Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer and musician.
Life and career
Voulzy was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He originally led the English-pop-influenced
Le Temple de Vénus before joining
Pascal Danel
Jean-Jacques Pascal known professionally as Pascal Danel (born 31 March 1944) is a French pop singer and composer.
He absconded from his school to become a tightrope walker for a travelling circus. It was at this point that he assumed his sta ...
as guitarist from 1969 to 1974. However, he is best known for his collaborative songwriting efforts with singer-songwriter
Alain Souchon
Alain Souchon (; born Alain Édouard Kienast ; 27 May 1944) is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films.
Profile
Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his mother ...
and his solo singing career, which spanned several successful singles and albums.
Voulzy had an international hit with the song "
Rockollection". The French lyrics were interspersed with some lines from classic rock hits after the chorus.
His major hits also include the singles "
Paradoxal Système" (which reached the French Top 10), "Le Soleil Donne" – sung in French,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
– and the
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
"Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante"/"
Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde" ("Nights without
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...
"; a song inspired by the chart-topping English singer). Other songs entered the French charts ("Bopper en larmes", "Le coeur Grenadine", "Désir, désir", etc.).
Voulzy also enjoys success in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Québec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
; and although being a French artist, his songs often contain multiple languages (including lyrics in English, Spanish,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, etc.).
In 2005, he co-produced and co-composed
Nolwenn Leroy
Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actress.
Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second ...
's second album ''
Histoires Naturelles
''Histoires naturelles'' ("Natural Histories") is a song cycle by Maurice Ravel, composed in 1906. It sets five poems by Jules Renard to music for voice and piano. Ravel's pupil Manuel Rosenthal created a version for voice and orchestra. ''.
Voulzy had a huge hit with his album ''La Septième Vague'' which reached number one in 2006. Featured on the album is a cover of the
Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...
hit "
All I Have to Do Is Dream
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a song made famous by the Everly Brothers, written by Boudleaux Bryant of the husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958. The song is ranked No. 141 on the ''Rolling Stone ...
", recorded as a duet with Irish singer
Andrea Corr
Andrea Jane Corr MBE (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon ...
. The song was released as a single and was also included on
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Car ...
' greatest hits album ''
Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection''.
He recorded in 2007 a duet with the French guitarist
Jean-Pierre Danel
Jean-Pierre Danel (born 4 June 1968) is a French guitarist, record producer, music writer, and songwriter. Jean-Pierre Danel has recorded a large number of guitar albums, as well as guitar teaching materials. In 2006, his album ''Guitar Connecti ...
on his hit album ''Guitar Connection 2''. The song hit the French charts at No. 7 in 2008. For his 2011 album, ''Lys and Love'', Voulzy recorded a duet on the song "Ma seule amour" with English singer
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
of
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
.
In 2007, He toured France.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
*1977: "
Rockollection"
*1978: "Bubble Star"
*1979: "Le Cœur grenadine"
*1979: "Karin Redinger"
*1979: "Cocktail chez Mademoiselle"
*1980: "Surfing Jack"
*1981: "Idéal simplifié"
*1983: "Bopper en larmes"
*1983: "Liebe"
References
External links
*
Laurent Voulzy (official site)Biography of Laurent Voulzy from
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voulzy, Laurent
1948 births
Living people
Musicians from Paris
Singers from Paris
20th-century French composers
21st-century French composers
21st-century French singers
French pop singers
French singer-songwriters
20th-century French male musicians
21st-century French male singers
French male singer-songwriters