Quick Facts
Biography
Alain Souchon (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ suˈʃɔ̃]; born Alain Kienast; 27 May 1944) is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films.
Profile
Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his mother's side is Swiss, and he has dual French-Swiss nationality. Six months after he was born, his family moved to France. When he was 15 his father died in an accident. His mother sent him to a French college in England, but due to problems registering he decided to stay in London and work. Upon returning to France he took up guitar, influenced by English and American music. In 1970, he married and had his first son continuing to play in the cabarets and bars in the Rive Gauche of Paris.
Souchon signed his first contract in 1971 with the Pathe-Marconi label but had no success. Bob Socquet, the artistic director of RCA encouraged him to perform his song "L'amour 1830" at the Rose D'Or of Antibes contest. Souchon then began to collaborate with composer/arranger Laurent Voulzy (b. 1948); they would write together, but each released albums under his own name. Souchon's first hit was "J'ai 10 ans" (1974), from the album of the same name.
He continued releasing albums and in 1978 wrote the theme for François Truffaut's 1979 film Love on the Run (L'amour en fuite). At this time his second son was born. In 1980, he was invited to perform at l'Olympia. He also began his acting career, most notably starring in the 1983 film L'été Meurtrier. Following the album 'On avance', he left RCA and signed with Virgin Records at 40 years old. In 1989 "La beauté de Ava Gardner" was voted best title of the year by the Victoires de la Musique.
Then came Souchon's biggest hit "Foule sentimentale" from 1993's million-selling C'est déja ça. At the 20th anniversary of the Victoires de la Musique in 1995, Alain Souchon received the award for best "Chanson Originale" for his song "Foule Sentimentale." In 1996, he received the "le Prix Vincent Scotto" award given by the SACEM (Societe des Auteurs Compositeurs) for his song "Sous les Jupes des Filles". Souchon returned in 2005 with the hugely successful album La vie Théodore which contained the hit single "...Et si en plus y'a personne".
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Record label | FRA | BEL (Fl) | BEL (Wa) | SWI | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | J'ai dix ans | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1976 | Bidon | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1977 | Jamais content | 1 | - | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1978 | Toto 30 ans, rien que du malheur... | 1 | - | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1980 | Rame | 5 | - | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1983 | On avance | 16 | - | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1985 | C'est comme vous voulez | 108A | - | - | - | ||
| 1988 | Ultra moderne solitude | 6 | - | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1993 | C'est déjà ça | 1 | - | 7 | - | France: Diamond (1,000,000+) | |
| 1997 | Sol en si (with Francis Cabrel, Michel Jonasz, Catherine Lara, Maxime le Forestier, Maurane, Zazie) | 3 | - | - | - | ||
| 1999 | Au ras des pâquerettes | 1 | - | 5 | 74 | France: Diamond (1,206,000) | |
| 2005 | La Vie Théodore | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | France: 2xPlatinum (462,100) | |
| 2008 | Écoutez d'où ma peine vient | 1 | - | 2 | 27 | France: Platinum (200,000) | |
| 2011 | À cause d'elles | 8 | - | 11 | 90 | France: Platinum (200,000) | |
| 2014 | Alain Souchon & Laurent Voulzy (jointly with Laurent Voulzy) | Parlophone | 1 | 117 | 1 | 8 |
Live albums
| Year | Album | Record label | FRA | BEL | SWI | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Olympia 83 | - | - | - | ||
| 1990 | Nickel | 49A | - | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 1995 | Défoule sentimentale - Live (2 CDs) | - | 9 | - | France: 2xGold (200,000) | |
| 2002 | J'veux du live | 29 | 26 | - | France: Gold (100,000) | |
| 2010 | Alain Souchon est chanteur | 13 | 15 | - | ||
| 2016 | Souchon Voulzy le concert (jointly with Laurent Voulzy) | 15 | - | - |
- A Re-release
Compilations
| Year | Album | Record label | FRA | BEL | SWI | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | L'Intégral (5 CDs) | - | - | - | ||
| 1997 | 20 Chansons (Also known as 20 Sur 20) | - | - | - | France: Platinum (300,000) | |
| 2001 | Collection (1974-1984) | - | 30 | 10 | France: Platinum (300,000) | |
| Collection (1985-2001) | - | - | - | France: Platinum (300,000) | ||
| 2002 | Par les Sentiments (2 CDs) | - | - | - | ||
| 2004 | Platinum Collection | - | 13 | - | ||
| 2007 | 100 Chansons (5 CDs) | - | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Single | FRA | BEL | Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "La Ballade de Jim" | 24 | - | C'est comme vous voulez | |
| 1989 | "Quand je serai k.o. | 29 | - | Ultra moderne solitude | |
| 1993 | "Foule sentimentale" | 1 | - | FR (SNEP): Silver (125,000) | C'est déjà ça |
| 1994 | "L'amour à la machine" | 21 | - | ||
| 2000 | "Tailler la zone" | 71 | - | Au ras des pâquerettes | |
| 2001 | "Le baiser / Caterpillar" | 80 | - | ||
| 2002 | "La vie ne vaut rien" | 46 | - | J'veux du live | |
| 2005 | "Et si en plus y'a personne" | 19 | 12 | La vie Théodore | |
| 2006 | "La vie Théodore" | 68 | - | ||
| 2008 | "Écoutez d'où ma peine vient" | - | 7 | Ecoutez d'où ma peine vient | |
| 2009 | "Parachute doré" | - | 39 | ||
| 2011 | "Les filles à quoi ça sert" (Bénabar / Cabrel / Goldman / Souchon) | - | 3* (Ultratip) | ||
| "Le jour et la nuit" | - | 2* (Ultratip) | |||
| 2014 | "Derrière les mots" (with Laurent Voulzy) | 35 | 22 | ||
| "La baie des fourmis " (with Laurent Voulzy) | 197 | – |
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts
Awards
Victoires de la musique
- 1986: Music Video of the Year (La Ballade de Jim), directed by Philippe Bensoussan
- 1986: Song of the Year (Belle-Île-en-Mer)
- 1990: Song of the Year (Quand j'serai KO)
- 1991: Album of the Year (Nickel)
- 1994: Male Artist of the Year
- 1994: Song of the Year (Foule sentimentale)
- 1996: Album of the Year (Défoule sentimentale)
Globes de Cristal Award
- 2006 : Best Male Singer