Michel Mallory

Jean-Paul Cugurno was born on January 25, 1941 in Monticello, Haute-Corse. Known to the public for his musical work under the alias Michel Mallory, he began his artistic career in 1959 after teaching himself to play the guitar. He sang in Parisian cabarets before forming his own group, Les Bop's. Michel Mallory managed to get himself produced by Barclay, with whom he released his first singles, "Dring Dring" and "Seize Ans". Little by little, the singer carved out a place for himself in the music world, taking part in a Claude François tour and performing in a number of cabarets. In 1974, Michel Mallory achieved his first popular success with the release of his song "Le Cow-Boy D'Aubervilliers". He took advantage of this to launch his first solo album, ...D'Aubervilliers À Nashville, released the following year by H Production. As the tracks spread more widely, they attracted the interest of professionals in the field who were keen to discover the Corsican's songwriting talents. Michel Mallory went on to compose for Claude François, Sylvie Vartan, Tino Rossi, Nicoletta, Joe Dassin... and then to make a name for himself as Johnny Hallyday's main songwriter. Despite this clear move towards songwriting, Mallory continued to record, notably on the albums Canta (1987), Terra Corsa (1989), Memoria Di Giuventu (1991) and Radiche (1993). His songs are palpable, and the singer returns to his native region, choosing to pay homage by singing in the Corsican language. A man in the shadows and a pillar of French variety, Michel Mallory released his seventh studio album, Parolle D'Omu, in 2010.