C. Jérôme / C. Jerome

Later known as a popular radio host, French chanteur C. Jérôme first shot to stardom as one of his country's most successful pop singers of the early '70s. Born Claude Dhotel in the twelfth arrondissement of Paris in 1946, he was raised by his grandparents in the village of Meurthe-et-Moselle near Nancy, where he developed a love of rock & roll from a young age. At age 16, he fronted rock band les Storms while working as a shoe salesman, and became a regular at the Paris discotheque, Golf-Drouot, where he met longtime producer Jean Albertini. After several largely ignored singles, he achieved his big break in 1972 with "Kiss Me," which reached the number one spot in both his homeland, and across several European countries. Three albums followed, Baby Boy (1974), Cindy (1976), and Retro C'est Trop (1977), but by the time of 1983's Eve et Moi, his star had waned. However, two years later he witnessed something of a revival when the Didier Barbelivien-penned Et Tu Danses Avec Lui spent almost six months in the French album charts. Following 1988's C'est la Nuit, 1990's Danielle S'en Va: Kiss Me, and 1994 swan song Nuits Blanches, he retired from the music scene and concentrated his efforts on becoming a radio personality. After a successful stint on Radio Monte Carlo's daily morning show, Les Annees Tubes, he moved to TF1's La Chanson Tresor and teamed up with Michel Drucker on Vivement Dimanche, a role which was sadly to be his last, after he lost his battle with bowel cancer in 2000. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi