Michel Sardou

Amid the ranks of French pop vocalists who have achieved lasting renown, Michel Sardou ranks as the foremost commercial force aside from Jacques Brel, having moved tens of millions of albums and strung together more than 25 consecutive hit singles. His songwriting lacks the singular brilliance associated with Brel yet has repeatedly produced sturdy, hard-hitting material that conveys his political and social convictions without softening them for mass appeal. At the same time, he has shown no interest in cultivating listeners abroad, choosing instead to direct his energies and creative focus entirely toward France.

Sardou entered the studio in the mid-'60s and reached the charts for the first time near the start of the following decade under a Tréma Records agreement. Even after widespread acceptance, he persisted in releasing material that sparked debate, including the pointed rebuke of official policy in "Le France," which condemned the sale of a cherished national luxury liner, and the stance on capital punishment for those who kill children expressed in "Je Suis Pour." By the close of the '80s he had moved nearly 30 million records, virtually all within France, and his popularity held steady through the ensuing decade, with annual sales regularly reaching several million copies.