Song of the Day: Johnny Hallyday “Voyage au Pays des Vivants”

French rocker Johnny Hallyday died from lung cancer early Wednesday at the age of 74. France’s first (and arguably only) rock star, Johnny Hallyday had a career that spanned more than five decades and album sales in excess of 110 million (!) units, but he never achieved much recognition and adoration beyond his native shores (which Hallyday himself attributed to his native language’s awkward fit for rock lyrics — rock just doesn’t sound as cool en français). Like his American counterpart Elvis Presley, Johnny Hallyday was a star big enough to be recognized simply by his first name Johnny in France. And while Elvis was “The King”, Johnny was “Le Patron” (“The Boss”). An electrifying performer with impeccable rock’n’roll style, Johnny’s life in the fast lane encompassed high-profile romance and breakups, drug use, health scares, tax scandals, a love of race cars and motorcycles, a successful film career, farewells and comebacks, and a deep catalog indebted to American rock’n’roll while remaining undeniably Gallic. Made Chevalier of the Ordre National de la Legion d’honneur (a knight in the French Legion of Honor) in 1997, Johnny Hallyday was one of France’s greatest cultural icons.

Born Jean-Philippe Smet in Paris to Belgian parents, Johnny’s career in music started at the tail end of the 1950s, with his first single “Laisse les Filles” released in 1960, and was included on his debut album Hello Johnny. Borrowing posture and attitude heavily from then-exotic imports Elvis and James Dean (and smashing the language barrier), Johnny successfully translated Americanophilia for an insular French culture, giving France a rock star to call their very own. Within a year, Johnny had issued a second album, Salut les Copains and embarked on a tour of the country that inspired teenage hysteria to rival Elvis in the United States.

On a film set Johnny met fellow pop star, yeh-yeh girl Sylvie Vartan, in 1963 and married her in 1965. Their relationship elevated them to French pop royalty. A son, David, was born in 1966. Their marriage would survive a suicide attempt (Johnny’s) and a year-long separation, eventually breaking up permanently in 1980. He would remarry four more times in the decades that followed.

Meanwhile, his interpretations of American rock carried him through the mid-60s. A savvy showman, he changed with the times when the sounds of the British Invasion and American folk-rock came to dominate popular music. And he eventually absorbed the heavier sounds of psychedelia and progressive rock. His personal style, too, would reflect the changing times. While always politically outspoken, Johnny sported a beard and western shaman togs a la Jim Morrison, briefly indulging the counter-cultural aesthetic.

The 1969 Johnny Hallyday album on Philips

“Voyage au Pays des Vivants” (translated roughly to “Journey to the Land of the Living”) is the b-side to Johnny’s 1969 hit single “Que Je T’Aime.” Both songs also appear on the eponymously titled full length album Johnny Hallyday on Philips Records (pictured above), also released that year. In an unlikely cross-continental alliance, Johnny is backed on several album tracks by British mods Small Faces, bringing Johnny as close as he’d ever come to relevance in the English-speaking world. Displaying a strong British rock influence, “Voyage au Pays des Vivants” is a storming psychedelic rocker, with thickly surging Hammond organ chords and a memorable descending hook. Johnny handily matches the intensity of the instrumental backing with a frenzied vocal performance. Despite such energetic performances and commercial success (the album topped the charts in France and “Voyage au Pays des Vivants” remained a live staple well into the 21st century), the heavy sounds of Johnny Hallyday are a bit of an anomaly in his catalog. Ironically, while bringing him closer to the international audience he craved, Johnny admitted in his 2013 autobiography it was one of his weakest albums.

Johnny continued to record, perform, and act for the rest of his life, remaining a permanent larger-than-life fixture in French culture. His loss leaves a gaping hole in the French popular psyche, with no one ready — if ever — to take his place. While a nation mourns, the rest of the world would be wise to pause and discover his long-ignored gifts.

 
Johnny Hallyday in concert 1967