Respected master of ceremonies of many musical programs on RTL and RTL2 (Le Drive RTL2, Stop or again et Bonus Track on RTL), Eric Jean-Jean is a huge fan of music, especially pop. To materialize his love, the musical specialist has just published a book with Perrine Suquet, producer of the show Bonus Track, retracing sixty years of pop music through essential titles, year by year and sorted by decade with, each time, the secret stories behind each iconic title. All the anecdotes in his book are a summary of his very good show Le Drive RTL2.
Your book 60 years of pop music tells the little story behind every great pop hit. How did this idea come about?
Why not put on paper what we do with Perrine Suquet in Bonus Track ? Namely telling sixty years of pop music through the genesis of mythical songs. I love telling the story of the songs, I find that it always gives a different light.
How did you manage to stop your selection?
You have to make choices and you always have regrets. I blame myself for not having put Polnareff but he was in a very busy decade. We almost didn’t include Patrick Bruel when he was a major singer of the 1990s. We favored good stories each time with fifteen international songs and five French songs per decade.
What is your favorite decade?
I’m a teenager from the 1980s so this speaks to me: U2, Toto, Madonna, Depeche Mode. It’s a decade that is worth more than the image we sometimes give of it. It’s Michael Jackson, Prince, Cindy Lauper too. It’s a decade where some artists discover a conscience with the concerts Live Aids too. Everyone let loose in the 1980s, it was a time of absolute celebration, there was money, everything was permitted and it was a time when cocaine was very present. We must not lie to ourselves, drugs have often influenced musical trends. In the 1970s, we were more on hallucinogenic drugs, speed in the 1980s, synthetic drugs in the 1990s, it is also felt in musical trends.
Who is the quintessential pop artist?
Michael Jackson. He takes everything with him, he mixes soul and rock. Billie John, his hit, is THE ultimate pop song. But Elton John has something pop too, Jean-Jacques Goldman too.
Pop music, what does it mean?
Pop is short for popular and I like Sting’s definition of it: “It’s the music that house painters can whistle while working”. It’s a broad musical current, it’s the music that plays on the radio. Before it was rock, then folk, then new wave, today it’s rap. Orelsan is making pop music in 2022 because rap has become the most listened to musical trend.
Who represents pop music in 2022?
I really like what Billie Eilish has to offer, there’s something going on around her. It is a mixture of many currents. The French female scene is also very developed: Juliette Armanet, Clara Luciani.
Which pop song has the most amazing story?
There are so many. I like the story behind Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds the Beatles where it has often been said that the group was talking about LSD. In fact, John Lennon’s son, Julian, came home from school with a drawing of a classmate, Lucy, and told his father that it depicted “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Sometimes great songs are born by accident.
> Le Drive RTL2, Monday to Friday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., on RTL2.
> Stop or again, every Sunday, from 10:15 a.m. to 12 p.m., on RTL.
> Bonus Track, Monday to Thursday, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., on RTL.