C. Jérôme

Claude Dhotel (born 21 December 1946 in Paris, France; died 14 March 2000), better known by his stage name C. Jérôme, was a French singer.

Raised by his grandparents, he grew up in Champenoux, a village of Meurthe-et-Moselle near Nancy, France. At 16 he starred in "The Storms", a rock'n'roll band. He then tried his luck in Paris where he attended the Golf-Drouot to mix with personalities of the music world. He finally met Jean Albertini who became his producteur.

Claude Dhotel had a musical career of three decades, selling 26 million records; he was particularly popular in the 1970s.

In 1967, Dhotel recorded his first 45 rpm vinyl disc Les Fiancés, under the pseudonym C.Jérôme. This first shot did not reach success, unlike Le petit Chaperon rouge est mort, and Quand la mer se retire that he sang on the TV show "Salut les copains".

In 1972, Jérôme's first big hit Kiss Me reached 1st place in the French music charts, 3rd in Austria, 4th in Belgium, and 5th in Switzerland. More than a million copies have been sold.

In 1974, C. Jérôme's song C’est moi became a huge success. This one will stay in the collective memory.

Jérôme sang other hits until 1977 Himalaya, Manhattan, La Petite Fille 73, C'est moi, Baby Boy, Cindy, Le Charme français, Rétro c'est trop...

In 1985, C. Jérôme released Et tu danses avec lui (written by Dider Barbelivien) which remained more than 6 months in the top 50.

In 1986, Jérôme's song Dernier Baisers was his last being in the top charts. The same year he also tpok part in the collective song Liban.

C. Jérôme then wrote other classic songs in the 90s, such as Danielle s’en va, Les manons de la Nuit, Pardonne moi, A pleins tubes, and many more.

In 1995, C. Jérôme became host of radio Monte-Carlo where he introduced "Les années tubes" every morning with Claire Cardell. In 1996, he got a job at TF1 (national TV in France) where he presented a daily show called "La chanson trésor". He also joined Michel Drucker in the TV show "Vivement Dimanche".

C.Jérôme married Annette Dhôtel, with whom he had a daughter Caroline, born in 1977. She became a singing teacher.

In August 1997, C.Jérôme was treated for a tumor in the abdomen (cancer). He overcame the disease and recorded other songs, but the cancer returned in 1999.

C.Jérôme died 14 March 2000, aged 53. C.Jérôme is buried at the graveyard of Boulogne-Billancourt. His widow released a book in 2003 "C.Jérôme, c’est lui" in which she tells his fight against the illness.

Source: Article "C. Jérôme" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.