Jean-Jacques Goldman
Jean-Jacques Goldman is a French singer-songwriter and music Record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French pop rock act. Born in Paris and active in the music scene since 1975, he had a highly successful solo career in the 1980s, and was part of the trio Fredericks Goldman Jones, releasing another string of hits in the 1990s.
He also wrote successful albums and songs for many artists, including D'eux for Céline Dion, which is the most successful French language record to date. He was also part of the Les Enfoirés charity collective from 1986 to 2016, and got his most notable official recognition in the English-speaking world for winning a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997, as a co-author of three tracks on Céline Dion's Falling into You. Despite a voluntary retirement from the music scene in the early 2000s, he remains highly appreciated and influential in France.
Biography
Born in Paris to an immigrant Polish Jewish father, Alter Mojze Goldman and a German Jewish mother, Ruth Ambrunn, Jean-Jacques Goldman was the third of four children. As a child, he began his music studies on the violin, then the piano. In 1968, he abandoned his classical music studies for "American Rock & Roll" as well as folk music, listening to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix or Aretha Franklin, and emphasizing the guitar. He also earned a business degree from the École des hautes études commerciales du Nord, commonly known as EDHEC, in Lille. In 1972, he met Catherine, his first wife, with whom he had three children. He first entered the French music scene as a member of a progressive rock group named Taï Phong, which released its first album in 1975. Their first song to be a moderate hit was "Sister Jane". After three albums in English, Goldman was determined to write and sing in French, which led him to leave the band.Marc Lumbroso saw his potential and managed to sign him a five-album contract with Epic Records. That same year he released his first album, which he wanted to call Démodé, but the label refused so it was left untitled. "Il suffira d'un signe" was his first significant success. In 1982, he released a second album with no title – this time the intended title was Minoritaire, which was also refused as it was deemed un-commercial. It featured several hits: "Quand la musique est bonne", "Comme toi", "Au bout de mes rêves", and was his breakthrough album, with about 900.000 units sold. His third album in 1984, the first with an official title, Positif, contained new hits such as "Encore un matin" and "Envole-moi", and performed even better with about 1.000.000 units sold. His fourth album, Non homologué garnered the hit songs "Je marche seul", "Je te donne" and "Pas toi". He recorded a double album in 1987, Entre gris clair et gris foncé, which launched a string of hits — "Elle a fait un bébé toute seule", "Puisque tu pars", "Là-bas", "Il changeait la vie" — and was a major success, with more than 2 million units sold.
Yet most critics were severe, deriding his high-pitched voice, his style and demeanour and his soft songs presumably marketed for teenage girls. In reaction, at the end of 1985, he purchased a full page in two major newspapers, displaying excerpts from his harshest reviews, with an ironic message to his fans at the end, again demonstrating his taste for unassuming self-promotion: "Thanks for coming anyway...".
From 1990 to 1995, he went on to perform in a trio called Fredericks / Goldman / Jones with Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones. Together they recorded two studio albums, Fredericks / Goldman / Jones in 1990 and Rouge in 1993, one live album, Du New Morning au Zénith, and released several successful singles, such as "Nuit", "À nos actes manqués", "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt", "Juste après" and "Tu manques". Several of these songs were later re-recorded in English, but did not find much success in England or the United States.
From 1997 to 2003 he returned to performing as a solo act, releasing two albums, En passant in 1997 and Chansons pour les pieds in 2001, as well as two live albums, Tournée 98 En passant and Un tour ensemble, with new hit songs like "On ira", "Quand tu danses", "Sache que je", "Bonne idée", "Tournent les violons", "Ensemble", "Les choses", "Et l'on n'y peut rien". After a last concert in 2004, he suddenly stopped performing and recording, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. In 2011, to shut down rumors about a possible comeback, he published a short text denying any plan of a new album or tour in the foreseeable future, and remains elusive, largely absent from the media.
He continued to compose and produce a few songs for other artists, though, sometimes lending his voice as part of a collaboration. For example, he recorded "4 Mots sur un piano" with Patrick Fiori and Christine Ricol in 2007; it was a significant hit.
Jean-Jacques Goldman also had a prominent role in French charity acts from the middle of the 1980s, when in 1985 famous comedian Coluche asked him to write a song to promote the initiative he just created, Les restos du coeur, meant to provide food to poor people during the winter months; Goldman crafted and produced the eponymous song, then with Coluche they brought in other French celebrities to perform it as an extended troupe, called Les Enfoirés. After Coluche's death in 1986, he took over and became the main organizer of the annual charity concert and record, a role he kept fulfilling until 2016, when he decided to quit, after a song he wrote for that year's charity album, "Toute la vie", sparked controversy for its lyrics, which were deemed "reactionary", with an unfair portrayal of current youth and a pointless opposition between "young" and "old" generations.
Throughout his career, Goldman has frequently composed for other singers, most notably Johnny Hallyday and Céline Dion. He wrote and produced two whole albums for her: D'eux in 1995, which is still the best selling French album in history with 10 million copies sold worldwide, and S'il suffisait d'aimer in 1998. He also worked with her on the album 1 fille & 4 types along with Gildas Arzel, Jacques Veneruso and Erick Benzi. The songs "If That's What It Takes", "I Don't Know" and "Fly" from her album Falling into You are English adaptations of songs Goldman wrote for Céline. Also, her song "Let's Talk About Love" from the album of the same name is an English adaptation of Goldman's 1987 solo song "Puisque tu pars". He has also collaborated with Patricia Kaas, Garou, Marc Lavoine, Gérald De Palmas, Patrick Fiori, Khaled, Lorie and Florent Pagny, as well as jazzman Chet Baker, Supertramp's saxophonist John Helliwell, Joe Cocker, "king of soul" Ray Charles and North American songwriter Diane Warren.
On 19 November 2012, Génération Goldman, a tribute album to Goldman, was released on the MyMajorCompany France and M6 Music labels, with a number of artists interpreting Goldman's songs. A second volume followed in 2013.
Personal life
His half-brother Pierre Goldman, a left-wing intellectual and convicted robber, was murdered in mysterious circumstances in 1979 in Paris.His younger brother Robert Goldman is also a songwriter. His son Michaël Goldman is one of the co-founders of My Major Company France, a major fan-funded music label.
Philanthropy
Goldman was the leader of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble from 1986 to 2016.Discography
Studio albums
;Solo| Year | Album |
| 1977 | Alpha Ralpha – Vocals
|
| 1981 | Jean-Jacques Goldman |
| 1982 | Jean-Jacques Goldman |
| 1984 | Positif |
| 1985 | Non homologué |
| 1987 | Entre gris clair et gris foncé |
| 1997 | En passant |
| 2001 | Chansons pour les pieds |
| Year | Album |
| 1990 | Fredericks Goldman Jones
|
| 1993 | Rouge with Red Army Choir, Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones |
Live albums
;as Fredericks Goldman Jones| Year | Album |
| 1992 | Sur scène
|
| 1995 | Du New Morning au Zénith |
Compilations
Tribute albums to Jean-Jacques Goldman
| Year | Album |
| 2012 | Génération Goldman
|
| 2013 | Génération Goldman Volume 2 |
Singles
;Solo| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications |
| Year | Album | FRA | Certifications |
| 1984 | "Envole-moi" | ||
| 1984 | "Long Is the Road " | 6 | |
| 1985 | "Je marche seul" | 2 | |
| 1985 | "Je te donne" | 1 | |
| 1986 | "Pas toi" | 5 | |
| 1986 | "La vie par procuration" | 2 | |
| 1987 | "Elle a fait un bébé toute seule" | 4 | |
| 1988 | "C'est ta chance" | 16 | |
| 1988 | "Puisque tu pars" | 3 | |
| 1988 | "Il changeait la vie" | 14 | |
| 1989 | "Peur de rien blues" | 17 |
;As Fredericks, Goldman & Jones
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Certifications |
| Year | Album | FRA | Certifications |
| 1990 | "Nuit" | 6 | |
| 1990 | "À nos actes manqués" | 2 | |
| 1991 | "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" | 11 | |
| 1991 | "C'est pas d'l'amour" | 11 | |
| 1992 | "Un, deux, trois" | 8 | |
| 1992 | "Tu manques" | 12 | |
| 1992 | "Il suffira d'un signe" | 14 | |
| 1993 | "Rouge" | 18 | |
| 1993 | "Juste après" | 32 | |
| 1993 | "Fermer les yeux" | 33 |
;Solo
;Others
Soundtracks
- 1989 :
- 1990 : Pacific Palisades
- 1997 : Le cousin
- 1999 : Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar
- 1999 : Mon père, ma mère, mes frères et mes soeurs
- 2000 : La ville est tranquille
- 2002 : Les femmes... ou les enfants d'abord...
- 2002 : La mentale