Daniel Guichard is a French singer-songwriter who started his artistic career as a teenager. A start for the less precocious which is due to the premature death of his father. Premature death which will force him, to feed his family, to work during the day at Les Halles and to sing in the cabarets of Montmartre or Saint Germain Des Près at night.
Stage performances in which he quickly stood out thanks to his titi-Parisian accent by interpreting titles by Aristide Bruant.
It was in 1966 that things finally took off when he signed his first contract with the Barclay label. But the sequel is not as bright as expected and he has to make do with small rooms or cabarets as a playground.
He will have to wait until the beginning of the following decade to finally see his efforts rewarded, in particular thanks to 2 enormous titles which are "La tendresse" and "Faut pas pleurer comme ça". Two titles which came out in 1972 and which project him in a spectacular way on the front of the scene. A title "Faut pas pleurer comme ça" composed for the instrumental part by a certain… Christophe !
It was another renowned composer, a certain Jean Ferrat, who, 2 years later in 1974, offered him his most emblematic title, namely the sumptuous "Mon vieux", a title of consecration which then made the singer one of the biggest phenomena of the moment. Mid-decade 70 which sees him at the peak of his career.
The sequel will prove to be a little more complicated to manage with new successes but which will have nothing to do with the previous ones except at the beginning of the 1980s when he will experience a last major success with the title "Le Gitan" in 1982.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Faut-il être ? 1967
La tendresse 1972
Faut pas pleurer comme ça 1972
Pourquoi ? 1973
T'en souviens-tu, Marie-Hélène ? 1973
Mon vieux 1974
Les secondes 1974
Chanson pour Anna 1974
La découverte 1975
Je t’aime, tu vois 1975
Ne parle pas 1976
Toi 1976
Je n’ai pas le cœur à sourire 1976
Prends moi dan tes bras 1978
Je viens pas te parler d’amour 1978
C’est pas facile d’aimer 1979
Pour ne plus penser à toi 1980
T’aimer pour la vie 1981
Le cœur à l’envers 1981
Doucement 1982
Le gitan 1982
Le nez au mur 1983
Pour la vie 1985
Le temps 1989
On se reverra 1990
Clips :
1967 ... who would imagine at this stage that this young boy out of nowhere will become in a few years one of the greatest singers of this end of the XXth French side. Not many people necessarily ...
1972 ... 6 years have passed and the least we can say is that the caterpillar has transformed into a beautiful butterfly just waiting to fly ! Here he delivers a beautiful Intimist title that propels him to the front of the stage in a shattering way to say the least. HU-GE !
1972 ... an absolutely exceptional year in 1972 which saw him produce an incredible number of extraordinary titles. In just one year, he will have become one of the biggest phenomena of the moment in France. And let's go to last !
1973 ... now that the momentum for success is firmly in place, it just needs to unroll. And to unroll, that will unroll !
1973 ... a unique style, just like the phrasing, which allow him to stand out in a blatant way from the mass of competitors. An undeniable force during this decade. Not sure that this will be the case during the next ...
1974 ... then THIS title comes ! Here he simply signs the Masterpiece of his career, a very simple title but with an extraordinary, almost supernatural inspiration. But when we see who is behind, a certain Jean Ferrat, we suspected that the result would be exceptional. And he is. MAS-TER-FUL !
1974 ... how to get behind such a title ? Almost impossible, that's clear. But this title is far from unworthy, we will therefore largely be satisfied ...
1974 ... skills for the Intimist unquestionable and undisputed. Title after title, year after year, its know-how in this field allows him to maintain a level of excellence more than certain ...
1975 ... the only criticism that we can make him is that he hardly ever leaves this register precisely. But when we still see the quality of this title, we understand why he is confined to it somehow ...
1976 ... a foray into the Festive domain would be really welcome. Which will not yet be the case on this title. We will therefore have to be a little more patient ...
1976 .... which does not prevent him from continuing to garner success. Admittedly, he will never find a level of success equivalent to that encountered on 'Mon vieux', but he still continues to stay in the leading pack with more than obvious ease !
1976 ... a BIG year 1976 which sees him align several titles of big caliber. The danger for him now is not to see the musical world around him evolve. The years to come will be decisive for him ...
1978 .... the end of the 1970s which saw Disco establishing itself as the essential style of the moment. An area that he will unfortunately never dare to explore. Wrongly...
1978 ... he remains constant on his bases and changes nothing in his style. A daring and above all counterproductive bias. Be careful when leaving the road ...
1979 ... he continues his adventure for whatever reason and hardly cares about the incredible changes taking place around him. As for the quality of the melodies, we can not blame him. But it is above all the style that seems more and more obsolete ...
1980 ... the transition to the 80s will not change anything. He camps on his positions and stays the course. Difficult in these conditions to stay in contact with the best ...
1981 ... who can make him listen to reason, no one a priori. Too bad because his talent is undeniable and he could have found his place in this new decade. A hardship that he will pay at a high price ...
1981 ... he gradually disappears from radar and nothing, and no one, is able to stop its planned decline. Only the miracle remains to save Private Guichard ...
1982 ... a miracle which will not take place on this title in any case. In 10 years, he will not have been able - or wanted - to evolve from an Iota, something extremely rare in the field ...
1982 ... and the miracle, here it is ! Even if this title does not correspond to the new standards of the moment, he delivers here THE light and festive title that we have been waiting for so long. Like what, in the song, nothing is ever finished !
1983 ... unfortunately a short-lived improvement. The delay with the competition is now such that it will be impossible for him to return to the race in a sustainable way ...
1985 ... despite titles not devoid of interest, he will cross the 80s like a ghost in search of a glorious past that he will never find again. Like many colleagues of his generation, the 1980s did not give them any gifts ...
1989 ... he finally sticks to the times, but awareness is far too late. What a shame because when you see this kind of title, everything could have been possible ...
1990 ... he will even attempt the transition to the 90s. Crazy bet and above all impossible mission. What did not work during the 1980s is unlikely to work during the next. In any case, his record will always remain as one of the most brilliant of the end of the 20th century and just for that, hats off !
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :