Danyel Gérard

Born on 7 March 1939 in Paris, France, Gerard passed much of his early years in South America before Lucien Morisse discovered him as a student in the French capital. Morisse, who played a role in the country akin to that of British impresario Larry Parnes, guided the young performer. Gerard’s first record, a 1958 French-language reworking of the nursery rhyme “Billy Boy,” stands as France’s earliest homegrown venture into rock ’n’ roll. Military service in Great Kabylie interrupted his progress for two years, allowing Johnny Hallyday, Eddy Mitchell and a fresh cohort of stars to move ahead. Once discharged, he reclaimed momentum through “La Leçon De Twist” and his French version of Pat Boone’s “Speedy Gonzales.” His engagement to chanteuse Christine LeBail may have tempered the enthusiasm of his female admirers, since the later recordings of Ben E. King’s “I (Who Have Nothing),” “Il Pleut Dans Ma Maison” and “D’Accord D’Accord” achieved only modest sales. Now handling his own affairs, he directed profits into a thriving production firm and developed a parallel vocation as a songwriter, supplying Marie Laforêt with “Les Vendanges De L’Amour” and Hervé Vilard with “Mourir Ou Vivre.”