One of the most famous songwriters in France, Michael Jones, is known far beyond the borders of the country. The singer is no less popular in Switzerland and Belgium. He often goes on tour abroad.
Michael Jones is French by mother, the musician has Welsh roots on his father. A British Army soldier, John Merrick Jones, found himself on the coast of Normandy after landing on June 6, 1944. With his chosen one Simone Laleman, he first met in Cana. The wife moved to him in Wales. There the couple had a baby.
The path to the vocation
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1952. The baby was born in Welshpool on January 28th. Since childhood, the boy was fond of music. For the first time he showed his talent as a drummer. I first picked up the guitar at 12.
The first group was formed in 1966. Michael was determined to become famous. He chose a rock direction for himself. After school, the graduate continued his education at a polytechnic university, intending to work as an engineer. The training was completed in 1971. Michael became a specialist of the highest category.
The ex-student went to Kan to stay with relatives. At the city festival, the young man got acquainted with the musicians of their group "Travers & Cie". The guys played in the rhythm and blues style. Jones liked this direction of music very much.
Having received an invitation to join the members as a guitarist-vocalist, Michael agreed. He took a year off, but ended up staying permanently. The band performed in Normandy for six years. In 1972, the successful group released a forty-five, where Michael co-wrote.
Upon hearing of the audition for Mai Fong, the young performer went to So. He won a considerable competition. The musicians were looking for a guitarist singing in English to replace the soloist Jean-Jacques Goldman, who had refused the tour for family reasons.
They happened to meet during the preparation of the third album of the team. Immediately, friendly relations were established between the young people. In 1978, with the release of the new forty-five, Cherry, Michael had already firmly established himself at Mai Fong.
New successes
Goldman returned to the band in 1989. He took part in the recording of the album "Last Flight". For her two-year-old daughter, Jennifer Jones created both the lyrics and the music for the hit "How Do You Do". In the same period, the composition "Thirteenth space" was created. The band's new guitarist is co-author.
Taking the producer's idea, Jones acted as bassist, guitarist and lead singer with the Toulouse band. Later, the musicians began working with Goldman. In 1980, Tai Fong ceased to exist. Michael created a new group himself. In 1983 Goldman's first tour began.
He invited Jones to take part in it. Jean-Jacques offered a talented friend the song “Vien’s”. Michael performed on Goldman's Positif Tour. In 1985, the studio recording of Goldman's album began. Jones participated in it for the first time.
The musician created the English version for the single of the album "Je te donne". The song peaked in the Top 50 at number one for 8 weeks. Jones joined Goldman's musicians on a permanent basis in 1986. Together with them, Michael participated in the "Non Homologu" tour, in which he presented "Guitar Man".
In 1987, the collection "Michael Jones and the Swinglers" was released. For Jean-Jacques' disc "Entre gris clair et gris fonc" Jones recorded 8 tracks, performed on the "Traces" tour. Michael wrote the guitar solo "Peur de rien blues". In 1988, for The Sacred Union, a film by Arkani, Goldman and Romanelli were commissioned to create the music. Jones was busy with words.
The brilliant performance of "Brother" by Karol Fredricks marked the idea of a trio. At the end of 1990, its five-year existence began with the album "Fredericks - Goldman - Jones".
Plans and implementation
In 1993 a new disc "83-93" was formed. The new collection was called "Rouge". Introduced in 1994. For Voice, Jones wrote the words in English. Michael released his solo album in French in 1997. Jones created the lyrics to 7 songs. His 15th perfect tour in France. In 1998, along with Goldman, Jones became a major contributor to En passant.
For the new tour, several new compositions were recorded, which later became very famous. The audience was given 125 concerts. Folk, rock and blues are combined in the compilation "Prises et reprises", presented in 2004. The song "Un dernier blues pour toi" is dedicated to the memory of Karol Fredricks. It took several years to record the disc, which was considered to be of super quality.
In September, the musician accepted an offer to become a teacher in the next season of "Star Academy". In 2005, a new tour began with Sandrine Rego. In it, Michael gained strength to participate in the "Star Academy" in the role of a judge. Creativity Continues In 2006, after the end of the tour, Jones formed a new team "El club". In 2007, the debut disc was released. With him, the musician went on tour in France.
In 2008 a series of concerts was given. On June 8, 2009 the fans were presented with the compilation "Celtic Blues". It includes 11 singles in English, 2 in French and 2 videos. As a bonus to the album, there was a download option for buyers of all songs in French. In early July 2011, Mike presented the live compilation "Celtic Blues Live".
The musician never shares information about his personal life. There is no information about his wife. All that is known about the family is that there are two daughters, Sarah and Jennifer. They were born in 1995 and 1976.
