Enrico Macias

Known for ActingBorn 1938-12-11 (age 87)Constantine, France [now Algeria]

Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is a French singer, songwriter and musician. Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia (1914–2004), was a violinist in an orchestra that played primarily malouf, Andalusian classical music. Gaston played the guitar from childhood, and started playing with the Cheikh Raymond Leyris Orchestra at age 15. He pursued a school teacher career, but continued playing the guitar. In 1961, the Algerian War of Independence was raging, and the situation became untenable for the European colonizers of Constantine. The assassination in 1961 of his father-in-law and musician Cheikh Raymond Leyris by the National Liberation Front (FLN) was of immense effect on Gaston Ghrenassia, and appears to have been due to his opposition to the independence of Algeria from France and pro-Israel stance. Gaston left Algeria with his wife, Suzy, on 29 July 1961, eleven months before the end of the Algerian War of Independence, and went into exile in mainland France. He has not been permitted to return to Algeria ever since. First living in Argenteuil, he eventually moved to Paris, where he decided to pursue a career in music. At first he tried translating into French the malouf numbers which he already knew. Later on, he developed a new French repertoire that he performed in cafés and cabarets. He remained, though, a popular interpreter of Arab-Andalusian music and Judeo-Arab songs in France. He adopted the stage name Enrico Macias and made his first recording in 1962 after a meeting with Raymond Bernard of Pathé. The result was the recording of "Adieu mon pays" which he had composed for his beloved Algeria on the ship on his way to France. He appeared on French television and became an overnight sensation. This led to a first tour in 1963 as a second act with Paola and Billy Bridge. His daughter, Jocya, was also born that year. In spring 1964, he opened for Les Compagnons de la chanson at the Paris Olympia and then undertook a successful tour of the Middle East, performing with great success in Israel, Greece and Turkey, especially in the latter where he still has a huge following. In Turkey, many of his songs were translated and interpreted by Turkish artists. In 1965, he was awarded the Prix Vincent Scotto, and the following year he sang before 120,000 people at the Dinamo Stadium in Moscow, performing concerts in more than 40 other Soviet cities. He also toured Japan and recorded titles in Spanish and Italian and was popular in both countries. His American debut, at a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert, took place on 17 February 1968. He continued to tour the United States, singing in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. In Quebec, Canada, he was warmly welcomed as a Francophone artist. ... Source: Article "Enrico Macias" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.Read more

Movies & web series

Enrico Macias, de l'amour plein la tête

Midi Première

Les Nuls, l'émission

Ces chansons de nos vacances

PSG : Ce club qui a failli ne pas exister !

Le Grand Échiquier

À bout portant

The Nursing Home, the TV series

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président

Numéro un

Une journée avec Jacques Brel

Fort Boyard

La Boîte à secrets

Family Business

Coucou c'est nous !

Fan School

Il était une fois Champs-Élysées

Stars à domicile

Champs-Elysées

Samedi Sébastien

La Chance aux chansons

Serge Lama, le dernier rappel

Pour ton mariage

Jacques Martin, derrière vos applaudissements

Enrico Macias, l'inattendu

Would I Lie to You? 2

Stars 90

Zone interdite

30 millions d'amis

Le Petit Rapporteur

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

Midi trente

Samedi soir

Star Academy

Welcome Aboard

Would I Lie to You? 3

Oldies But Goodies

Sacrée soirée

Quelle époque !

The Car Keys

Coco

Déclic et des claques

Fort Boyard, toujours plus fort !

Vivement dimanche

Victoires de la musique

Laurent Gerra, l'anniversaire-événement

Rembob'Ina

Amanda