Though frequently regarded in France merely as a "chanteur de charme" or ladies' singer, Julien Clerc built one of the most enduring and prosperous paths in modern French pop, molding the nouvelle chanson sound from the era of the 1968 student uprisings onward into the next century. Born Paul-Alain LeClerc in Paris on October 4, 1947, into an affluent bourgeois household, he moved in with his father, a senior UNESCO official, after his parents separated, and took up piano lessons at age six. His passion for music intensified during his teenage years, prompting him to copy favorite tracks directly from radio broadcasts.
Before long he started composing original pieces, frequently teaming with close friend Maurice Vallet; under the stage name Momo, Vallet kept supplying material for Clerc over many subsequent years. The singer's most significant partnership, however, began in 1968 during his time as a Sorbonne student. Rather than attending classes, he passed countless hours in neighborhood cafés, and at his preferred spot, L'Ecritoire, he encountered Etienne Roda-Gil, son of Spanish Republicans who had just returned to Paris after nearly ten years abroad protesting the Algerian conflict. Clerc requested that Roda-Gil supply words for one of his melodies, resulting in the sardonic protest song "La Cavalerie," which quickly secured him a seven-year deal with Pathé-Marconi.
Released in May 1968, "La Cavalerie" turned Clerc into an instant star by reaching the top of the French pop charts and becoming an anthem of the student rebellions, largely because of its memorable line "I'll abolish boredom." The follow-up single "Ivanovitch" also hit number one and so impressed Gilbert Bécaud that the French superstar asked Clerc to open his concert at Paris' Olympia. Clerc's third release, 1969's "Yann et les Dauphins," marked his third straight chart-topper, while his self-titled debut album succeeded as well, capturing the Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros and praise for blending Beatles-inspired pop invention and neo-symphonic arrangements with the often surreal and intricate lyrics from Roda-Gil and Momo.
Clerc next accepted the lead in the French staging of the Broadway musical Hair after initially turning it down. The production opened at Paris' Théatre de la Porte Saint Martin on May 31, 1969, to tremendous acclaim, matched by the July chart-topping single "La Californie." He drew further attention by publicly confirming his romance with French pop ingénue France Gall. Clerc stayed with Hair until February 1970, then stepped away to focus on recording; his second album, Des Jours Entiers à T'Aimer, appeared three months later, and that December he headlined the Olympia for the first time. A trip to Argentina shaped the tango rhythms of 1971's "Le Couer Volcan," which was followed by the Roda-Gil-penned tracks "Ce N'Est Rien" and "Niagara."
With 1973's Julien, recorded in London under arranger Bill Shepherd instead of longtime collaborator Jean-Claude Petit, Clerc changed direction sharply. He returned to Paris to prepare another Olympia engagement, later captured on the 1974 live album Julien Clerc avec Vous. Still viewed in some circles as a mere teen idol, he sought a more adult persona and, in 1975 while despondent over the breakup with Gall, rejoined Momo for the somber, reflective No. 7, widely regarded as his most accomplished work to that point. Soon afterward he took a starring role in the film D'Amour et d'Eau Fraîche, where he began a five-year relationship with co-star Miou-Miou. For the 1976 album A Mon Âge et à l'Heure Qu'il Est he drew songs from writers outside his usual circle, working for the first time with Maxime Le Forestier and Jean-Loup Dabadie. Le Forestier also wrote Clerc's 1978 hit "J'Ai Eu 30 Ans" for the singer's thirtieth birthday, the centerpiece of the ninth album, Jaloux. Bolstered further by Dabadie's "Ma Preference," the record sold 400,000 copies.
Clerc's choice to broaden his songwriting circle beyond Roda-Gil and Momo irritated the former, a rift that deepened when the singer publicly admitted fatigue with fans requesting explanations of Roda-Gil's intricate, often polemical lyrics. The two endured a very public split and did not communicate for more than a decade, until Clerc offered a truce by attending the 1992 funeral of Roda-Gil's wife, Nadine. Even so, in 1979 Clerc agreed to headline the musical 36 Front Populaire, with music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Jean-Claude Petit and lyrics by Roda-Gil. For various reasons the show never reached the stage, though the songs were recorded and issued as a double album.
After heading to Canada to record the 1980 solo album Clerc Julian, the singer also ended his long association with Petit, yet revived ties with Momo for the follow-up Sans Entracte, which included two contributions from Serge Gainsbourg. Two sold-out March 1981 concerts in Lyon supplied Clerc's second live album, Vendredi 13. Shortly afterward his relationship with Miou-Miou ended, and he poured his feelings into the intimate Femmes, Indiscrétions et Blasphemes, his Virgin debut and one of his strongest-selling records. Following his 1985 marriage to horse-riding champion Virginie Couperie, Clerc adopted a brighter tone for Aime-Moi. With the David McNeil co-write "Mélissa" he achieved one of his biggest successes, selling more than 700,000 copies. He then toured Africa, Canada, and Brazil before pausing for twelve months and returning in 1987 with Les Aventures à l'Eau; McNeil again supplied the major hit "Hélène." After another extended break, Clerc traveled to New York to work with producer Phil Ramone on 1990's Fais Moi une Place, praised as one of his most cohesive efforts in years. At the close of 1990 he headlined a Radio France Orchestra presentation of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. On 1992's Utile he reunited with Roda-Gil for a full set of new songs, and the next year he returned to headline the Olympia after nearly twenty years away.
He released Julien in 1997 and in 1998 made his first U.S. appearances during an international tour lasting nearly three years. On 2000's Si J'Étais Elle he collaborated with figures ranging from supermodel Carla Bruni to Franco-Algerian writer Nina Bouraoui. The two-volume live collection Julien Déménage appeared in 2002, followed the next year by Studio, a set of American pop standards. In 2005 Clerc issued Double Enfant, addressing deeply personal subjects including his parents' divorce, the event that inspired the title and its reference to his two childhoods. Three years later he delivered Où S'en Vont les Avions, celebrating forty years in the business, supported by more than one hundred tour dates that ended with a five-night run at Paris' Palais des Sports. In 2011 he put out his twenty-second studio album, Fou, Peut-Être, featuring songs co-written by Nouvelle Star winner Julien Doré and Charles Aznavour.
