Jean-Jacques Debout is an author, composer and performer. He evolved alongside the greatest artists and is, moreover, in the photo of the century taken by Jean-Marie Périer in 1966 for the magazine Hi buddies on which 46 stars of the yéyés are grouped. There we find Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, Eddy Mitchell, Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall or even Chantal Goya, whom he married that same year.
Jean-Jacques Debout publishes an autobiography, The color of ghosts, at Talent Editions.
franceinfo: It is to your wife that you address your first words in your autobiography: “I dedicate this book to Chantal Goya. His presence with me has enchanted my life“. It’s a huge declaration of love for this woman who has shared your life for 56 years.
Jean-Jacques Standing: Yes, I think that if I hadn’t met her, I might not have died of it, but I wouldn’t have had the same life, I wouldn’t have had the same journey. You know, it’s rare to meet someone with whom you can say: “Here, I’ll write you a song. Do you like her?“And she, to answer:”I let you do it because you know me well“.
“Only once, Chantal Goya said to me: ‘No’ for a song that she found ridiculous. She said to me: ‘Frankly, I can’t sing that’.”
Jean-Jacques Standingat franceinfo
You were born in Paris in 1940. Your father was imprisoned in Germany. At five weeks old, you almost died, but you were saved by a German doctor thanks to your mother who fought really hard. You say it wasn’t a happy time, and as far back as you can remember, only music brought people out of torpor.
Yes, because all of a sudden, I discovered a new life, a life outside the war. And I loved the music. I listened to all these words. I think I was born loving music. My father yelled at me from morning until night because he wanted me to succeed him in optics. He was a great optician and he had understood that I was not going at all on the same path.
It means that music very quickly became obvious to you, that it has always been with you.
Music was my reason for living. I had been quite unwell all the same. I had been sent to look after me in the Bassin d’Arcachon for a year and I remember that the lady, in the hotel where they treated me, had taken me to see a comic trooper who was passing by the Moorish Casino. It was Fernando. And I was very impressed with his singing turn.
Finally, your beginnings, you make them by the “little door”. You return as a courier to Raoul Breton. He will carry you enormously and he is very close to the greatest like Jean Cocteau, but especially to Yves Montand. You are going to accompany Claude Nougaro for a first tour. There is another artist who will count enormously in your life, who today is no longer there, it is Johnny Hallyday.
The first time I met him, I was singing with Jacques Brel at the Cabaret de la Butte Montmartre, at Patachou’s, in 1959. We both went down to dinner in a brasserie and at one point, we see a young boy near of a jukebox with the boss putting coins in it. His voice drowned out the jukebox as he sang ten times louder. With Jacques, we looked at him and said to ourselves: “But wait, we don’t believe it!“And all the other customers stopped eating their onion soup to watch this phenomenon. I went to see him and I said to him: come and have a drink at our table, there is Jacques Brel who would like to talk to you. next day, I took “the phenomenon”, rue d’Hauteville, to the “Vogue” records to see Jacques Wolfson in his office.
The beginnings were a little chaotic and then there was the Alhambra where Jane Breteau, the director, had hired the young Johnny Hallyday in the first part of Raymond Devos. And as Devos came on stage, everyone was screaming, “Johnny, Johnny” and Devos, who was very intelligent, went to get him, bringing him back by the arm. He said: “So Johnny, what are you going to sing for us now?” He answered : “Mr. Devos, I only know three songs that I rehearsed with my orchestra“, “But it doesn’t matter, you’ll sing them again!” It was great.
No pun intended. What keeps you wanting to stay up?
“I’m going to sing in the Salle Pleyel for a while and it will really be my farewell… Followed by a tour that will last ten years!”
Jean-Jacques Standingat franceinfo
I feel the urge to continue writing and singing because I still haven’t said goodbye to this story. But I will have to do them, at 82 years old!