Patrick Hernandez

The epitome of a one-hit wonder, French singer-songwriter Patrick Hernandez (born on April 6, 1949) achieved worldwide fame in the late 70s near the zenith of disco with the chart-topping smash hit “Born to be Alive.” Born in a northeastern suburb of Paris but raised in western France, Hernandez began playing professionally during his late teenage years as a touring musician in the ballroom circuit before joining Paris Palace Hotel alongside Hervé Tholance and Patrick Margueron. The trio released a handful of singles in the mid-70s, including Hernandez’s “Back to Boogie,” and recorded a full-length album in 1975 that was eventually shelved by the label. Following the band’s dissolution in 1978, Hernandez traveled to Belgium to work with producer Jean Van Loo on Born to Be Alive, his first solo album. The title track, an upbeat Euro-disco number, quickly became a global hit as it topped the charts in countries like France and Italy and reached Number 16 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the US, accumulating an impressive 52 gold and platinum records around the world. Things went downhill from there, as follow-up LPs Crazy Day's Mystery Night's (1980) and Good Bye (1981) both failed to meet their predecessor’s commercial success, prompting Hernandez’s early retirement from the music industry after a couple of scattered singles throughout the late 80s and early 90s.