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.
Laura
Johnny Hallyday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y a tant d'hommes que je ne suis pas
Y a tant de phrases qu'on dit, que je ne te dirais pas
Oh oh, Laura
J'aurais tant à apprendre de toi
Tous ces mots tendres qu'on sait, moi je ne les sais pas
J'ai poussé comme on respire
Ce qui m'a fait vivre était en moi
Des caresses et des sourires
J'ai souvent passé mon tour
Je n'ai jamais appris à donner tant d'amour
Oh, Laura
Le temps passe et me remplit de toi
J'n'avais besoin de personne et tant de place pour toi
Oh oh, Laura
Petit rien du tout mais tant pour moi
Tous ces conseils qu'on donne, tu ne les entendras pas
J'ai dépensé tant de forces
Pour des empires en papier
Des rêves déjà presque oubliés
Mais que le diable les emporte
Tout me semble dérisoire
Évaporé dans le bleu de ton regard
Oh, oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Je n'attendais rien de toi, qu'une raison d'être là
Juste une trace avant de partir
Mais de tes rires et de tes bras
Tu m'inventes un avenir, te regarder pousser me fera grandir
Oh, oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Laura
Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura, Laura
Oh, Laura
Oh, Laura, Laura
Laura
Laura
The song "Laura" by Johnny Hallyday is a hauntingly beautiful tribute to a woman who has captivated the singer, leaving him feeling inadequate yet wanting to learn from her. The lyrics convey the sense that the singer has lived a haphazard life, without direction, but seeing Laura has given him a new vision and a reason to be. He feels he has so much to learn from her, including the tender words she knows how to say, something he seems to struggle with. He is filled with regret for the things he has spent his time and energy on, which now seem insignificant in comparison to the feelings Laura inspires within him.
The singer's voice is full of emotion, conveying the depth of his admiration, yearning, and regret. The lyrics are beautifully crafted, with metaphors that paint vivid images of the contrast between Laura's influence and the singer's past experiences. The song reaches a climax with the repetition of "Laura, Laura, Laura", emphasizing the intensity of the feelings the singer has for her.
Overall, "Laura" is a powerful and moving song, with lyrics that touch the heart and leave a lasting impression. It is a testament to the power of love and the transformative effect it can have on a person's life.
Line by Line Meaning
Y a tant d'hommes que je ne suis pas
There are so many men who are not like me
Y a tant de phrases qu'on dit, que je ne te dirais pas
There are so many phrases that people say, but I won't tell you
J'aurais tant à apprendre de toi
I have so much to learn from you
Tous ces mots tendres qu'on sait, moi je ne les sais pas
All those tender words that people know, I don't know them
J'ai poussé comme on respire
I grew up like breathing
Sans abri, ni foi, ni loi
Without shelter, without faith, without law
Ce qui m'a fait vivre était en moi
What kept me alive was within me
Des caresses et des sourires
Caresses and smiles
J'ai souvent passé mon tour
I often missed my chance
Je n'ai jamais appris à donner tant d'amour
I never learned to give so much love
Le temps passe et me remplit de toi
Time passes and fills me with you
J'n'avais besoin de personne et tant de place pour toi
I didn't need anyone and yet there is so much room for you
Petit rien du tout mais tant pour moi
A small nothing, but so much to me
Tous ces conseils qu'on donne, tu ne les entendras pas
All the advice people give, you won't hear them
J'ai dépensé tant de forces
I spent so much energy
Pour des empires en papier
For paper empires
Des rêves déjà presque oubliés
Dreams almost forgotten
Mais que le diable les emporte
But let the devil take them
Tout me semble dérisoire
Everything seems trivial to me
Évaporé dans le bleu de ton regard
Evaporated in the blue of your gaze
Je n'attendais rien de toi, qu'une raison d'être là
I didn't expect anything from you, just a reason to be here
Juste une trace avant de partir
Just a trace before leaving
Mais de tes rires et de tes bras
But from your laughter and your arms
Tu m'inventes un avenir, te regarder pousser me fera grandir
You invent a future for me, watching you grow will make me grow
Oh, oh, Laura
Oh, oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Oh, Laura
Laura
Laura
Laura
Laura
Lyrics © JRG MUSICALES
Written by: Jean-Jacques Goldman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lolz9789
Rêveries
Petite lampe posée
là.
Elle éclaire
mes trop petits pas.
Transforme en
soleil du monde.
La terre sous
mes mains n’est ronde.
Elle scintille
à côté de moi.
Mon doigt
touche les Samoa.
Sous papier en
face de moi.
Folles Fourmies
qui se grouillent.
Un aspirant qui
a la trouille.
Je prends mon
pied dans océans.
Poisson d’avril
d’être géant.
Grande liberté
du regard.
La terre et la
mer et ces phares.
Voir tous ces
bateaux en détresses.
La lumière va et
caresse.
Il me restera
mon sous-main.
Restera
l’instant lendemain.
Iles Fidji
touchées de mon doigt.
Aller vers vous
quand j’aurai froid.
@laurenttani9323
Ne soyez pas déçu qu'il soit partis 😫😫😫soyez heureux qu'il est existé
@romainm2772
Tout a fait vrai
@nemorolls5567
Il est bien plus heureux là haut, que nous ici-bas, il nous a donné tellement de bonheur plus tout. Il n'aurait pas supporté ce que nous vivons. Je t'aime Johnny. Tu as bercé ma jeunesse mes premiers pas de danse avec maman à 15 ans ça a été, PAS CETTE CHANSON, je ne peux pas oublier ni toi mon amour de Johnny ni maman qui est là haut avec toi et les 👼 👼 👼 👼 âmen
@Clem76228
"ait" pas "est" car c'est le verbe avoir. 😋
@abdouboinamani421
Mercie 😊
@patrickspentchian3652
UNE DES PLUS BELLES CHANSONS DE JOHNNY
@user-lh4fv1xg9l
Quand j'écoute cette musique je pense a ma fille adorée a tout les père qui aime leur fille ❤
@JonathanBririm
Ma femme s’appelle Laura et elle est très fière de porter ce prénom là, son père l’a appelé comme ça grâce à Johnny ❤
@laurahamon2448
Une fierté de s’appeler Laura! C’est notre musique avec mon papa! Repose en paix Johnny ❤️
@williambrun1395
juste . tu a raison