Henri Tachdjian, known as Henri Tachan, was born on September 2, 1939 in Moulins, Allier. He grew up in Margency, Oise, where he attended a Catholic boarding school. After high school, he attended a hotel management school in Thonon-les-Bains. After graduating, he became a waiter at the Ritz. But in 1962, he left France for Quebec, where he branched out to become a poet. He was doing recitations in a cabaret-restaurant when he met Jacques Brel, who encouraged him to become a singer. Taking Brel's advice, he returned to France and in 1965 released his first album, Les Mauvais Coups, on the Barclay label. This won him the Grand Prix de l'Académie du disque Charles-Cros. The same year, he opened for Juliette Gréco at the Olympia. Between 1968 and 1972, he opened for renowned artists such as Félix Leclerc, Pierre Perret and Georges Brassens, while remaining very active on the recording front with the successive releases of Volume 1 (1967), Volume 2 (1968) and Volume 3 (1969). He followed this up with Les Jeux Olympiques in 1973, La Vie (1974), Les Habitudes (1975), Je Suis (1976), Une Gare (1978) and Inventaire (1979). However, his work, marked by its black humor and commitment, criticizing the army, religion and the bourgeoisie, remained relatively confidential, as it was ignored by the media. A collection of the artist's texts, illustrated by Cabu, was published by Dargaud in 1982. The following year, he published Laissez Venir à Moi les Petites Fans . His discography became more sporadic in the 1990s, with Le Pont Mirabeau (1991), Côté Cœur, Côté Cul (1996) and Telle Est la Télé (1998). In 2002, he received the Prix In Honorem from the Académie Charles-Cros for his body of work. Although his discography included a seven-volume complete set released between 2002 and 2007, he didn't release a new studio album until 2007, De la Pluie et du Beau Temps. His death at the age of 83 in Avignon on July 16, 2023, the same day as Jane Birkin, went relatively unnoticed.
