The singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman, to whom we owe a lot, has been repeatedly named the French people’s favorite personality Two by Céline Dion, the man of 300 songs, who has sold more than 30 million records and completed several tours, is still afraid of being on stage and is plagued by terrible stage fright before every performance. In his latest biography, author Ivan Jablonka tries to unravel the secret of this man who likes to stay away from the limelight.
As a legend of French music, he likes to keep secrets and reveals very little about himself to the media.
Photo provided by Éditions du Seuil
The now-retired 72-year-old singer, who experienced several failures before rising to the top, wants to keep his personal life away from the cameras. In addition to his great modesty, it is also his great simplicity and discretion that make him an enigmatic being.
Although he hasn’t given a solo concert since 2004, his songs are still played on the radio an average of 600 times a day in his home country.
The author and historian Ivan Jablonka wanted to understand the Goldman phenomenon in his biography. He has intensified research on the man who has long topped the rankings of the French people’s most popular personalities.
It is an unauthorized biography that displeased the headmaster in question and forced him to come out of his silence and shout loud and clear: “I have never met this author… I have not authorized a book… I have not that.” Power to ban them. »
Strange family life
Jean-Jacques was born in Paris in 1951 as the child of Jewish immigrants. His father instilled in him the values of hard work.
This strict upbringing did not work for his eldest son Pierre, from his first marriage and half-brother of the singer, who committed several thefts before being accused of a double murder. Once imprisoned, he is released after serving a six-year prison sentence. In 1979, a few months after his release, Pierre Goldman was shot dead by two men on the street in Paris, very close to his home.
This event was traumatic for Jean-Jacques Goldman. It must be said that Pierre was a far-left activist in Venezuela and that Goldman’s father, a Polish Jew, and his mother, a German Jew, joined the Jewish resistance during World War II and became major communist activists.
From failure to star status
As a lonely child, he took refuge in music. He started taking piano lessons from the age of seven until he was 17.
After his military service, he devoted himself to music and worked in his parents’ sports shop. In the spirit of a Léo Ferré concert, he took the plunge and released his first solo at 45 rpm. His debut is mediocre.
After the failures of his first three 45s, he was invited to perform a new song on the Champs-Élysées show hosted by Michel Drucker. Because of his nervousness and technical problems, the performance doesn’t make a good impression.
“Okay, that’s ruined. I am not happy. My first television, the most important thing, is broken,” Jean-Jacques confided to a friend.
Failure follows failure. The young man is disappointed. According to his own statements, he knows that he has never been a fighter. He will return to his parents’ store to sell skis and tennis rackets.
If the 70s were difficult, he excelled in the 80s. The success was remarkable. His talent is undeniable, but Goldman has a handicap. He has practically insurmountable stage fright. His sister, a doctor, prescribed beta blockers to reduce his stress. Before he goes on stage he is literally sick. His passion is creation, he doesn’t want the rest.
Yielding to pressure from his team, he agreed to go on stage and tour, enforcing his conditions: small or medium-sized venues, but at the same time giving him the necessary space to disappear alone at night, which alleviated his stress would.
Collaboration with Celine
Goldman is writing more and more songs for others – Johnny Hallyday comes to mind in particular.
Even though he barely knows her, he dreams of working with Céline Dion, impressed by her unique voice. The year is 1994 and Céline is a star here and in the United States, but still little known in France.
He offers to write a complete album tailor-made for Céline.
Both Céline and René Angélil were initially hesitant because they knew little about Goldman’s work. We’re finally giving him his chance. Knowing we want love songs, Goldman does her own research, reviewing articles from here and from our neighbors to the south. She knows the star, but little about the woman.
He wrote all the songs on the album in seven months.
A beautiful friendship will develop between them.
Upon its release in 1995, D’eux became an instant success in France and was awarded diamond certification the same year. With nearly 10 million copies sold, it quickly became the best-selling French album in history.
A few years later, the duo collaborated again to produce another successful album: S’il suffisait d’aimer.
Until the end, Goldman will maintain the mystery by withdrawing from the world of entertainment while at the height of his fame. No explanation or farewell tour. Today he lives between his two homes, one in a suburb of London and the other in Marseille.
♦ The French author Ivan Jablonka is a historian and professor of contemporary history at the Sorbonne Paris Nord University. He has written around fifteen books.