He's just waiting for a super chick to go on vacation by the sea...

Nostra Dam
Aug 7, 2020
10 min read

Updated: Nov 22, 2024

Michel Jonasz is a French singer-songwriter who left school at the age of 15 to find his way in the artistic field.

All areas interest him, whether it be music, theater or painting, but it is a pianist's offer that will change everything.

He thus joined the group "Vigon et Les Lemons" in 1965 and then the group "King Set" in 1966. His first compositions brought him great esteem, whether it was "Apesanteur in 1967 or "Jezebel" in 1968.

His real solo career began that same year when he released a 45 rpm under the pseudo Michel Kingset. Then another this time under his real name in 1970.

But it was 1974 that kicked him into the limelight with the release of two huge hits, "Dites moi" and "Super nana. Both extracts from his first album "Super nana".

In 1975 the album "Changez tout" was released, an album that produced the Single of the same name but also and above all the magnificent title "Les vacances au bord de la mer".

Another magnificent title in 1976 with "Je voulais te dire que je t'attends". The singer connects successes at a phenomenal speed.

A year later in 1977, the artist's name album was released with the flagship title "Du blues du blues du blues". Followed in 1978 by the album "Guigui" which produced the excellent "En vl’a du slow en vl’a".

Trou D'air in 1979 with the album "Les années 80 commencent" which will go relatively unnoticed.

We will have to wait two years and the year 1981 to see the release of the album "La nouvelle vie", album from which will be extracted one of the flagship pieces of the 1980s on the French side, namely the enormous "Joueur de Blues" . After a slump, the singer once again becomes an essential part of the musical landscape.

New success in 1983 with the release of the album "Tristesse" which will be remembered mainly from the Single "Lucille".

And the ultimate consecration came in 1985 with the release of the flagship album "Uni vers l'uni" from which another huge hit was extracted, namely "La boite de Jazz, a record that put France in a trance. Album which also contains another hit with "La FM qui s'est spécialisée Funky".

New - and last success - in 1988 with the release of the album "La fabuleuse histoire de Mr. Swing" from which the Single of the same name was extracted.

Other albums will be released later, but the audience's appeal and the artist's level of inspiration will only decrease year after year. The artist then oriented himself towards cinema and TV films, something he still practices today.

Be that as it may, Michel Jonasz will have profoundly and lastingly marked the 70s and 80s with pieces of anthology, both in emotion and in the dance side, something rare at this level.

To discover or rediscover...

Discography (among others ...) :

70s Decade :

Adieu la terre 1970
Mon Ève 1971
La rencontre 1972
Attends 1973
Le bleu du ciel 1973
Dites moi 1974
Super nana 1974
Changez tout 1975
Le roi des fous et des oiseaux 1975
Les vacances au bord de la mer 1975
Je voulais te dire que je t’attends 1976
Danse papa danse 1977
Golden Gate 1978
Du blues du blues du blues 1978
En v’la du slow , en v’la 1978

80s Decade :

Les wagonnets 1980
Joueur de blues 1981
J’t’aimais tellement que j’t’aime encore 1981
Lord have mercy 1982
Minuit sonne 1983
Lucille 1983
Une seule journée passée sans elle 1983
Ray Charles 1984
La boite de jazz 1984
La FM qui s’est spécialisée funky 1985
Unis vers l’uni 1986
La fabuleuse histoire de Mister Swing 1988
Poussy 1988
La chanson du producteur 1989

90s Decade :

I'm leaving home mama 1990
Lune 1992
Arthur 1992
Groove baby groove 1992
Triste et bleu 1993
L'air que l'on respire 1996
Extra-lucide 1996
C'est toi 1997

2000s Decade :

Le scat 2000
Le boléro 2000
La rue du bon vieux temps 2000
Juste une bouffée d'air pur 2002
Doucement 2002
Où vont les rêves ? 2003
Le tango nu 2005
Le diner s'achève 2005
Barcelone 2005
Fernand 2007
Leo 2007
La chanson des vieux amants 2007

2010s Decade :

Les hommes sont toujours des enfants 2011
Avant 2011
Paris by 2011
On était bien tous les 2 2019
La maison de retraite 2019
Traverser la mer à la nage 2019

2020s Decade :

Fais du blues fais du rock and roll 2023
Chanter le blues 2023
J'avais mis 'Rip It Up' sur la platine 2023

Tracks :

1970 ... the very first steps of a very young artist then totally unknown. Who would imagine at this stage that he would become a few years later one of the greatest French singers of the time ...

1971 ... it is clear that there is still a little work to be done to gain access to the big leagues but it is clear that the potential is real and just waiting to be expressed !

1972 ... the style obviously evolves. An inexorable rise in power that will soon produce exceptional titles ...

1973 ... it won't be for this time yet, but we are getting closer to the big takeoff. And when the moment arrives, it will push hard, to say the least !

1974 ... the title of the revelation, the real one. A WONDER which will remain like one of the most beautiful songs of the decade 70. And which immediately shows all the potential of the artist !

1974 ... an exceptional year 1974 which propels the artist to heights he never even suspected existed. His career now spins at the speed of light !

1975 ... still in Intimist mode, a field in which he undoubtedly excels. And again, the best is yet to come ...

1975 ... an intermediate title that will go somewhat unnoticed. It must be said that being enclosed between several exceptional titles, it is particularly difficult to exist ...

1975 ... 2 new WONDERS will follow one another, starting with this one. An extraordinary inspiration that makes the artist one of the best of his generation

1976 ... the WONDER of the WONDER ! What will surely remain as one of his most emblematic titles and one of the most beautiful songs of the last 30 years. An ode to the suffering of love sublimated by a melody with lyricism of incredible depth

1977 ... he alternates with a mastery that is to say the least surprising, an exceptional Intimist title and a totally wacky title. One of the very few who can do that, that's for sure !

1978 ... in jazzy-crazy mode. A style that he rode during the 1970s and which would become his main factory brand during the 1980s. With exceptional pieces to boot ...

1978 ... radical change of tone with this much more swaying track. A certain quality but far, very far from that of the previous jewels

1978 ... back in Intimist mode with this very well made Ultimate Slow. We find him in a register that suits him much better...for now

1980 ... given the level of success achieved during the 1970s, we say to ourselves that the 1980s may not be the most favorable for it. Oh no, it is even quite the opposite which will occur !

1981 ... a change of decade which will rhyme with sudden acceleration of the tempo. And this time, it will work godly fire. Starting with this title which will undoubtedly remain as one of its most emblematic titles. MAS-TER-FUL !

1981 ... we will not do him again, he returns once again to the 'emotional' register. But as he is undoubtedly one of the best in this field, we are not going to complain, far from it ...

1982 ... more and more slow-paced-fast-paced mixed tracks. He can't really make up his mind. Difficult to fight against its primary influences ...

1983 ... an 80s decade which saw him alternate all styles with obvious mastery. At the height of his possibilities, everything he touches immediately turns to gold ...

1983 ... which will surely remain as his most successful Ultimate Slow. A WONDER of finesse and softness that literally floats in the air. Simply MA-GIC !

1983 ... a year 1983 which saw him once again reach an incredible level of inspiration in the 'emotional' register, identical to what he had known in the mid-1970s. Expertise in this area almost unique in it's genre !

1984 ... end of the sweetness parenthesis. It is clear that the year 1984 will not resemble the year 1983 in any way. Starting with this title which alternates slow and fast rhythm and which contrasts radically with what happened previously ...

1984 ... total reversal of the situation with this time a very clear acceleration of the tempo for a HUGE title which will surely remain as one of the biggest dance hits of the decade. All on a completely improbable Jazzy basis in the mid-1980s. A perfectly successful risky bet that allows the artist to be definitively consecrated as one of the greatest French artists of the decade and of the twentieth century

1985 ... as he took a liking to Dance hits, he put the cover directly behind. Admittedly, this title will not have the same level of success as the previous one but largely holds up the road anyway ...

1986 ... after the ode to amorous suffering, here comes the humanist ode against a background of existentialist claim. MAG-NI-FI-CENT !

1988 ... we constantly alternate between the slow and the fast, between the pure emotional and the totally unbridled. Rarely has an artist in France played so hard to confuse the issue ...

1988 ... once again the proof with this sumptuous ballad, little known, and yet well worth the detour !

1989 ... the end of the 1980s which saw him slowly but surely lose ground. After 2 decades spent at the top of the bill, it is clear that the 90s risk seeing him decline irreparably ...

1990 ... a change of decade which is done very smoothly and which shows above all that the singer still has some under the pedal. But for how long ...?

1992...for the moment not too many concerns to have about him but will he manage to stay in the leading pack while keeping his fundamentals, not sure...

1992...because new musical trends emerge which no longer have much to do with its usual style and sound...

1992...in any case nothing worries him at this stage and he continues to unroll quietly without asking too many questions...

1993 ... the 1970s was essentially the decade of the emotional, the 1980s alternated emotions and purely festive ... So what will the 1990s be...? What is certain is that quality is always essential. But that may not be enough ...

1996 ... a decade that will prove to be much more difficult for the artist to grasp. A decade which is going decidedly too fast and which will spell the end of an absolutely exceptional career. But everything comes to an end, one day the other ...

1996...the end of the high-level adventure, certainly, but certainly not the end of the adventure. Because he still has things to offer and especially to sing...

1997...what is certain is that he still manages to produce 'emotional' titles worthy of the name, thereby showing that nothing is ever finished...

2000...here he begins this new decade of 2000 with the firm intention of not giving up. A desire to believe in it until the end which undoubtedly commands respect...

2000...the big problem is that he is losing more and more ground with the competition. As much as he knew how to adapt to the latest musical trends during the 80s, the 90s and now the 2000s will see him struggling at this level...

2000...certainly he still has a significant base of basic fans but he risks losing them little by little year after year...

2002...and if he loses a large part of it without ever regaining it there will inevitably be a moment where things will seriously get stuck...

2002...for the moment it doesn't seem to affect him that much because as long as he enjoys what he does why would he change anything...

2003...we cannot say that he deserves that, that's clear because in his style he continues to deliver titles that are not devoid of interest, it is clear...

2005...not to mention that the level of productivity remains high to say the least. Quality and quantity are there but it is its inability to reinvent himself which mainly poses a problem...

2005...afterwards we won't remake him again as they say and he can retort that he is still there which is not the case for a bunch of artists who started at the same time as him...

2005...which is not false. Certainly his style is somewhat outdated but he manages to cross the decades which has not been the case for many others of his generation...

2007...there he really enjoys covering old standards from ancient times and revisiting them in his own way...

2007...it comes from a good feeling but it is in no way likely to attract the younger generations, that's for sure. Afterwards does he really want it, good question...

2007...rather than trying to get as close as possible to the latest musical trends of the moment, he is moving further and further away from them, on the contrary...

2011...and one more decade, one more ! Even if the level of success no longer has anything to do with what he experienced before, this in no way discourages him from continuing the adventure as far as possible...

2011...there would be a slight improvement on this new opus. Of course we're not going to get too excited about it but the sound and style are already a little more trendy...

2011...so can we hope that this 2010 decade will be one of renewal and risk-taking ? Only him can answer it...

2019...unfortunately this is not going to be the case far from there since we will lose sight of him for almost 8 years. A decade for nothing...

2019...a long absence which only widens the gap that separates him from the competition. On the other hand, he still came back...

2019...we would have liked him to come back with the desire to shake things up and show a slightly more trendy side of himself. You could almost believe it with this title...

2023...he will have gone through the 70s, then the 80s, then the 90s, then the 2000s, then the 2010s and here he is starting this new decade 2020. An exceptional longevity nonetheless...