Alain Souchon

Born Alain Édouard Kienast in Casablanca, Morocco, on May 27, 1944, songwriter, musician and performer Alain Souchon is one of the most influential figures in French chanson, and one of its finest pens. The son of an English teacher, whom he lost at the age of eighteen, and a book author, he grew up in Paris and worked in London for a year before composing his first songs, performing in bars on the Left Bank and signing his first contract with Pathé-Marconi. After a 45-turn single, he won the Rose d'or d'Antibes competition and switched to RCA, which introduced him to Laurent Voulzy, the man who was to become his regular composer and songwriter. From his first album, written in tandem but sung solo, J'ai Dix Ans (1974), and the success of the title track, Alain Souchon established his nostalgic style tinged with observation of everyday life. He also racked up hits with each new release, with such classics as "Bidon" (1976), "Jamais content", "Poulailler's Song", "Y'a d'la rumba dans l'air" and "Allô maman bobo" (1977), followed by "Le Bagad de Lann Bihoué" on the album Toto, 30 Ans de Malheur. The new tone he brought to French chanson was emulated and enriched over the following decade with the albums Rame (1980, "On s'aime pas"), On Avance (1983) and C'est Comme Vous Voulez (1985), which featured, in addition to the title track, "La Ballade de Jim" and "J'veux du cuir". In 1988, the album Ultra Moderne Solitude defines his era and his disillusionment in "Quand j'serai K.O.". Meanwhile, Alain Souchon appeared in films such as Tout feu, tout flamme (1981), L'Été meurtrier (1983), L'Homme aux yeux d'argent (1985) and Comédie! (1987). He also lent his songwriting talents to other artists, including Laurent Voulzy, Françoise Hardy, Jean-Louis Aubert, Pascal Obispo, Patrick Bruel and Les Enfoirés. In 1993, he signed the album C'est Déjà Ça, which featured the song voted best song of the decade at the Victoires de la musique: "Foule sentimentale", alongside "L'Amour à la machine" and "Sous les jupes des filles". Subsequently, his output expanded with the albums Au Ras des Pâquerettes (1999), La Vie Théodore (2005) and Écoutez D'où Ma Peine Vient (2008), where his biting tone hit the spot on "Parachute doré". In 2011, he devoted the album À Cause d'Elles to covers. Then, in 2014, he created a surprise when his name appeared for the first time alongside that of Laurent Voulzy on an album. Five years later, he resumed his solo career with his fifteenth studio album, Âme Fifties (2019), featuring contributions from his now-singer sons, Pierre Souchon and Charles Souchon, aka Ours. The latter also accompanied him on Studio Saint-Germain (2025), an album of acoustic covers of his father's classics.