Although at times he's struggled to move beyond his early reputation as a
"chanteur de charme" (a lightweight singer for women), Julien Clerc has had one
of the lengthiest and most successful careers in French pop. Born to wealthy
parents on October 4, 1947, Clerc grew up listening to his father's classical
music and French singers such as Edith Piaf and Georges Brassens. He began
playing piano at 6 and by 13 he was obsessively learning music from the radio.
Over the course of his secondary and higher education, Clerc met two of his most
frequent songwriters, Maurice Vallet and E...