Julien Clerc

Though sometimes dismissed in France as little more than a 'chanteur de charme' ('a ladies' singer'), Julien Clerc (1947) in fact enjoyed one of the most successful and longest-lived careers in contemporary French pop. He shaped the nouvelle chanson aesthetic across a span of decades that began in the shadow of the 1968 student rebellions, with the hit 'La Cavalerie'. He continued well into the following century with such evergreens as 'Si on Chantait' and 'This Melody'.


French postcard by Publistar, no. 1457. Photo: L. Camil.


French postcard by Editions Lyna, Paris, no. 2090. Photo: Michel Ginfray / Gamma.


French postcard by CO, no. CO 878. Photo: Pierre Terrasson.

A revival of traditional French chanson

Julien Clerc was born Paul-Alain Auguste Leclerc in 1947 in Paris. He was the son of Paul Leclerc, a senior UNESCO official, and Évelyne Merlot. His parents divorced in 1949. While his father preferred classical music, his mother, who came from the French Antilles island of Guadeloupe, introduced him to the music of singers such as Georges Brassens and Édith Piaf. Ghislaine, his father's second wife, a harpsichordist, introduced him to the piano.

Leclerc started playing the piano at the age of six. During his time at secondary school, he met Maurice Vallet, and they began writing songs. Encouraged by his father, he enrolled in law school at the Sorbonne, but spent more time in the cafés in front of the university, particularly at L'Écritoire. It was there, in 1966, that he met Étienne Roda-Gil, a dandy poet and son of a Spanish revolutionary, who would become his alter ego and official lyricist. Roda-Gil wrote the lyrics for most of Leclerc's compositions until 1980 and again from 1992 onwards.

Leclerc adopted the stage name Julien Clerc and signed a contract with the Pathé-Marconi label. In May 1968, he released his first album, which won the Académie Charles Cros Record Award. His first single, 'La cavalerie', opened a new chapter in the history of French chanson. The verses written by Roda Gil and Clerc's contemporary hippie look, with his long black curls, resonated strongly with young audiences in Paris in May 1968.

RFI: "Julien Clerc's neo-symphonic music and Vallet and Roda-Gil's almost dreamlike lyrics were well suited to this period of change. These songs were welcomed as a revival of traditional French chanson, and their highly harmonic style was quite unusual at the time, especially in France. In addition, Julien Clerc's voice, characterised by its famous vibrato, allowed the singer to stand out from the very beginning."

In 1969, Clerc performed at the Olympia for the first time as the opening act for a Gilbert Bécaud concert. Despite having only been active in music for a year, the performance was a great success. He would later return to the Olympia repeatedly for a series of concerts.


French promotion card by Imp. Cornu, Paris for Odeon / EMI / Pathé Marconi, no. 12-68. Photo: Philippe Galland.


French promotion card by Imp. Cornu, Paris for EMI / Pathé Marconi, no. 7-71. Photo: Tony Frank.


French postcard by Le Journal de Stéphanie, no. 7.


French postcard by La Roue Tourne, Paris.

Seducing Miou-Miou

From May 1969 to February 1970, Julien Clerc starred as Claude Bukowski in the highly successful Paris production of the musical 'Hair'. This show greatly increased his popularity in France. That year, the press wrote about his relationship with singer France Gall, which would last four years.

At the age of 24, Julien Clerc was already a big star. After three LPs, 'Yann et les dauphins' (1968), 'Des jours entiers à t’aimer' (1970) and 'Niagara' (1971), he received his first gold record in 1972 for his next studio album, 'Liberté égalité ou la mort'. Each of his albums in the 1970s, which were released at roughly yearly intervals, also went gold.

In Europe, he had numerous hits, such as 'Hélène', 'Si on chantait', 'Elle voulait qu'on l'appelle Venise', 'Ce n'est rien' and 'This melody'. Lyricist Etienne Roda-Gil was responsible for his greatest successes.

Clerc also tried his hand at acting. He starred in Claude Goretta's TV film Le temps d'un portrait / Time for a Portrait (1971). During the filming of D'amour et d'eau fraîche / Love and Cool Water (Jean-Pierre Blanc, 1976), he met the young actress Miou-Miou. In the film, they played the leading roles as a young couple in love. During the shooting of the film, Patrick Dewaere - Miou Miou's husband at the time - violently interfered with Julien Clerc, who seduced her. It was too late. Miou-Miou would be Clerc's partner until 1981.

He appeared with Georges Brassens and Françoise Hardy in Philippe Chatel's children's TV musical Emilie Jolie (Jean-Christophe Averty, 1980) and sang the title song. He also participated in '36 Front Populaire', a double album about the turbulent Popular Front period.


French postcard by Editions Lyna, Paris, no. 2017. Photo: Tony Frank.


French promotion card for Pathe Marconi / EMI by G.R. Joly, Paris, no. 2-75. Photo: Jean Denis Mahn.


French postcard by Corvisart, Epinal, no. 1.


Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.

A return to the chanson

In 1982, Julien Clerc achieved platinum status with 'Femmes indiscrétion et blasphème'. Four more platinum records followed until 1990. Clerc experimented with other musical styles, for example, on the album 'Cœur de rocker'.

After a temporary separation from his favourite author, Roda-Gil, he returned to his former chanson style after a short time. Clerc accompanied himself on the grand piano in many of his songs. Over the years, Clerc's repertoire varied from his own compositions to classic French songs such as 'Comme ici' by Georges Brassens and 'L'hymne à l'amour' by Édith Piaf. He performed in Africa, America and Europe.

In 2008, the album 'Où s'en vont les avions?' was released. In 2009, Clerc celebrated his 40th anniversary as an artist. Julien Clerc has been a member of Les Enfoirés for several years, a changing group of French artists who support Les Restos du Cœur, an organisation that helps the homeless.

In early 2019, he appeared as a coach on the French version of The Voice. In November 2019, the duet album 'Duos' was released, on which Clerc sings duets with Carla Bruni, Francis Cabrel, Calogero and Zaz. Christophe Maé, Sandrine Kiberlain and Soprano also sing on the album.

Clerc has five children: daughters Angèle (adopted) and Jeanne Herry with Miou-Miou; daughter Vanille and son Barnabé with his then-wife Virginie Coupérie, and son Léonard with journalist and screenwriter Hélène Grémillon, whom he married in 2012.


French postcard in the Star System series by Carte adhesive brevete S.G.D.G. / Auto-collant Dorchy.


Dutch postcard by Art Promotion, Amsterdam. Photo: EMI / Bovema.


French postcard by Ebullitions no. 590.


English postcard by NewLine, no. 72. Photo: Rocktography LTD, London.


French postcard by Damilla Editions, no. 94977. Photo: Pierre Terrasson.

Sources: Jason Ankeny (AllMusic), RFI, Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.