Danyel Gérard

Danyel Gérard (b. Gérard Daniel Kherlakian, Mar. 7, 1939, Paris) is a French pop singer and composer.

He was born in Paris to an Armenian father and an Italian mother, but grew up mainly in Rio de Janeiro. In 1953 he returned again to Paris and became a choir boy at Notre Dame. Following this he played in the rock and roll band The Dangers. From 1959 to 1961 he was a soldier in North Africa. Subsequently he was a singer and guitarist in various bistros. He began to write songs, penning tunes for Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, [[Dalida], Richard Anthony, Caterina Valente and Udo Jürgens.

His first recording as a singer was Memphis Tennessee. His breakthrough came in 1971 with "Butterfly", which he recorded in several languages. It charted across Europe, reaching #1 in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and France, #5 in the Netherlands, and #11 in the UK; in the U.S. it peaked at #78. It has since became a pop standard, and was also used in the film Die tollen Tanten schlagen zu.

After his brief success, he dedicated himself to composing more for others.