Quick Facts
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Jean-Pierre Danel (born 4 June 1968) is a French guitarist, record producer, music writer and songwriter. He hit the #1 spot in France with his album Guitar Connection in 2006 which received a gold disc. Danel has continued to record a large number of guitar albums, as well as guitar teaching materials. He is also known as a producer, having obtained many international hits for other artists, with global sales of more than 23 million copiesand received a multi-diamond disc in 2014 from Sony Music for 25 years in show business and 191 gold and platinum discs
Biography
- The 80's and 90's
Born in La Varenne, France, Danel, the son of the French pop singer Pascal Danel and the nephew of opera director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, started his career as a professional guitarist in July 1982, at the age of 14. After many tours and studio recordings with French session musicians, and a single in the airplay charts in 1989, he released various guitar albums, winning 8 gold discs in Europe during the 90's.
- Stratospheric (2000)
In 2001, he was invited on the album Les Masters de la Guitare, on which Eric Clapton, BB King, Carlos Santana or Al Di Meola also recorded.
- Guitar Connection (2006)
His own album Guitar Connection, released by Sony/BMG in July 2006 reaches the #1 spot in the album charts in France and gets a gold disc. Guitar Connection 2 was released in March 2007. It contains a duet with British guitar legend Hank Marvin. The album hits the charts at #8 and several hit albums follow. In June 2007, Danel received the "Grand Prix Français de la Guitare" award.
- Out of the Blues (2010)
In November 2010, his charitable Out of the Blues guitar album to the benefit of AIDS research, was released by Universal. Danel recorded duets with 24 guitars greats such as Hank Marvin again, Albert Lee (recorded at the Abbey Road Studios 2), Scott Henderson, Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, Jake Shimabukuro and various popular French artists. The album gets to #3 in the French charts and generates several hit singles as well as a string of Top 10 hits on iTunes, including a No. 1 hit single in Belgium, a long-running Top 5 hit with Axel Bauer, staying in the charts for more than three years and a half. 8 singles in all hit the iTunes charts in several countries, such as the USA, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Denmark, Austria, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, Luxemburg, Belgium, etc. The album gets support by various people, such as Carla Bruni, then First Lady of France, or Brian May of Queen, who also writes a note in the booklet. The pair was reunited in a charity organized by Danel in 2013.
- The Hit List (2013)
His digital compilation (on downloading exclusively) The Hit List enters the French charts at #18, and charts in the UK (#28) and the U.S (#32), while two singles hit the French Top 20, including "Philippine's Smiles", which also reaches #12 on the iTunes Jazz charts in the US, #1 in Sweden, #38 in the UK and #63 in Israël, while two other singles hit the Top 100 in Australia (at #53 and #69). Five years after its original release, "The Pink Side of Miss Daisy" finds its way in the Billboard U.S. charts at #86. In 2014, his EP containing two duets with Hank Marvin hits the digital Top 40 in the UK as well as in several countries (USA, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, etc.).
- Guitar Tribute (2016)
On March 25, 2016, Danel released Guitar Tribute (Sony Music), a box set with 2 cds (a compilation and a live album) and the DVD of a private live show, All You Need is Live, given for his daughter. Half of the concert consisted of Danel's hits, with two new songs, while the other half is a collection of covers of classics that influenced the guitar player (The Beatles"", The Shadows, Elvis Presley, etc.). Half of the tunes are vocal. Several duets are included, as well as video tributes to Danel by Brian May of Queen, Hank Marvin of The Shadows, several French artists and Sony Music and Warner Music CEOsDanel embarked on an important media promotion, with a prime time TV show, several other TV appearancesand TV advertising. The album entered the charts at #7. The dvd, also sold apart, got to #1 and was certified gold within a week. 11 songs made the downloading charts. His medley All You Need is Live / Apache got to #1 in May. Other songs hit the #2, #3 and #4 spots, while some others are much lower in the charts. The live version of Philippine's Smiles hits #22, while The Pink Side of Miss Daisy, augmented with a Part. II, hit the charts at #73. The dvd went platinum by the end of May, after a gig at the Paris Olympia. This platinum disc is his 195th as a record producer, and his 43rd as an artist.
Globally, Danel's guitar records have charted in 39 countries, with 46 hit singles and 36 hit albums.
Puzzle Productions
As a record producer, he started his own company, Puzzle Productions, in 1989. He produced dozens of hit records and also bought the rights for many songs from other companies, creating an 18,000 songs catalogue. Record industry specialists presented Danel in various TV documentaries as one of the biggest independent producers in France. On May, 15th, 2014, at Sony Music's Parisian headquarters, he was awarded a multi-diamond disc, celebrating 25 years in show business, 23,3 million copies sold and 191 gold and platinum discs.
His work also includes the production, with DJ Da French Guy, of radio remixes for artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Daft Punk, and Moby.
Books
Danel is the author of several books, the best known of which are biographies of French playwright and actor Sacha Guitry. His second book about Guitry is featured on the book list for French students at Berkeley University, CA.
Danel also published a book about the Fender Stratocaster (foreword by Hank Marvin). In 2014, he releases the video "The Fender Stratocaster Story", based on the book and on his vast collection of guitars, in which can be found "Miss Daisy", a scarce 1954 preproduction Stratocaster, worth 250,000 US$.
Charities
Danel produced records to the benefit of various charities (AIDS, Amnesty International, etc.). Long time vegetarian and animal lover, Danel launched "Guitar Players for Animal Rights" to the benefit of PETA, and was joined by fellow guitarists Brian May (of Queen) again, Steve Lukather (of Toto), Hank Marvin (of The Shadows) as well as French stars such as singer and composer/producer for Celine Dion Jean-Jacques Goldman or French movie star Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | BEL/WAL | CH | ||||
| 1993 | Chorus | 25 | 9 | -- | ||
| 1994 | Remember Shadows/Les Années Shadows | 34 | -- | -- | ||
| 1997 | Guitar Line | 61 | -- | -- | ||
| 2002 | Tribute to The Shadows | 135 | -- | -- | ||
| 2006 | Guitar Connection | 1 | 3 | 70 | ||
| 2007 | Guitar Connection 2 | 8 | 7 | -- | ||
| 2008 | Guitar Connection 3 | 18 | -- | 89 | ||
| 2009 | Guitar Connection – Tribute to The Shadows | 6 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | The Best of Guitar Connection | 23 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | Guitar Connection (re-entry) | 7 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | Guitar Connection 2 (re-entry) | 33 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | Jean-Pierre Danel plays The Shadows | 38 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | Guitar Connection Anthology | 19 | -- | -- | ||
| 2009 | Guitar Connection 3 (ré-entry) | 26 | -- | -- | ||
| 2010 | The Best of Guitar Connection (ré-entry) | 2 | -- | -- | ||
| 2010 | Out of the blues | 3 | -- | -- | ||
| 2011 | When the guitar rocks | 9 | -- | -- | ||
| 2011 | Guitar Guitar Guitar | 14 | -- | -- | ||
| 2011 | Stratospheric | 46 | -- | -- | ||
| 2011 | Out of the blues (re-entry) | 26 | -- | -- | ||
| 2011 | Rock Guitar Legends | 117 | -- | -- | ||
| 2012 | Guitar Greatest Hits | 15 (iTunes Dominican Republic) | -- | -- | ||
| 2012 | The Guitar Greatest Hits | 179 (iTunes Taiwan) | -- | -- | ||
| 2012 | When the guitar rocks | 33 (iTunes Israël) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | The Blues Album | 134 (iTunes USA) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | Best of guitar | 23 (iTunes Kazakhstan) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | Best of guitar | 23 (iTunes Russia) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | The greatest hits | 9 (iTunes Colombia) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | The Hit List | 18 (iTunes France) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | The Hit List | 32 (iTunes USA) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | The Hit List | 28 (iTunes UK) | -- | -- | ||
| 2013 | Air Guitar : The Anthems | 24 (iTunes India) | -- | -- | ||
| 2014 | Guitar Anthology | 146 (iTunes Peru) | -- | -- | ||
| 2014 | Blues Mood | 64 (iTunes USA) | -- | -- | ||
| 2014 | The Best of Jean Pierre Danel | 17 (iTunes Thailand) | -- | -- | ||
| 2014 | Out of the Blues | 146 (iTunes Peru) | -- | -- | ||
| 2014 | 100 Tracks | 93 (iTunes Switzerland) | -- | -- | ||
| 2015 | The Guitar Best Of | 62 (iTunes Turkey) | -- | -- | ||
| 2015 | Guitar Playback Connection Vol.2 | 47 (iTunes Brazil) | -- | -- | ||
| 2015 | Guitar Playback Connection Vol.3 | 48 (iTunes Brazil) | -- | -- | ||
| 2015 | Guitar Tribute | 7 (France) | -- | -- | ||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart position / Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | EUR | ||||||
| 2006 | "A love theme for Sabine" | 15 | — | Guitar Connection | |||
| 2006 | "Sleepwalk" | 18 | — | Guitar Connection | |||
| 2006 | "Ballad for a friend" | 39 | — | Guitar Connection | |||
| 2007 | "Nz girl blues" | 5 | 23 | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2007 | "My song of you" (duet with Laurent Voulzy) | 7 | 26 | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2007 | "Guitar Connection Medley (Part I)" | 13 | 44 | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2007 | "Nivram" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 15 | 50 | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2007 | "Nivram" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 8 (Norway) | — | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2007 | "Nivram" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 86 (Germany) | — | Guitar Connection 2 | |||
| 2008 | "The pink side of miss daisy" | 9 | 29 | Guitar Connection 3 | |||
| 2008 | "Honky Tonk Woman" | 18 | — | Guitar Connection 3 | |||
| 2009 | "The rise and fall of flingel bunt" | 43 | — | Guitar Connection – Tribute to The Shadows | |||
| 2009 | "Good Guitar Vibrations" | 20 | — | The Best of Guitar Connection | |||
| 2009 | "Come together" | 21 | — | The Best of Guitar Connection | |||
| 2009 | "Concerto de aranjuez" | 30 | — | Jean-Pierre Danel plays The Shadows | |||
| 2009 | "While my guitar gently weeps" (duet with Pascal Danel) | 29 | -- | Guitar Connection Anthology | |||
| 2010 | "Out of the blues (single)" | 20 | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2010 | "Rock Me Baby" (duet with Axel Bauer) | 36 | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "Rock Me Baby" (duet with Axel Bauer) | 4 (iTunes) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "Rock Me Baby" (duet with Axel Bauer) | 112 (Norway) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "This incredible fortune to be two" (with Louis Bertignac and Beverly Jo Scott) | 12 | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "This incredible fortune to be two" (with Louis Bertignac and Beverly Jo Scott) | 25 (iTunes Belgium) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "This incredible fortune to be two" (with Louis Bertignac and Beverly Jo Scott) | 7 (iTunes Luxemburg) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "This incredible fortune to be two" (with Louis Bertignac and Beverly Jo Scott) | 51 (iTunes Ireland) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2011 | "Forbidden Games" | 47 (iTunes Finland) | -- | Guitar Guitar Guitar | |||
| 2012 | "M Appeal" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 7 (Norway) | - | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "M Appeal" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 99 (Finland) | - | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "This incredible fortune to be two" (with Louis Bertignac and Beverly Jo Scott) | 1 (iTunes Belgium)(re-entry) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Saint Louis Blues" | 7 (iTunes France) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Saint Louis Blues" | 8 (iTunes Portugal) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 9 (iTunes Portugal) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 111 (iTunes Norway) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 62 (iTunes Austria) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 67 (iTunes Denmark) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 80 (iTunes Ireland) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Tulsa Time" (Duet with Albert Lee) | 104 (iTunes Mexico) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "United Colors" (Duet with Anne Ducros) | 18 (iTunes Jazz France) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Revolution" (Duet with Laurent Voulzy) | 7 (iTunes Blues France) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2012 | "Revolution" (Duet with Laurent Voulzy) | 55 (iTunes Blues USA) | -- | Out of the blues | |||
| 2013 | "Nivram EP 2013" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 50 (Ireland) | — | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "Nivram EP 2013" (duet with Hank Marvin) | 87 (Finland) | — | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "Jeux Interdits" | 8 (Cambodia) | — | Guitar Connection | |||
| 2013 | "Europa" | 11 (Cambodia) | — | Guitar Connection | |||
| 2013 | "Indian Horse" | 19 (iTunes France) | — | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "Philippine's Smiles" | 16 (iTunes France) | — | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "Philippine's Smiles" | 12 (iTunes Jazz USA) | — | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "The Pink Side of Miss Daisy" | 86 (USA Billboard) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "United Colors" (Duet with Anne Ducros) | 69 (iTunes Jazz Australia) | -- | Jazz Guitar | |||
| 2013 | "All Shook Up" | 50 (iTunes Mexico) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2013 | "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" | 53 (iTunes Australia) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Saint Louis Blues" | 55 (iTunes Denmark) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Nivram/M Appeal EP (duet with Hank Marvin)" | 52 (iTunes Thailand) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Philippine's Smiles" | 63 (iTunes Israel) | -- | Jazz Guitar | |||
| 2014 | "Philippine's Smiles" | 1 (iTunes Sweden) | -- | Best Of | |||
| 2014 | "Nivram/M Appeal EP (duet with Hank Marvin)" | 33 (iTunes UK) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Nivram/M Appeal EP (duet with Hank Marvin)" | 38 (iTunes South Africa) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Nivram/M Appeal EP (duet with Hank Marvin)" | 27 (iTunes Poland) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Nivram/M Appeal EP (duet with Hank Marvin)" | 87 (iTunes USA) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Philippine's Smiles" | 38 (iTunes UK) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2014 | "Knocking on Heaven's Door" | 161 (iTunes Italy) | -- | Guitar Connection 3 | |||
| 2014 | "All Shook Up" | 62 (iTunes South Africa) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "Medley Guitar Connection Part.1" | 150 (iTunes Belgium) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "Medley Guitar Connection Part. 2" | 151 (iTunes Belgium) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "My Song of You (duet with Laurent Voulzy)" | 88 (iTunes Spain) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "Sleepwalk" | 63 (iTunes Luxembourg) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "Tulsa Time (duet with Albert Lee)" | 12 (iTunes Portugal) | -- | The Hit List | |||
| 2015 | "Honky Tonk Woman" | 8 (iTunes Portugal) | -- | The Hit List | |||
Discography (France & international)
Albums
- Rarities (1982)
- Vocals (1986)
- Chez Toi Et Moi (Maxi) (1989)
- The Twist Sessions (1990)
- Chorus (1993) No. 25
- Remember Shadows(1994) No. 34
- Guitar Generation (1995)
- Le meilleur des Shadows (1995)
- Guitar Line (1997) No. 61
- Play 18 Hits of the Shadows (1997)
- Tribute to the Shadows 40 Years – 40 Tracks (2 Cds) (1998)
- Les années Shadows (2 Cds / 46 Tracks) (1998)
- The Best of the Guitar Legends (3 Cds / 75 Tracks) (1998)
- The Best of the Guitar Legends Vol.1 (1998)
- The Best of the Guitar Legends Vol.2 (1998)
- The Best of the Guitar Legends Vol.3 (1998)
- A Tribute to the Shadows – The Gold Series (1998)
- Guitar Greatest (2 Cds) (2000)
- La Légende des Shadows (2000)
- A Tribute to the Shadows (2000)
- The Guitar Album (2000)
- Stratospheric (2000)(re-released in 2011) No. 46
- Play Hits of the Shadows (2000)
- Tribute to the Shadows (2001)#135
- The Playback Collection Vol. 1 (2001)
- The Playback Collection Vol. 2 (2001)
- The Playback Collection Vol. 3 (2001)
- The Playback Collection Vol. 4 (2001)
- Guitarmania (4 Cds / 88 Tracks) (2001)
- Nuits Parisiennes (2001)
- A Tribute to the Shadows (4 Cds / 80 Tracks) (2001)
- A Tribute to the Shadows Vol 1 (2001)
- A Tribute to the Shadows Vol 2 (2001)
- A Tribute to the Shadows Vol 3 (2001)
- A Tribute to the Shadows Vol 4 (2001)
- Guitar Classics (2002)
- Guitar Gold Themes (2002)
- The Shadows’ Anthology – The Tribute Album By Jean-Pierre Danel (2002)
- Essential Guitar (2002)
- All The Best! (Jean-Pierre Danel album) (2 Cds) (2002)
- Guitare 5 Cd – 100 Titres (2003)
- Guitar Greatest Hits (2005)
- Guitar Connection (1 CD + 1 DVD) (2006) No. 1
- Guitar Connection 2 (1 CD + & DVD) (2007) No. 8
- Coffret Guitar Connection 1 & 2 (2007)
- Guitar Connection 3 (2008) No. 18
- Guitar Connection – Tribute to The Shadows (2009) No. 6
- The Best of Guitar Connection (2009) No. 23
- Jean-Pierre Danel plays The Shadows (2009) No. 38
- Guitar Connection Anthology (2009) No. 19
- Out of the blues (2010) No. 3
- Guitar Anthology – Les 100 plus grands tubes (5-CD box set compilation)(2011)
- When the guitar rocks (compilation)(2011) No. 9
- Guitar Guitar Guitar (compilation)(2011) No. 14
- Rock Guitar Legends (2011) No. 117
- Guitar Greatest Hits (2011) No. 15
- The Guitar Greatest Hits (2012) No. 179
- Guitar Greatest Hits (3-CD metal box)(2012)
- The Blues Album (2013) No. 134
- Best of Guitar (2013) No. 23
- The Hit List (2013) No. 18
- Air Guitar - The Anthems (2013) No. 24
- Jazz Guitar (2013)
- Guitar Anthology (2014)
- Blues Mood (2014)
- The Best of Jean Pierre Danel (2014)
- The Guitar Best of (2015)
Participations
- Les Masters De La Guitare – Les Plus Grands Guitaristes Du Monde (2001)
Videos
- In Concert (1990)
- Guitar Connection (2006)
- Guitar Connection 2 (2007)
- Coffret Guitar Connection 1 & 2 (2007)
- Guitar Connection 3 (2008)
- The Best of Guitar Connection (2009)
- Out of the blues (2010)
- The Fender Stratocaster Story (2014)
Books (in English)
- Legend of the Fender Stratocaster (Foreword by Hank Marvin)(Auteurs du Monde, 2012)
Books (in French)
- Femme Mode d'Emploi (NM7, 2000)
- Tribute to the Fender Stratocaster (JA, 2001)
- Le Destin fabuleux de Sacha Guitry (Le Marque-Page, 2007)
- Chroniques d'une Vie Passionnante (enfin, je crois...) (Courcelles Publishing, 2008)
- Petites explications sur les femmes à l'attention des hommes perdus et désespérés (Courcelles Publishing, 2008)
- Clean Ex (Courcelles Publishing, 2009)
- Elvis Presley, La légende du King (2009, Courcelles Publishing)
- 365 Moyens de rendre son homme heureux (2009, Courcelles Publishing)
- 365 Moyens d'essayer de se faire pardonner (2009, Courcelles Publishing)
- 365 Moyens d'adopter le life-style des people (et de devenir hyper important chez son coiffeur (2009, Courcelles Publishing)
- Voyages Immobiles (2010, Courcelles Publishing)
- Sacha Guitry et les Femmes (Auteurs du Monde, 2012)
- Légende de la Fender Stratocaster (Préface de Hank Marvin)(Auteurs du Monde, 2012)
CD-Rom
- 20 Ans D'occupations... (2002)