Biography
Alain Souchon, born Alain Édouard Kienast on 27 May 1944, is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and appeared in seven films.
Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Souchon holds dual French-Swiss nationality through his mother's Swiss heritage. His family relocated to France six months after his birth. At 15, he lost his father in an accident. His mother sent him to a French college in England, but registration issues led him to remain in London and work. Upon returning to France, he began playing guitar, inspired by English and American music. In 1970, he married and had his first son while performing in cabarets and bars in Paris's Rive Gauche.
In 1971, Souchon signed his first contract with Pathe-Marconi but did not achieve success. Encouraged by RCA's artistic director Bob Socquet, he performed his song "L'amour 1830" at the Rose D'Or of Antibes contest. He then started collaborating with composer and arranger Laurent Voulzy; although they wrote together, each released albums under their own name. Souchon's first hit came in 1974 with "J'ai 10 ans," from the album of the same title.
He continued releasing albums and, in 1978, composed the theme for François Truffaut's 1979 film Love on the Run (L'amour en fuite). Around this time, his second son was born. In 1980, he performed at l'Olympia and began acting, notably starring in the 1983 film L'été Meurtrier. After the album On avance, he left RCA and signed with Virgin Records at age 40. In 1989, "La beauté de Ava Gardner" was named the best song of the year by the Victoires de la Musique.
Souchon's biggest hit, "Foule sentimentale," came from the 1993 million-selling album C'est déjà ça. At the 20th anniversary of the Victoires de la Musique in 1995, he won the award for best "Chanson Originale" for "Foule Sentimentale." In 1996, he received the "Prix Vincent Scotto" from SACEM (Société des Auteurs Compositeurs) for "Sous les Jupes des Filles." In 2005, Souchon returned with the highly successful album La vie Théodore, featuring the hit single "...Et si en plus y'a personne.
