Rare photos of Joe Dassin

On August 20, 1980, Joe Dassin died. An outstanding French pop singer – for the generation of the 70s, he was a real romantic hero. His songs are familiar and loved in the West and in the East... Being a phenomenally gifted artist, he was able to create a reference stage image.

Today we remember the French artist, looking through his photos and album covers with his songs.

Joseph Ira Dassin was born on November 5, 1938 in New York City in the family of a Jewish theater actor, the future famous film director Jules Dassin and violinist Beatrice Lohner-Dassin. Dassin's paternal grandfather, Samuel Dassin, immigrated to the United States from Odessa.

Joe's parents met at a summer colony of working-class Jewish youth in the Catskills, where Julius Dassin staged one-act plays, and Beatrice Lohner played the violin in the accompanying orchestra.

The first recordings of Dassin were perceived more negatively than positively, he was even advised to give up this occupation forever. However, in 1964, Joe's girlfriend (later his first wife), Marise Massiera, secretly sends a tape of him singing songs, accompanying himself on the guitar, to a record company.

Soon Joe releases the first record, and two years later-the first album, "Joe Dassin in New York".

In the 60s, his first success came to him: Les Dalton, Guantanamera, Siffler sur la colline…

There is a hit – Les Champs-Élysées!

Joe Dassin is becoming popular not only in France, but also abroad; he records songs in different languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Greek.

In 1975, the famous Et si tu n"éxistais pas and Salut appear.

And the legendary hit of the summer of 1975, L " été Indien (French: "Indian Summer").

Over the next three years, Joe creates 6 more songs, including the record-long (duration 12 minutes) composition Le jardin du Luxembourg.

In 1980, Joe Dassin came for the first time to sing at the grand opening of the Cosmos Hotel, built in Moscow with the participation of French engineers and workers. Then his name was known to a few Soviet citizens.

But very quickly Dassin became extremely popular in the Soviet Union, especially his low, exciting voice fell in love with the fairer sex.

With the" strong woman " Alla Pugacheva at the opening of the Cosmos Hotel, 1980.

According to the memoirs of RTL program director Monique Le Marcy, Joe was very charming and handsome, but at the same time, he had such qualities as shyness, isolation and courtesy.

Dassin was not deprived of a sense of humor, and also, according to Le Marcy, was a man "with a spark".

Attentiveness, tact and responsibility were characteristic of Dassin's creative nature, no matter how strange it sounds in relation to a popular pop star.

1979, the album Blue country is released.

In the late 1970s, a dysfunctional family situation, not quite a healthy lifestyle and an oversaturated work schedule significantly worsened Joe's health…

The singer died of a heart attack while on vacation in Tahiti on August 20, 1980. He is buried in the Jewish section of the "Beth Olam Mausoleum" of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, where his grandparents were previously buried.