522 Johnny Hallyday (1943-2017) “Souvenirs, Souvenirs” 1960 and “Viens Danser Le Twist (Let’s Twist Again)” 1961

Born Jean-Philippe Smet in Paris. “What first catapulted Johnny to fame was homegrown fare—Souvenirs, Souvenirs and the romantic Pourquoi Cet Amour, released in June 1960 and making Hallyday a hot item. His French rock worked, he fell on the ground, banked his guitar, sang with urgent vibrato, was handsome, blond, tall… He always tipped his cap to Elvis, Chuck Berry, and other ‘sources’; but he also emulated with original verve. As in seventeenth-century France, M. Hallyday made an art of it!” (Barnett Singer, Contemporary Review, Sept. 2004). 

Johnny Hallyday “Souvenirs, Souvenirs”

Johnny Hallyday “Viens Danser Le Twist”