Henri Markarian, better known as Marc Aryan (14 November 1926 in Valence, France – 30 November 1985 in

Ohain, Belgium Ohain (; ) is a Belgian village and district of the municipality of Lasne, Wallonia in the province of Walloon Brabant. History In the Middle Ages, the village of Ohain was part of a seigneury of the Duchy of Brabant. Duke Jean II transferred t ...

), was a French-Belgian singer, songwriter, and record producer of Armenian descent born as a French citizen, who also acquired Belgian citizenship after a long residency in the country.

Beginnings

Marc Aryan was born to Lebanese Armenian parents who came from

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

.The Belgian Pop and Rock Archives
/ref> He studied music and piano in Valence, and started writing his own songs. In 1957, he left Valence to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for better musical opportunities. In 1963, he went to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

where one of his sisters ran a nightclub in

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

on the coast. He tried his songs on the dance routines at the club gaining great favor. Marc Aryan decided to settle permanently in Belgium, first in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

and eventually to Ohain.

Career

Henri Markarian initially released materials under the personal label Markal. He then changed the name of the label to Malatya where his parents came from. He recorded several songs for an album released in Brussels. With initial success, Henri Markarian decided to adopt the stage name Marc Aryan (derived from pronunciation of his Armenian family name Markarian). His singles became very popular in Belgian francophone market and in France. His single "Katy" that was released in 1964–1965, topped both Wallonia and Flanders Singles Charts becoming one of the top selling singles for 1965. He made sold-out concerts throughout Belgium. Other successful singles by him included "Volage Volage" (20 weeks in the Belgian Top 10), "Un Petit Slow" (again a #1 hit), "Angelina", "Giorgina", "Parce que je t'aime", "Si j'etais sur..", "Quand je te prends dans mes bras", "Qu'un peu d'amour", "Mon petit navire", "La chanson du viel aveugle" and "Tu es numéro 1 au hit-parade de mon cœur". ;International success After the successful years 1964 and 1965 locally, the years 1966 and 1969 proved to be his most prosperous years internationally. Marc Aryan enjoyed great popularity in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, particularly in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, where he also sang some songs in

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

and in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. He had some commercial success in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada's predominantly francophone province. Marc Aryan visited

where his parents originated from. His success was huge after his release of the oriental-themed "Istanbul", one of his best known hits that became an instant classic in Turkey. He also released a number of re-arrangements of his biggest hits in

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

, following the example of famous European artists who had done the same like

Salvatore Adamo Salvatore Adamo (November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer, and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citiz ...

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and

Peppino di Capri Giuseppe Faiella (born 27 July 1939), professionally known as Peppino di Capri ("Peppino" is a diminutive of "Giuseppe" and "di Capri" means "of Capri"), is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. ...

. Turkish language versions in his album ''Istanbul'da'' include 9 songs including "Yalancısın", "Dünya Dönüyor", "Kalbin Yok Mu?" and others. The Turkish lyrics were mostly written by Fecri Ebcioğlu. In 1968, he also visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

where he sang for tens of thousands of fans in Moscow and other cities filling stadiums. Marc Aryan also eventually visited his homeland

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

for very successful concert tour insisting to sing some songs in Armenian including the famous "Yerevan" dedicated to the Armenian capital.

Markal Record Label

Marc Aryan founded his own record label named Markal where he released many of his songs. He also founded a music publishing house.

Katy Studios and production work

Upon his return in 1969, he established a music studio he named Katy after his successful single "Katy". Many renowned artists recorded albums in Marc Aryan's studios including

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

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Danyel Gérard Danyel Gérard (born Gérard Daniel Kherlakian; 7 March 1939) is a French pop singer and composer. Life and work Gérard was born in Paris, France to an Armenian father and a Corsican mother, but grew up mainly in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. In ...

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recorded his successful hit "I Love You" in Marc Aryan's studio.

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

recorded his album ''

Midnight Love ''Midnight Love'' (1982) is the sixteenth studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye and the final album to be released during his lifetime. He signed with the label Columbia in March 1982 following his exit from Motown. ...

'' in Katy Studios in 1981. The album went on to earn Gaye two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Personal life

Born in an ethnic Armenian family in 1926, he was the third of seven siblings. He had great affinity for languages, and was able to speak several language (up to 9). His love for music started very early to the detriment of school. He initially helped with his father's business in selling Middle Eastern food. He fell very ill while he was just 18, and left the father's business and later on, decided to concentrate on music, particularly finding success after moving to Belgium. Marc Aryan died in 1985 in Belgium from a cardiac arrest. He was just 59. He had written more than 200 songs. There had been a confusion whether he was born in 1935 instead, but the tombstone confirms the year of birth as 1926. His best songs were released in a double CD collection in 1974 again hitting the Top 10 of sales. In 1997, a tribute concert entitled "Hommage à Marc Aryan" was held in Schaerbeek, in which his most well-known songs were interpreted by contemporary singers including Marka, Perry Rose, Dominique A, Jean-Luc of Sttellla, Be Plouvier, Zop Hophop and actor Benoit Poelvoorde.

Discography

(in alphabetical order) ;French language * Adieu joli Luxembourg * Adieu mon bel amour *Agnes * Allo c'est moi * Amène ta semaine * Angelina * Arrête, arrête ton cinéma * Au fond de tes yeux * Ballade * Bête à manger du foin * Bien sûr, bien sûr * Bonjour mon village, bonjour mon pays * C'est bien dommage * C'est impossible * C'est la vie * C'est le temps * Car tu l'aimes * Difficile à vivre * Gino * Giorgina * Grosses lunettes sur un petit bout de nez * Il y a des jours * Istanbul * J'aime (les petites femmes) * J'aimerais sortir un soir avec vous * J'aimerais viellir avec toi * Jamais je ne dirai * Je ne puis donner d'avantage * Je t'invite * Katy * L'amour est une prison * La chanson du viel aveugle * La lettre * La roue de secours * La seule chose que tu n'as pas ratée * La sirène * Le clocher * Le coeur au chomage * Le livre de ma vie * Le nombril du monde * Le téléphone * Les melons * Les violons d'Albi * Ma loulou * Ma petite chanson * Ma vie recommence avec toi * Ma vie sans toi * Marie Laurence * Mes blanches montagnes * Mon petit navire * Mon village * Numéro 1 au hit-parade * Nous * Parce que je t'aime * Pas comme les autres * Qu'un peu d'amour * Quand je te prends dans mes bras * Que c'est bête la vie * Sans amour, on n'est rien du tout * Sans toi * Si * Si demain * Si j'avais su * Si j'étais le fils d'un roi * Si j'etais sur * Si un jour * Toi je te garde * Toi ma bohème * Tous ces voiliers * Toute ma vie (tu es toute ma vie) * Tu as beau me dire * Tu dis chéri à tout le monde * Tu es no. 1 au hit-parade de mon cœur * Tu es une petite fille * Tu ne sais pas * Un amour * Un jour * Un paradis * Un petit mari * Un petit slow * Un peu naif * Volage Volage ;Armenian language * Yerevan ;Turkish language (French original title in parentheses) * Dünya dönüyor tlı karınca- (Volage Volage) * Moda yolu - (Ma Loulou) * Doğum günün kutlu olsun - (Feliz Cumpleanos) * Mersi - (Volage Volage) * Ayşe, Fatma, Semra

ski Aşıklar Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can ...

* Kalbin yok mu? * Yalancısın - (Si j'etais sur..) * Nasıl evlenirsin bu lisanla (Giorgina) * Kimdir bu sevgili (Un Petit Slow) * Dinle yavrucuğum (Tu es une petite fille) ;Collection albums *1994: ''41 succès inoubliables'' (Ariane/AMC Records) *1998: ''L'essentiels 21 succès'' (Ariane/AMC Records)

References

External links

The site Didierpassion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aryan, Marc French emigrants to Belgium 20th-century Belgian male singers 20th-century Belgian singers 20th-century Armenian male singers People from Valence, Drôme French people of Armenian descent 1926 births 1985 deaths 20th-century French male singers French-language singers of Belgium Turkish-language singers of Belgium Armenian-language singers Armenian-language singers of France Turkish-language singers of France Turkish people of Armenian descent