Sylvie Vartan: “By singing Johnny’s songs, I feel like he’s still alive! “

She has sold 40 million records and CDs, holds the record for a French singer of the number of audience in concerts and also of magazines in front of Bardot and Deneuve, after 57 years of career, Sylvie Vartan has nothing more to prove! But out of love and respect for the one who was her husband for almost twenty years, Sylvie decided to record a tribute CD to Johnny with his hits that made their youth, soberly titled: “With you”. (released on November 30)

You are on tour across France and Belgium with your hits mainly and also a sequence in tribute to Johnny ....

Sylvie vartan:It is always a pleasure for me to go on tour and meet the public of the province. I started at the age of 17 to travel around France. But to present this show that I gave at the Grand Rex last spring is particularly close to my heart because it is to give Johnny the place he has, that of a great artist, an icon, an extraordinary singer. A man with whom I spent unforgettable moments that marked my heart and that of many people. I wanted to share all those songs that represent him as well. It’s a real pleasure for me to interpret them, they awaken wonderful memories.

So it was your idea to record a CD with these Johnny songs?

Sylvie Vartan:Yes it was me who wanted to give a follow up to this show. So the show, the tour, this CD, all this is the logical follow-up to this tribute I dedicated to Johnny throughout this year.

You are the one who most often shared the stage with Johnny, did the most duets in addition to being his wife for 18 years. Could something or someone have interfered with this project?

Sylvie Vartan: But no … for what reason? It is a project that is legitimate. I really wanted to do it. I feel that I owe him this tribute and to revive his songs to put him in his reality and in his truth.

Many so-called friends and multitudes of biographers allow themselves to comment on him, his life. Is this CD an opportunity for you to send him a last message of love?

Sylvie Vartan :All I did was authentically, with my heart. It is true that when you reach such a degree of celebrity, it creates such a stong reaction in the media, that’s how it is and I do not want to epilogue on it!

The photo of the CD is very symbolic and moving at the same time. What does it inspire you?

Sylvie Vartan  :I wanted it to be this photo because I find it very modest and also very representative of what we have shared both personally and professionally. She is very symbolic. I admit that the photos of Jean-Marie Perier and this one in particular was quite appropriate to this project that I wanted modest, simple and natural. Everyone who has collaborated on this CD is driven by the same feeling of love and admiration.

You recorded it without talking too much about it. Was it important after all that has happened in recent months to do it quietly?

Sylvie Vartan :It was not a secret but it was important for me to do it quietly yes.

When recording this CD, what song reminded you of the most memories with Johnny?

Sylvie Vartan: It’s hard to answer that. All the songs remind me of important moments. I’m so touched by Johnny’s songs as much as mine. We shared so many tours together even when we did not share the scene, he came to join me or I went with him. So his songs I have in my DNA, I know them by heart. And singing them, I felt like he was alive. It’s the power of music, songs, finding voice and sharing. Because Johnny sang so much for the audience that it was an unconditional, boundless love and until the last moment like Charles Aznavour.

Do you remember during these twenty common years a moment when you were all alone without cameras, public, media …?

 Sylvie Vartan: All the first years of our love were so publicized … it was a perpetual madness. The professional side, the tours, the music, the success, the celebrity were intertwined with each other. We also had our heads spinning, we were very young. We were panicked all the time but in the good sense of the word. We looked forward to what was coming. And it was a real sharing with the public. We liked the same songs. It was very difficult to be alone. We did not realize that it was a shackle. But later, it was a little easier …

Is there a project or song that you had to do that you were not able to finish?

Sylvie Vartan: We did a lot especially for television or we disguised ourselves. This was the subject of this style of programming produced by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier. When we review the sequences it is always with great happiness and a smile. It was done spontaneously with a good-natured mind and without asking questions if it was good or not for our image.

What were the reactions of David and Tony while listening to this CD?

Sylvie Vartan: They were moved and happy.

Has Johnny given you any advice throughout your career that you remember?

Sylvie Vartan: No, we did not give advice to each other. We were like communicating vessels. Unconsciously he inspired me. By exchanging our desires, our passions, there was some emulation. It was very positive and exciting to share his life with someone doing the same job.

What do you keep in the heart about Loconville where you married Johnny and where  you lived with  him,David and your parents?

Sylvie Vartan:Loconville is my weak point, my little madeleine, my Tara from ‘”Gone with the wind”. It was my parents’ house and I was very happy, I have a hard time going back

These last few months have been very intense but your family is still very strong, what do you wish for the near future?

Sylvie Vartan:May calm return …

You live part of the year in Los Angeles. Have you managed to rebuild something solid here?

Sylvie Vartan:I always try to build something, I am a builder. I do not like what’s going down, what’s going away. It is certainly to erase this melancholy side which is in me, to avoid it, I try to build, to be positive and I sing ….

Interview: Franck Ragaine

Thanks to Rankwell, Veronique Duong, Benajmain Thabaut