Michel Polnareff

Known for his unconventional personality, French pop tunesmith Michel Polnareff stirred attention in the early to mid-1960s after his first single, "La Poupée Qui Fait Non," climbed straight to the summit of the French charts; nevertheless, the early-1970s album Polnareff's ultimately secured his status as an icon of French pop. Born and raised in Paris amid artistic surroundings, he grew up with a mother named Simone Lane who worked as a dancer and a father, Leib Polnareff, who performed as a sideman under the alias Léo Poll alongside numerous performers, among them Edith Piaf. These parents steeped the boy in music from the start, so it followed naturally that he mastered the piano by age five and began composing at eleven.

Following a brief period of military service and several low-level positions, Polnareff pursued his calling by performing on city sidewalks with his guitar, achieving modest recognition. In 1965 he declined a recording deal with Barclay—the prize from a songwriting competition—in one of his first public acts of nonconformity, yet he later joined AZ under the guidance of his fresh manager and Radio 1 musical director Lucien Morisse. Released in summer 1966, "La Poupée Qui Fait Non" propelled him up the charts not merely in France but also in Germany, Britain, and Spain. That track launched a run of successes, although the French press soon fixated almost exclusively on his flamboyant stage persona. Enduring the gaze of a traditionalist media did not halt the hits, and he received acclaim from figures such as Charles Trenet, yet the ongoing attacks took a toll.

By 1970 his stage outfits had grown even more extravagant. The French press started probing his sexuality, and mounting scandal peaked when he suffered a physical attack during a performance. Unsurprisingly, Polnareff scrapped the remainder of his tour and, soon after learning that his manager Morisse had taken his own life, entered a hospital for depression. Following five months of care, he recovered and restarted his demanding schedule of recording and touring, only for fresh trouble to arise when he faced court over 1972 tour promotions featuring posters that displayed his naked posterior. Found guilty of gross indecency, he was fined 60,000 francs.

His concerts extended through mid-1973, reaching Polynesia and North America, but on returning to France he discovered his financial advisor had emptied his accounts. Owing the French government more than one million francs in back taxes and possessing almost no funds, he escaped to the United States. Unknown in a foreign land, he remained beyond the spotlight and beyond the reach of French officials. He stayed in the U.S. for more than a decade while settling his debts with the French authorities; during that interval he cut records for Atlantic and wrote film scores.

Even while absent from France, his newer material stayed active in French pop culture and kept appearing on charts through the mid-1980s, until he withdrew completely from view and slipped quietly back to France to prepare a fresh album. Kama Sutra surfaced in summer 1990 and yielded three French hits. Polnareff remained in France another five years before heading again to the U.S. to appear at the Roxy in Los Angeles. Musical director and guitarist Dick Smith (Hampton Grease Band, Earth, Wind & Fire) executive-produced the expansive Live at the Roxy, which earned platinum certification in France. Marking the event, the channel Canal + aired a special titled À la Recherche de Polnareff ("In Search of Polnareff"), in which he appeared in military uniform—thereby earning the nickname "The Admiral"—was interviewed in the California desert by Michel Denisot, and delivered an acoustic mini-concert. After returning to France he waited twenty years to issue another album, instead devoting time to fatherhood and working in seclusion on assorted other projects.

In 2004 and 2005 state television station France 3 aired a 90-minute documentary called Michel Polnareff Dévoilé. During those same years the artist's catalog received unexpected exposure from outside sources. His track "Voyages" was sampled for Necro's single "Light My Fire" as well as the Shortwave Set's "Is It Any Wonder?" In addition, Masher (L)SD sampled "Sous Quelle E'toile Suis Je Ne?" for the song "Howards' Thinking Clearly." In 2014 he became the focus of another film documentary, Quand l'écran s'allume, which circulated through European cinemas.

In December 2015 Polnareff revealed plans for a new studio album slated for summer 2016 and issued the single "L'Homme en Rouge" in advance. When the target date arrived he conceded the album remained unfinished. Instead he put out the concert recording A L'Oympia 2016, followed by the compilation Polnabest. While the pending album still sat incomplete in 2017, Universal Music France released the 23-disc Pop Rock en Stock, encompassing his complete studio catalog plus abundant live tracks and rarities to celebrate Polnareff's 50th anniversary in music.