Jean-Jacques Goldman

Jean-Jacques Goldman (pronounced: [ʒɑ̃ ʒak ɡɔldˈman]), born on 11 October 1951 in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is a French singer-songwriter, producer and lead guitarist, working mainly in variety and pop rock.

After playing in the group Red Mountain Gospellers, he founded another, "The Phalansters", then joined Taï Phong in 1975, thanks to "vocal abilities in the high register, which fitted their music perfectly". Drawn to studio work and singing in English, the group released its first album in 1975, marked by the track Sister Jane. He met the Franco-Welsh Michael Jones, who came to replace him when the group went on tour.

However, it was fundamentally his solo career that established him as one of the most popular singers of his generation, with tracks such as Il suffira d'un signe (1981), Quand la musique est bonne (1982), Je te donne (1985) and Là-bas (1987). From 1990 to 1995, he was part of the trio Fredericks Goldman Jones with Michael Jones and the American Carole Fredericks, before resuming a solo career, which he paused in 2002.

In total, depending on the source, he has sold between 28.5 million and more than 30 million records under his own name. All his studio albums (nine) and live albums (six) released from the early 1980s onwards have at least platinum certification (300,000 copies) in France. Eight of his albums have been certified diamond (i.e. more than a million copies each): seven studio albums (including two under the name Fredericks Goldman Jones) and one compilation. A record that still stands in 2025. Eight of his singles are certified gold, including seven released in the 1980s for more than 500,000 copies each. Three other tracks from the 1980s are certified silver (more than 250,000 copies each). The song Je te donne, released in 1985, is his biggest commercial success in France, with platinum certification (more than a million copies sold).

Beyond his own songs, Jean-Jacques Goldman writes and composes for many other artists, including Johnny Hallyday (albums Gang and Lorada) and Céline Dion (several collaborations including D'eux, the best-selling French-language album to date), as well as film soundtracks and television show theme tunes.

Jean-Jacques Goldman has also been considerably involved in humanitarian and charitable causes, notably Les Restos du Cœur, through Les Enfoirés, of which he is one of the founders. A patron for six years, he remained a member until 2016, the year in which he announced his withdrawal from the troupe.

Surveys published in Le Journal du Dimanche and Le Parisien named him the favourite public figure of the French fourteen times, up to two decades after he ended his musical career in 2004. In the 2000s, he had in particular asked to be removed from the list, out of respect for Abbé Pierre, long at the top of this ranking, whom he again succeeded from July 2013 to January 2016, then from December 2017 to December 2024. He was also voted the French public's favourite public figure in an Ifop survey for LCI and TF1 in December 2025.