Véronique Sanson is a singer-songwriter who can boast, apart from being the daughter of a deputy, of composing, writing and singing her own songs and has done so for 5 decades, just that.
The artistic career of the young Véronique really began at the age of 18 when she created the group 'Les Roche Martin' with her sister Violaine and a certain François Bernheim. The same François Bernheim who would become a renowned composer a few years later, notably for artists like Brigitte Bardot, Gérard Lenorman, Marie Laforet and other Patricia Kaas.
The trio will release two 45s which will unfortunately meet with no success but which will at least have the merit of launching the careers of 2 of the protagonists of the trio. We are then in 1967. A decisive year for the fate of the young singer, since she met there for the first time a certain… Michel Berger, who then held a position of artistic director at Pathé Marconi.
Two years later, in 1969, she released her first solo 45 rpm "Le printemps est là", a title that will also go unnoticed. She will have to wait three years and especially her first collaboration with Michel Berger (who has meanwhile become her companion) to finally see her career take off thanks to the release of the album "Amoureux".
Album with a very innovative style and sound, from which the enormous “Besoin de personne” was extracted mainly in 1972, a title which literally exploded the singer's notoriety and which sold more than 200,000 copies. Album which will also produce another very high caliber track with "Amoureux".
It was a decidedly exceptional year for the artist, with a second album released in the wake of "De l'autre côté de mon rêve". Album which in turn produced huge successes with titles like "Comme je l'imagine", "Une nuit sur son épaule" but also, and above all, "Chanson sur ma drôle de vie".
As paradoxical as it may seem, in full glory, she decides to leave France and simply leave Michel Berger to go live in the United States with a certain Stephen Stills. Which is none other than one of the musicians of the band Crosby, Stills & Nash (And Young).
A "flight" in the USA which ultimately benefits her since the 1974 release of the album "Le maudit", which sounded much more rock than the previous albums, was a real success. Album that will mainly produce the flagship titles "Alia Souza" and "On mattend là bas".
But it was especially from 1976 that the machine got carried away with the release of the album "Vancouver", which remains to this day one of her biggest hits of all his album discography. Album whose biggest hit Single will be the title of the same name as the album. The singer then reached an unprecedented level of notoriety. Incredible level of notoriety which will not weaken until the end of the decade, in particular thanks to the release of other albums like "Hollywood" in 1977 and "7ème" in 1979 and titles like "Bernard's song (Il est de nulle part)" and "Ma révérence".
The turn of the 80s will prove to be much more complicated to manage than expected. Indeed, she returned by force to France following her divorce from Stephen Stills. And her battle with him for custody of their son Christopher wears her out and literally paralyzes her inspiration.
She still released an album in 1981 called "Laisse-la vivre", album which will meet with some success but which will struggle to produce any notorious hit as did its predecessors. Conversely, the album "Veronique Sanson" which came out four years later in 1985, an album of lesser success, will manage to produce a Single of high caliber with the title "Le temps est assassin".
But the singer's level of success in this decade has nothing to do with the level she reached in the previous decade. The public shunned her and no Single released managed to put her back in the running. Shee will have to wait for the year 1988 and the release of the album "Moi le venin", and especially the Single "Allah" from which it is extracted, to finally come to the surface. A Single produced by… Michel Berger !
Unfortunately, the success of the Single was quickly tarnished by the Rushdie affair, which completely affected the release of the record. So much so that the singer receives death threats from fanatics and that the record must be withdrawn from the bins to stop the controversy which swells.
We will have to wait four years and the year 1992 to see the release of a new album, "Sans regrets". Notoriously successful album, notably thanks to the enormous Single "Rien que de l'eau". In 1994, new notorious success once again linked to Michel Berger, who died two years earlier, when she took up one of her most beautiful songs (which was particularly dedicated to the singer when she was released), namely "Seras-tu là ?".
Two new albums will be released at the end of the decade, namely "Indestructible" in 1998 and "D'un papillon à une étoile" in 1999. The two albums will experience more than satisfactory levels of success but will struggle, once again, to produce major hits.
And the adventure will continue for the next decade. To be continued.
Discography (among others ...) :
60s Decade :
Les mains dans les poches (Les Roche Martin) 1967
Il est temps de penser à la neige (Les Roche Martin) 1967
Tu as peur du bruit (Les Roche Martin) 1967
Le printemps est là 1969
70s Decade :
Besoin de personne 1972
Comme je l’imagine 1972
Amoureuse 1972
Bahia 1972
Chanson sur ma drole de vie 1973
Le maudit (Mais ta douleur efface ta faute) 1974
Alia Souza 1974
On m’attend la bas 1974
Vancouver 1976
How many lies 1977
Bernard song 1977
Ma révérence 1978
Celui qui n’essaie pas (Ne se trompe qu’une seule fois) 1979
Toute une vie sans te voir 1979
80s Decade :
(Dans la ville de) Lerida 1980
L’amour qui bat 1981
Doux dehors, fou dedans 1981
Le temps est assassin 1984
C’est long c’est court 1985
J’y perds des plumes 1985
Allah 1988
Paranoia 1989
90s Decade :
Rien que de l’eau 1992
Entre elle et moi 1992
Panne de cœur 1992
Mon voisin 1993
Seras-tu là ? 1994
Une nuit sur son épaule 1995
Quelques mots d’amour 1995
Un être idéal 1997
Un amour qui m'irait bien 1998
Histoire sans intérêt 1998
Pour me comprendre 1999
Lumière du jour 1999
Message personnel 1999
2000s Decade :
J'aime un homme 2004
L'homme de farandole 2004
Juste un peu d'amour 2004
2010s Decade :
Je veux être un homme 2010
Qu'on me pardonne 2010
Juste pour toi 2010
Vols d'horizons 2018
Tu sais que je t'aime bien 2018
Toute une vie sans te voir 2018
Tracks :
1967 ... the surrealist beginnings in a trio to say the least astonishing, with a more than ephemeral existence, but with certain originality ...
1967 ... it's light, fresh and airy and it doesn't eat bread as they say. Of course, we suspect that this title will not end at the top of the hits parade but whatever, we do not ask for more ...
1967 ... a three-way adventure coming to an end. This trio will not remain as the most famous of its time but it will at least have had the merit of existing !
1969 ... the first solo title. The voice has nothing to do with what it will become a few years later but the 'Sanson' style is already in place and this obviously
1972 ... the title that will change everything. The voice has evolved considerably and transcends a tailor-made melody for the singer. The result of the races : a huge success and an explosion of notoriety as a result. MAS-TER-FUL !
1972 ... an exceptional year in all respects. The singer delivers here a second absolutely sumptuous title which proves one thing in an obvious way : this artist has a truly extraordinary talent. And this is only the beginning !
1972 ... and what to say about it ! In 3 tracks, the singer has just written one of the most beautiful musical pages of the decade and of the end of the twentieth century period. The inspiration is at an incredible level and produces exceptional title after exceptional title. MO-NU-MEN-TAL !
1972 ... and if that were not enough, she adds another layer with this 4th title. In one year, she will have gone from being almost unknown to being a phenomenon of the moment, just that !
1973 ... a phenomenon that grows from year to year. Here she signs one of the lightest and airy songs of the year, a title which once again proves that she is certainly not there by chance
1974 ... the years go by and the level of inspiration remains at a stratospheric level, a real feat. What talent !
1974 ... she shines brightly in the Intimist but she also knows how to explore other areas. The proof with this title which smells of the South American continent !
1974 ... her versatility is extreme and she knows how to play in all possible musical registers. Difficult in these conditions for the competition to play on equal terms ...
1976 ... after a surprisingly empty year 1975, here she is back in 1976 in olympic form. Here she signs one of her most emblematic titles and sends a clear message to the competition : Véronique is back !
1977 ... one of his rare titles in English. It is clear that on the accent side, the 'French touch' is omnipresent. As for the melody, everything is there and that's the main thing !
1977 ... she has reigned supreme over French song for nearly 5 years and does not intend to stop there. The proof with this enormous title which will remain as one of its biggest successes !
1978 ... only one title for 1978 but what a title ! Here she delivers an absolutely sumptuous new Intimist title which proves once again that she is really far above the competition in this particular register. Totally MA-GIC !
1979 ... surprisingly, the end of the decade is going to be more complicated to manage than expected. The level of inspiration weakens somewhat and the singer is forced to come down a little from her cloud. But nothing to worry about more than that ...
1979 ... especially when you see what she continues to produce. But something is happening all the same, like a shudder of slight disaffection on the part of the audience ...
1980 ... the 1970s saw her hatch and literally explode, the 1980s unfortunately saw her gradually disappear from the radar. A decade that she will have difficulty understanding and especially mastering ...
1981 ... the dropout from the competition becomes more and more obvious. Her style remains too frozen in the 70s and she does not realize how much things have changed at the beginning of the decade ...
1981 ... there is success with this title but it has nothing to do with the level of success she has had in the previous decade. Attention danger...
1984 ... big 3 years air hole. Fortunately, her extreme talent in the Intimist still allows her to save the essentials. Here she delivers her most beautiful song of the decade and sticks back to the leading pack for a moment
1985 ... we can feel a slight evolution in the sound side. It's already more trendy but when we see what the competition offers, she will really have to react and quickly !
1985 ... unfortunately, it is not with this title that things will change. The quality is present, of course, but at a time when everything is electronic sounds and drum machines, it is clear that we are light years away on this one !
1988 ... new 3 years air hole. Unfortunately, it becomes a habit, not to mention that she returns with a title on the theme of the most sensitive at this precise moment of the decade. A daring bet but above all a lost bet !
1989 ... a rather sluggish end of the decade, like the decade itself. The musical genius of the singer is absent subscribers and she will be content to ensure the minimum union. Such a waste...
1992 ... inspiration, the real one, is finally back ! Almost 20 years after her startling career, she finally finds the meaning of things and especially the path to success. Hope it lasts ...
1992 ... a nice duo which sees 2 of the greatest French singers push the song. A unique moment for a title that will not necessarily remain so ...
1992 ... a BIG year 1992 with a plethora of titles and quality on every level. A furtive return of inspiration or a lasting trend...?
1993 ... quality is still the order of the day but the style remains frozen in stereotypes from the past, Véronique plays Sanson. Too bad because she is capable of so much better ...
1994 ... a unique song for a couple that was no less. When Véronique takes up Michel's WONDER, which he composed especially after their breakup. The circle is now closed ...
1995 ... a duo to say the least improbable but which works perfectly on this revisited version of a song by the singer dating from 1972. A generation shock which allows 2 major artists to give the best of themselves. MA-GIC !
1995 ... a succession of tributes to Michel Berger with this new luxury cover of one of his flagship titles dating from 1980. The copy is well worth the original and shows how the two artists were interconnected !
1997 ... like what, when she wants ! A trendy sound, a style that goes well, yet another title which shows that if she had wanted to, her crossing of the desert during the 1980s could have been largely avoided !
1998 ... a decade of 90 which saw her reborn and which above all gives hope for the decades to come. With such talent, anything is possible from the moment the will follows ...
1998... now remains to be seen if she will succeed in going the distance. Because with her, there are very highs but there are also very lows. Will the next decade be up or down, good question...
1999... what is certain is that despite the ups and downs that have marked her entire career, the talent has never been down, that's clear. Hope it lasts !
1999... she had to pay a worthy tribute to her childhood sweetheart who had disappeared so long ago. What better than to cover one of its flagship titles dating from 1983...
1999...it's not a tribute but tributes that she pays him and not just any. She is going to resume her most beautiful titles and show him all the way up that she is still thinking of him...
2004...and the adventure continues even more in this new decade of 2000. More than 30 years after her debut and despite a fairly complicated personal life, she is still there. Who would've believed that...?
2004...not to mention that she is still there and still impresses with the quality of her compositions. If there is one area in which she has never experienced a drop in speed, it is her level of inspiration...
2004...certainly, her compositions are no longer as chiselled as at her beginnings, but we will largely be satisfied with what she continues to offer. And on the other hand, other times, other mores, other styles of composition...
2010...the most important thing is that she continues to believe in it, whatever the results in the Charts. Music is more important than anything to her and she will continue until the end, whatever it costs her...
2010...we must not forget that she is in her 5th decade of career and that the musical world has changed a lot around her. What is certain is that she does everything she can to adapt and last as long as possible...
2010...one of his great strengths is managing to mix old and new influences. Only artists from previous decades are capable of it and there are not many left directly from the 70s, that's for sure...
2018...she decides to have fun at the very end of the decade and revisit her own titles with a few friends. It starts with Nanard the rebellious...
2018...on this one, it will be a 100 % female and old/new generation duo. It must be said that for the younger generation, for those who know her at least, she is necessarily a great lady and a real honor to sing with her...
2018...the clash of generations ! And yet it works perfectly, like what, in music, it's not age that counts but above all talent. And talent, we imagine that she still has it to spare the next decade…
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :