This will be the first post in a new category of articles I am calling “Portrait” (feel free to pronounce that the English or French way). I will be profiling the lives of some famous French (or Canadian) people, particularly whose work I admire. I chose Jean-Jacques Goldman to be my first portrait, in part because he is NOT featured in the French Music post, and also because I love his music!
Jean-Jacques Goldman is a hugely successful pop-rock musician in France. There aren’t really any other artists who sound like him; he is known for very catchy, often synthesized tunes and original lyrics. His video ideas (except for his many live ones) never fail to be unique (see “C’est ta chance” below, done in animation). Instead of just the usual love songs, Goldman deals with a wide variety of topics in his songs He got his start in the 1970s as a member of the French rock group Tai Phong (Vietnamese for Typhoon). He began to see a quick rise in his solo success in the 1980s. He is a good friend of Céline Dion, having written songs for and having sung with the Canadian chanteuse (her album Une fille et 4 types had his work, and he sings “J’irai où tu iras” on The French Album; he wrote the album for her). Unlike Céline, however, JJG, as he is affectionately called by his fans, is virtually unknown in the United States. Goldman’s music is predominantly in French, with a few songs featuring a chorus in English. Another collaboration he is well-known for is with singers Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones, with which he formed the group Fredericks Goldman Jones. Goldman has also written music for other popular French artist, often using pseudonyms like Sam Brewski and O. Menor. His career is still going strong today. His music is not available on iTunes, but you can buy most of his CDs at Amazon.com
