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Joseph Ira Dassin (; November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter. In his career spanning sixteen years (1964–1980), he enjoyed numerous successes in
Moving to France, Dassin worked as a technician for his father and appeared as an actor in supporting roles, among others in three movies directed by his father, including '' Topkapi'' (1964) in which he played the role of Josef. He met his future wife Maryse Massiéra in Paris in 1963.
On December 26, 1964, Dassin signed with CBS Records, making him the first French-language singer to be signed with an American record label.
By the early 1970s, Dassin's songs were at the top of the charts in France, and he became immensely popular there. He recorded songs in German, Spanish, Italian, and Greek, as well as French and English. Amongst his most popular songs are " Les Champs-Élysées" (Originally "Waterloo Road") (1969), " Salut les amoureux" (originally " City of New Orleans") (1973), " L'Été indien" (1975), " Et si tu n'existais pas" (1975), and "À toi" (1976).
Dassin married Maryse Massiéra in Paris on January 18, 1966. Their son Joshua was born two and a half months early on September 12, 1973, and died five days later. Overcome by grief, Joe became deeply depressed. Despite all their efforts, their marriage did not survive. In 1977, one year after their move to their newly built home in Feucherolles, just outside Paris, they divorced.
On January 14, 1978, Dassin married Christine Delvaux in Cotignac. Their first son, Jonathan, was born on 14 September 1978; and their second son, Julien, arrived on March 22, 1980. Christine died in December 1995.
Various Artists: ''À toi, Joe Dassin''
lescharts.com. Accessed 3 July 2023. Artists interpreting Joe Dassin songs on the album included Ycare, Axelle Red, Les Frangines, Trois Cafés Gourmands, Patrick Fiori, Kids United Nouvelle Génération, Madame Monsieur, and Camélia Jordana.
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassin, Joe 1938 births 1980 deaths American folk guitarists American male guitarists American pop guitarists American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American male singer-songwriters American expatriates in Switzerland American emigrants to France French male guitarists French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters French people of American descent French people of Austrian-Jewish descent French people of Russian-Jewish descent French people of Polish-Jewish descent French expatriates in Switzerland French-language singers of the United States Jewish American musicians Jewish singers Singers from New York City University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni CBS Records artists Columbia Records artists RCA Records artists Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American male singers Hopwood Award winners International School of Geneva alumni Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Alumni of Institut Le Rosey American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent French people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent English-language singers from France German-language singers of France German-language singers of the United States Spanish-language singers of France Spanish-language singers of the United States Italian-language singers of France Italian-language singers of the United States Modern Greek-language singers Modern Greek-language singers of the United States
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the French-speaking world, as well as singing in languages other than French. He had a career in Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In total, he sold nearly 25 million records worldwide. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin.
Early life
Dassin was born inBrooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
to American film director Jules Dassin (1911–2008) and Béatrice Launer (1913–1994), a New York-born violinist, who after graduating from a Hebrew High School in the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
studied with the British violinist Harold Berkely at the Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
of Music. Both of his parents were mostly of Ukrainian-Jewish extraction from Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
, Sataniv and Buchach
Buchach (, ; ; or ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Strypa River (a tributary of the Dniester) in Chortkiv Raion of Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) of Western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Buchach urban h ...
.
Dassin lived in New York City and Los Angeles until his father fell victim to the Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...
in 1950, at which time his family moved to Europe. Between the ages of ten and fifteen Dassin changed schools eleven times. He studied at, among other places, the International School of Geneva and the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, and finished his secondary education in Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
. Dassin moved back to the United States, where he attended the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
from 1957 to 1963, winning an undergraduate Hopwood Award for fiction in 1958 and earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1961 and a Master of Arts in 1963, both in Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
. He became a stepson of Greek actress, activist and Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri following his father's second marriage in 1966.
Career
Moving to France, Dassin worked as a technician for his father and appeared as an actor in supporting roles, among others in three movies directed by his father, including '' Topkapi'' (1964) in which he played the role of Josef. He met his future wife Maryse Massiéra in Paris in 1963.
On December 26, 1964, Dassin signed with CBS Records, making him the first French-language singer to be signed with an American record label.
By the early 1970s, Dassin's songs were at the top of the charts in France, and he became immensely popular there. He recorded songs in German, Spanish, Italian, and Greek, as well as French and English. Amongst his most popular songs are " Les Champs-Élysées" (Originally "Waterloo Road") (1969), " Salut les amoureux" (originally " City of New Orleans") (1973), " L'Été indien" (1975), " Et si tu n'existais pas" (1975), and "À toi" (1976).
Cinema
Joe Dassin appeared in the following movies: * 1957: Benos in '' He Who Must Die'', by Jules Dassin * 1958: Nico in '' The Law'', by Jules Dassin * 1964: Joseph in '' Topkapi'', by Jules Dassin * 1965: A police inspector in '' Lady L'', by Peter Ustinov * 1965: Janos Adler in '' Nick Carter and Red Club'', by Jean-Paul SavignacPersonal life
Dassin married Maryse Massiéra in Paris on January 18, 1966. Their son Joshua was born two and a half months early on September 12, 1973, and died five days later. Overcome by grief, Joe became deeply depressed. Despite all their efforts, their marriage did not survive. In 1977, one year after their move to their newly built home in Feucherolles, just outside Paris, they divorced.
On January 14, 1978, Dassin married Christine Delvaux in Cotignac. Their first son, Jonathan, was born on 14 September 1978; and their second son, Julien, arrived on March 22, 1980. Christine died in December 1995.
Death
Dassin died from a heart attack during a vacation toTahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
on August 20, 1980, aged 41. He was eating lunch with family and friends at the restaurant ''Chez Michel et Éliane'' in Papeete
Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...
when he suddenly slumped in his chair, unconscious. A doctor who was also eating at the restaurant performed CPR on him, but Dassin died at the restaurant. The only ambulance in Papeete was unavailable at the time and took 40 minutes to arrive. His body was returned to the United States and is interred in the Beth Olam section of Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...
in Hollywood, California.
Tributes
In 2020, many established artists paid tribute to Joe Dassin songs in a covers / tribute album ''À toi, Joe Dassin''. The album peaked at No. 44 in the French SNEP Albums chart. It also charted in Belgium peaking at No. 26 in the country'sUltratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...
albums francophone chart and also peaking at No. 4 in the ''Swiss Hitparade
The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.
The Swiss charts include:
* Singles Top 75 (released since 1968)
* Singles T ...
'' (Albums Chart).lescharts.com. Accessed 3 July 2023. Artists interpreting Joe Dassin songs on the album included Ycare, Axelle Red, Les Frangines, Trois Cafés Gourmands, Patrick Fiori, Kids United Nouvelle Génération, Madame Monsieur, and Camélia Jordana.
Discography
References
External links
*Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassin, Joe 1938 births 1980 deaths American folk guitarists American male guitarists American pop guitarists American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American male singer-songwriters American expatriates in Switzerland American emigrants to France French male guitarists French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters French people of American descent French people of Austrian-Jewish descent French people of Russian-Jewish descent French people of Polish-Jewish descent French expatriates in Switzerland French-language singers of the United States Jewish American musicians Jewish singers Singers from New York City University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni CBS Records artists Columbia Records artists RCA Records artists Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American male singers Hopwood Award winners International School of Geneva alumni Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Alumni of Institut Le Rosey American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent French people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent English-language singers from France German-language singers of France German-language singers of the United States Spanish-language singers of France Spanish-language singers of the United States Italian-language singers of France Italian-language singers of the United States Modern Greek-language singers Modern Greek-language singers of the United States