Henri Markarian, better known as Marc Aryan (14 November 1926 in Valence, France – 30 November 1985 in

Ohain, Belgium Ohain (; wa, Ohin) is a Belgian village and district of the municipality of Lasne, Wallonia in the province of Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's ...

), was a French-Belgian singer, songwriter, and record producer of Armenian descent born as a French citizen, who also acquired Belgian citizenship after a long residency in the country.

Beginnings

Marc Aryan was born to

Lebanese Armenian The Armenians in Lebanon ( hy, Լիբանանահայեր, translit=Libananahayer; ar, الأرمن في لبنان; french: Arméniens du Liban) are Lebanese citizens of Armenian descent. There has been an Armenian presence in Lebanon for centu ...

parents who came from

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city ha ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

.The Belgian Pop and Rock Archives
/ref> He studied music and piano in Valence, and started writing his own songs. In 1957, he left Valence to

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 ...

for better musical opportunities. In 1963, he went to

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 ...

where one of his sisters ran a nightclub in

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

on the coast. He tried his songs on the dance routines at the club gaining great favor. Marc Aryan decided to settle permanently in Belgium, first in Waterloo and eventually to Ohain.

Career

Henri Markarian initially released materials under the personal label Markal. He then changed the name of the label to Malatya where his parents came from. He recorded several songs for an album released in Brussels. With initial success, Henri Markarian decided to adopt the stage name Marc Aryan (derived from pronunciation of his Armenian family name Markarian). His singles became very popular in Belgian francophone market and in France. His single "Katy" that was released in 1964–1965, topped both Wallonia and Flanders Singles Charts becoming one of the top selling singles for 1965. He made sold-out concerts throughout Belgium. Other successful singles by him included "Volage Volage" (20 weeks in the Belgian Top 10), "Un Petit Slow" (again a #1 hit), "Angelina", "Giorgina", "Parce que je t'aime", "Si j'etais sur..", "Quand je te prends dans mes bras", "Qu'un peu d'amour", "Mon petit navire", "La chanson du viel aveugle" and "Tu es numéro 1 au hit-parade de mon cœur". ;International success After the successful years 1964 and 1965 locally, the years 1966 and 1969 proved to be his most prosperous years internationally. Marc Aryan enjoyed great popularity in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, particularly in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, where he also sang some songs in

Armenian language Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken t ...

and in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. He had some commercial success in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the 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 one of the thirtee ...

, Canada's predominantly francophone province. Marc Aryan visited

where his parents originated from. His success was huge after his release of the oriental-themed "Istanbul", one of his best known hits that became an instant classic in Turkey. He also released a number of re-arrangements of his biggest hits in

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

, following the example of famous European artists who had done the same like

Salvatore Adamo Salvatore Adamo (born November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual ...

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and

Peppino di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

. Turkish language versions in his album ''Istanbul'da'' include 9 songs including "Yalancısın", "Dünya Dönüyor", "Kalbin Yok Mu?" and others. The Turkish lyrics were mostly written by Fecri Ebcioğlu. In 1968, he also visited the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

where he sang for tens of thousands of fans in Moscow and other cities filling stadiums. Marc Aryan also eventually visited his homeland

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

for very successful concert tour insisting to sing some songs in Armenian including the famous "Yerevan" dedicated to the Armenian capital.

Markal Record Label

Marc Aryan founded his own record label named Markal where he released many of his songs. He also founded a music publishing house.

Katy Studios and production work

Upon his return in 1969, he established a music studio he named Katy after his successful single "Katy". Many renowned artists recorded albums in Marc Aryan's studios including

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

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recorded his successful hit "I Love You" in Marc Aryan's studio.

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

recorded his album ''

Midnight Love ''Midnight Love'' is the seventeenth studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distributio ...

'' in Katy Studios in 1981. The album went on to earn Gaye two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Personal life

Born in an ethnic Armenian family in 1926, he was the third of seven siblings. He had great affinity for languages, and was able to speak several language (up to 9). His love for music started very early to the detriment of school. He initially helped with his father's business in selling Middle Eastern food. He fell very ill while he was just 18, and left the father's business and later on, decided to concentrate on music, particularly finding success after moving to Belgium. Marc Aryan died in 1985 in Belgium from a cardiac arrest. He was just 59. He had written more than 200 songs. There had been a confusion whether he was born in 1935 instead, but the tombstone confirms the year of birth as 1926. His best songs were released in a double CD collection in 1974 again hitting the Top 10 of sales. In 1997, a tribute concert entitled "Hommage à Marc Aryan" was held in Schaerbeek, in which his most well-known songs were interpreted by contemporary singers including Marka, Perry Rose, Dominique A, Jean-Luc of Sttellla, Be Plouvier, Zop Hophop and actor Benoit Poelvoorde.

Discography

(in alphabetical order) ;French language * Adieu joli Luxembourg * Adieu mon bel amour *Agnes * Allo c'est moi * Amène ta semaine * Angelina * Arrête, arrête ton cinéma * Au fond de tes yeux * Ballade * Bête à manger du foin * Bien sûr, bien sûr * Bonjour mon village, bonjour mon pays * C'est bien dommage * C'est impossible * C'est la vie * C'est le temps * Car tu l'aimes * Difficile à vivre * Gino * Giorgina * Grosses lunettes sur un petit bout de nez * Il y a des jours * Istanbul * J'aime (les petites femmes) * J'aimerais sortir un soir avec vous * J'aimerais viellir avec toi * Jamais je ne dirai * Je ne puis donner d'avantage * Je t'invite * Katy * L'amour est une prison * La chanson du viel aveugle * La lettre * La roue de secours * La seule chose que tu n'as pas ratée * La sirène * Le clocher * Le coeur au chomage * Le livre de ma vie * Le nombril du monde * Le téléphone * Les melons * Les violons d'Albi * Ma loulou * Ma petite chanson * Ma vie recommence avec toi * Ma vie sans toi * Marie Laurence * Mes blanches montagnes * Mon petit navire * Mon village * Numéro 1 au hit-parade * Nous * Parce que je t'aime * Pas comme les autres * Qu'un peu d'amour * Quand je te prends dans mes bras * Que c'est bête la vie * Sans amour, on n'est rien du tout * Sans toi * Si * Si demain * Si j'avais su * Si j'étais le fils d'un roi * Si j'etais sur * Si un jour * Toi je te garde * Toi ma bohème * Tous ces voiliers * Toute ma vie (tu es toute ma vie) * Tu as beau me dire * Tu dis chéri à tout le monde * Tu es no. 1 au hit-parade de mon cœur * Tu es une petite fille * Tu ne sais pas * Un amour * Un jour * Un paradis * Un petit mari * Un petit slow * Un peu naif * Volage Volage ;Armenian language * Yerevan ;Turkish language (French original title in parenthesis) * Dünya dönüyor tlı karınca- (Volage Volage) * Moda yolu - (Ma Loulou) * Doğum günün kutlu olsun - (Feliz Cumpleanos) * Mersi - (Volage Volage) * Ayşe, Fatma, Semra ski Aşıklar* Kalbin yok mu? * Yalancısın - (Si j'etais sur..) * Nasıl evlenirsin bu lisanla (Giorgina) * Kimdir bu sevgili (Un Petit Slow) * Dinle yavrucuğum (Tu es une petite fille) ;Collection albums *1994: ''41 succès inoubliables'' (Ariane/AMC Records) *1998: ''L'essentiels 21 succès'' (Ariane/AMC Records)

References

External links

The site Didierpassion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aryan, Marc French emigrants to Belgium 20th-century Belgian male singers 20th-century Armenian male singers People from Valence, Drôme French people of Armenian descent 1926 births 1985 deaths 20th-century French male singers