 2008 and concluded in February 2009.
He was married for 15 years to popular Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan and the two were considered a "golden couple" for 20 years.
Hallyday completed 181 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and sold more than 110 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
Hallyday remains largely unknown outside the Francophone world, thus earning the nickname "the biggest rock star you've never heard of" in English-speaking countries.
On December 5th, 2017 Hallyday died, at age 74, in Marnes-la-Coquette, France.
Chance
Johnny Hallyday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chérie, bonne chance
Mon cœur ne gardera que des regrets, chérie
Du temps qu'on a vécu tous les deux
Ce temps qu'on a connu tous les deux
Ne fut jamais du temps perdu pour moi
Bonne chance,
Il ne me restera plus désormais, chérie
Qu'à rêver de l'amour passé
Et ces merveilleux jours passés
Je te souhaite de les rencontrer
Une autre fois
Mais je suis sûr que nul ne te comprendra
Il ne t'apportera les mêmes joies sur terre
Personne au monde ne peut plus t'enivrer
Ne peut te parler comme j'ai su le faire
Bonne chance,
Chérie, bonne chance
Merci pour tout ce que tu m'as donné, merci
Pour ta jeunesse et tant de folie
Pour les plus beaux moments de ma vie
Je veux te dire malgré ma souffrance
Bonne chance
Bonne chance,
Chérie, bonne chance
Pars sans te retourner car je voudrais, chérie
Retenir en mon cœur pour plus tard
Mes peines et mes pleurs pour plus tard
Quand je me retrouverai seul sans toi
Bonne chance,
Oh, bonne chance,
Chérie, bonne chance
Heureux celui que tu veux retrouver, chérie
Qui va prendre tes nuits dans ses mains
Faisant jaillir tes cris pas ses mains
Et te faire oublier mon existence
Bonne chance,
Oui, bonne chance
Bonne chance...
The lyrics of Johnny Hallyday's song Chance revolves around the theme of love lost and wishing the person you love nothing but the best as they move on to a new chapter in their life. In the song, the singer bids farewell to his lover and wishes her good luck as she embarks on a new journey. He acknowledges the moments they shared together and how it was never a waste of time for him, despite the outcome. He admits that he will always have regrets in his heart, but he wishes nothing but happiness and love for the person he is saying goodbye to.
As the song progresses, he speaks of a sense of fear that no one will ever understand her the way he does, and that she won't find the same happiness that they had together. He expresses his gratitude for all that she has given him, including her youthfulness, and the joyful moments that they shared. Through his pain, he wishes her nothing but the best in her new chapter in life.
The song is a beautiful tribute to lost love and wishing the person you once loved nothing but the best in their future. It highlights the importance of cherishing the moments that we spend with people we love and the memories that we create. Ultimately, it is a song about growth, learning, and the beauty of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
Bonne chance,
Chérie, bonne chance
Wishing good luck to his lover, hoping she finds what she is looking for in life.
Mon cœur ne gardera que des regrets, chérie
His heart will only bear regrets and sorrows after they part ways.
Du temps qu'on a vécu tous les deux
Ce temps qu'on a connu tous les deux
Ne fut jamais du temps perdu pour moi
The time they spent together was never wasted and he cherishes every moment of it.
Il ne me restera plus désormais, chérie
Qu'à rêver de l'amour passé
Et ces merveilleux jours passés
Je te souhaite de les rencontrer
Une autre fois
The only thing he has left is to dream of the love they once shared and wishes her to find someone who can make her happy in the same way.
Mais je suis sûr que nul ne te comprendra
Il ne t'apportera les mêmes joies sur terre
Personne au monde ne peut plus t'enivrer
Ne peut te parler comme j'ai su le faire
He believes that no one can understand her the way he did and no one can make her feel as alive as he did.
Merci pour tout ce que tu m'as donné, merci
Pour ta jeunesse et tant de folie
Pour les plus beaux moments de ma vie
Je veux te dire malgré ma souffrance
Bonne chance
Thanking her for the memories they shared and the happiness she brought into his life, he wishes her good luck even though he is hurting.
Pars sans te retourner car je voudrais, chérie
Retenir en mon cœur pour plus tard
Mes peines et mes pleurs pour plus tard
Quand je me retrouverai seul sans toi
He wants her to leave without looking back because he wants to keep his pain and tears for when he is alone.
Heureux celui que tu veux retrouver, chérie
Qui va prendre tes nuits dans ses mains
Faisant jaillir tes cris pas ses mains
Et te faire oublier mon existence
He hopes that the person she meets next can make her happy and fulfill her desires, to the extent that she forgets he ever existed.
Bonne chance,
Oui, bonne chance
Bonne chance...
Repeating his wish for her to have good luck in her future endeavors.
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK
Written by: Charles AZNAVOUR, Georges GARVARENTZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind