An unexpected encounter. Author, composer, performer… Jean-Jacques Debout is a monument of French song. Sunday March 31, 2024, he was invited to the set of Telematinon France 2, to promote his latest album, Frida Kahlo. After talking about his career and his numerous meetings, the singer was questioned about his years spent in college. “You were in the same class as Claude Brasseur and Jacques Mesrine”Damien Thévenot then reminded him. “A little by chance, I found myself next to him”then remembered Jean-Jacques Debout, who took the opportunity to recount a discussion he had with the former public enemy No. 1. “He asked me my name. I then told him Jean-Jacques Debout. And then he replied, ‘but that’s not okay, you’re kidding me! It’s as if I’m ‘called sitting’. I told myself thathe already had a strong character”, said the 84-year-old singer and songwriter. To prove to him that he was telling him the truth, Jean-Jacques Debout was even forced to show him his identity card!
A comrade noticed
Amused by this last name, Jacques Mesrine was quickly convinced by Jean-Jacques Debout’s explanation. “He then asked me to call him Jacky, because all his friends called him that”continued the composer. “All my life I called him that”, concluded Jean-Jacques Debout. The singer has always been frank and direct in his answers. On March 26, 2024, he was invited to the microphone of franceinfo. “I’ll tell you, personally, I’m not my type of man. I’ve never tolerated myself well. It’s always been like that since my childhood”, he testified. A way of explaining his attachment to writing for others… “I have always preferred to work for others than for myself. To work for yourself, you still have to love yourself a little. And I didn’t love myself enough to have a great career as a performer.”, he finally concluded. Focusing on a new form of creation, Jean-Jacques Debout now presents 14 new songs, which tell the story of his life and the illustrious icons who accompanied him.