"Le Jerk !" is a 1989 song recorded by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Thierry Hazard Thierry "Hazard" Gesteau (, ; born June 7, 1962), is a French singer-songwriter from Compiègne, Hauts-de-France. Biography Gesteau was born in Compiègne, and grew up in Sèvres. During the 1980s, he became the singer of the band GPS, an acronym ...

. It is the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his debut album ''Pop Music'' and was one of the 1990 summer hits in

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 ...

. It is also Hazard's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

, although he has released other successful songs.

Background

"Le Jerk !" was written by Hazard, ans produced by Daniel Glikmans. It was first released as a single in 1989, but passed unnoticed, as well as for the previous single, " Poupée psychédélique", in 1988, but was re-released the following year, at the start of the summer. The song's title refers to a 1970s popular dance and was also used for Hazard's best of album, ''Le Jerk'', released in July 2001. The single's cover was made by French designer Serge Clerc. The role of Roger is played by Christophe Salengro, a French actor and dancer.

Lyrics and music

"Le Jerk !" was a huge success in the French discothèques. Elia Habib, a specialist of the French charts, considers that this is due to the "modern and lively writing" of the song. Lyrically, it deals with the story of two characters, named Joséphine and Roger, who have a routine life (she works as a secretary, he works in a factory). Both are eagerly awaiting the end of each day to take the bus to go dancing the jerk at 'La Boîte à Gogos'. There, they meet, fall in love, get married and give birth to

quadruplet A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bi ...

s, named Gustave, Alphonse, Arthur and Philibert. Thus, the jerk had saved from their monotonous universe and made them able to discover love. The song has been accused of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

by the publisher of

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French p ...

, as the song's refrain is similar to that of "Quand la musique est bonne", but the court action was cancelled. Two black female vocalists also participate in the chorus and appear in the music video.

Chart performance

, the single debuted at number 38 on the chart edition of 16 June 1990, almost did not stop to climb on the chart every week and eventually reached a peak of number two on 27 October, in his 20th week of presence, just behind UB40's hit " Kingston Town". It remained for 17 weeks in the top ten and 27 weeks on the chart, making the song one of the most successful hits of the year. The single was certified Gold disc by the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...

, the French certifier, for over 400,000 copies sold.. ''Select "Thierry Hazard" from the drop-down menu and click "OK"''. On the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, "Le Jerk !" debuted at number 97 on 14 July 1990, reached a peak of number 14 in the 18th week and fell off the top 100 after 23 weeks of presence. It ranked at number 50 on the year-end chart.

Track listings

* CD single, CD single Europe (Thierry Hazard – "Le Jerk !") (accessdate: 2 September 2021). # "Le Jerk !" — 3:58 # "Goodbye Mary" — 4:19 * 7" single, 7" single Europe (Thierry Hazard – "Le Jerk !") (accessdate: 2 September 2021). # "Le Jerk !" — 3:58 # "Goodbye Mary" — 4:19 * 12" maxi, 12" maxi France (Thierry Hazard – "Le Jerk !") (accessdate: 2 September 2021). # "Le Jerk !" (remix club) — 8:11 # "Le Jerk !" — 3:58 * Promo 7" single - Spain, Promo 7" single Spain (Thierry Hazard – "Le Jerk !") (accessdate: 2 September 2021). # "Le Jerk !" — 3:58

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerk, Le 1989 debut singles Thierry Hazard songs 1989 songs CBS Records singles