Pascal Sevran

Known for his defense of French chanson on television, Pascal Sevran was first a lyricist and novelist, before singing and recording himself. Born in Paris on October 16, 1945, Pascal Sevran's real name was Jean-Claude Jouhaud. He became interested in singing at an early age, and worked at various odd jobs before meeting the writer and philosopher Emmanuel Berl, who introduced him to his wife, the singer and teacher Mireille (née Hartuch), who taught him on television in the program Le Petit Conservatoire de Mireille. Introduced to the world of show business, in the 1960s he put his pen to work for artists such as Mireille Mathieu, Lucky Blondo, Michèle Torr, Georgette Lemaire, Zizi Jeanmaire and above all Dalida, for whom he wrote the hits "Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans" and "Gigi l'amoroso", among others. Then a journalist with Ici Paris magazine, Pascal Sevran won the Prix Roger-Nimier in 1979 for his first novel, Le Passé supplémentaire, followed by Vichy dancing (1980) and Un garçon de France (1982), adapted for the cinema, and Tous les bonheurs sont provisoires (1995). In 1982, he embarked on a career as a television presenter, hosting the variety show La Chance aux chansons for seventeen years (1984-2000), giving exposure to new talents such as Patricia Kaas, Patrick Bruel and Lynda Lemay. Cancelled by the public broadcaster, the program was brought back to life in the face of viewer protests, and successively changed its name to Chanter la vie and Entrée des artistes until 2007. A close friend of President François Mitterrand, Pascal Sevran began a career as a performer on his own show, then in the studio with the albums Succès Français (1991), À la Française (1993), Surprise Party (1996), Chanter la Vie (1996), Viva la Vie Va (1997) and La Vie Continue (2002), in which he covered classics and recorded new material. Suffering from double lung cancer, he died in Limoges on May 9, 2008, aged 62. The following year saw the release of the compilation Une Vie en Chansons.

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