The sergeant's laughter...

Michel Sardou is a French singer who can boast of being the direct descendant of a great line of artists. Line which sees its starting point in the middle of the 19th century.

To date, he has to his credit no less than 25 studio albums and around 350 songs. With more than 90 million records sold throughout his career, he is also one of the most successful French artists.

His youth turned out to be quite complicated, with artist parents whom he followed in the evenings to the cabarets where they performed, which inevitably had repercussions on his education. So when he arrived at the age of 17 and with little motivation for studies, he almost left to settle in Brazil to set up a strip club ...!

His artistic career began in the early 1960s when he performed in small cabarets in Montmartre. 1965 saw him really start his career with the release of his first Single "Le Madras", a title co-written with Michel Fugain and Patrice Laffont. Without real success.

The year 1966 will be a pivotal year for him with the meeting of Jacques Revaux, who will become one of his main appointed composers. As well as a forced departure from military service, a parenthesis that will last 18 months and inspire the famous song "Le rire du sergent".

He came back in force in 1967 with the title “Les ricains”, a controversial song which was immediately censored by the authorities in place. But who has the merit of putting it in the spotlight.

The end of the 60s is more delicate, the singer is struggling and Eddie Barclay ends up terminating his contract (like that of Pierre Perret also on the same day….), That's what we call having flair !

Everything changed in 1970, he created his own label Tréma and recorded the album "J'habite en France", an album that would change everything. From this album will be extracted his first big success, namely "Les bals populaires". Shortly followed by "J'habite en France" and "Et mourir de plaisir", 2 other successful titles.

The hits will now follow one another at an impressive speed : "Le rire du sergent" in 1971, "Le surveillant général" in 1972 but also and especially "La maladie d'amour" in 1973. This flagship title of his discography, which exceeds for the first time one million copies sold, is taken from the eponymous album which will remain at the top of sales for 21 weeks.

Will follow "Les vieux mariés", "Les villes de solitude" in 1973 and "Une fille aux yeux clairs" in 1974. Which will earn him the wrath of the MLF which considers that certain lyrics in the songs are frankly offensive to women .

New controversial Single in 1975 with "Le France", the song is a huge success which will sell over a million copies and will be hailed by the unions and the Communist Party !

The year 1976 also proved to be complicated with the release of the album "La Vieille", from which two new controversial titles were to be extracted with "Jaccuse", "Je suis pour" and "Le temps des colonies". The album is a success but attacks are coming from all sides, as much on the colonialist subject as on the burning subject of the death penalty. The left-wing dailies are unleashed against the artist.

1977 is not much better with anti-Sardou committees created to disrupt his concerts. Which forces him to calm things down on texts that are a little too committed.

This is how the album "La java de Broadway" was released, a peaceful album that will sell more than a million copies. From which will be extracted the eponymous hit as well as "10 ans plus tôt". He did it again a year later in 1978 with the album "Je vole" which produced the hits "En chantant", his sales record of over 1.2 million copies, and "Je vole".

Less success in 1979 for the album "Verdun". Ditto in 1980 for the album "Victoria". Two albums that will not produce any major hits. After years of controversy, the singer needs a step back and is rarer on the screen.

A salutary retreat which allowed him to come back in force in 1981 with the album "Les lacs du Connemara", a flagship album which produced two of his biggest hits, namely the hit of the same name which sold over 1 million. of copies, but also “Etre une femme”. The latter sets fire to all the dance floors in France. The album is a colossal success.

In 1982 the album "Il était là and its flagship title "Afrique adieu" was released. This was followed later in 1983 by the album "Vladimir Ilich" from which the eponymous title was mainly extracted. Less success but success nonetheless.

1984 saw the release of the album "Io domenico" with his flagship Single "Les deux écoles". Even if the title is a success, sales are irreparably reduced. The proof with the album "Chanteur de jazz" which came out in 1985 and whose eponymous title will only sell 250,000 copies despite an obvious quality.

His last notable success was in 1987 with the album "Musulmanes", from which the hit of the same name was extracted.

Other titles will be released later, but never regain an equivalent level of sales. It will therefore be a smooth end of his career for this singer who will forever remain as one of the most popular and gifted of his generation.

To discover or rediscover...
 

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Discography (among others ...) :

60s Decade :

• Le madras 1965
• Les filles d’aujourd’hui 1966
• Les ricains 1967
• Petit 1967
• Si j'avais un frère 1968
• America, America 1969

70s Decade :

• Les bals populaires 1970
• Et mourir de plaisir 1970
• J’habite en France 1970
• Je t’aime je t’aime 1971
• Le rire du sergent 1971
• Le surveillant général 1972
• Un enfant 1972
• Bonsoir Clara 1972
• La maladie d’amour 1973
• Les vieux mariés 1973
• Les villes de solitude 1974
• Je veux l’épouser pour un soir 1974
• Une fille aux yeux clairs 1974
• Un accident 1975
• Le France 1975
• Le temps des colonies 1976
• Je vais t’aimer 1976
• La vieille 1976
• J'accuse 1976
• Dix ans plus tôt 1977
• La java de Broadway 1977
• En chantant 1978
• Je vole 1978
• Manie manie 1978
• Dans la même année 1979

80s Decade :

• K7 1980
• La génération loving you 1980
• Etre une femme 1981
• Les lacs du Connemara 1981
• Je viens du sud 1982
• Afrique adieu 1982
• La première fois qu'on s'aimera 1983
• Vladimir Ilitch 1983
• Les 2 écoles 1984
• Io domenico 1985
• Chanteur de jazz 1985
• Mélodie pour Elodie 1986
• Musulmanes 1986
• Féminin comme 1987
• Tous les bateaux s’envolent 1987
• La même eau qui coule 1988
• Le successeur 1989
• Attention les enfants danger 1989

90s Decade :

• Marie Jeanne 1990
• Le Bac G 1992
• Le cinéma d'Audiard 1992
• Salut 1997
• S’enfuir et après 1998

2000s Decade :

• Cette chanson là 2000
• Loin 2004
• La rivière de notre enfance 2004
• Non merci 2005
• Je n'oublie pas 2005
• Allons danser 2006
• Concorde 2007

2010s Decade :

• Et puis après 2010
• Voler 2010
• Le figurant 2017
• San Lorenzo 2017

2020s Decade :

• Souris moi 2022
• En quelle année Georgia 2023
   

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Tracks :