Joe Dassin is a French singer, composer and musician. Born in the USA, he moved to France at the age of 24. In his personal life, Joe had two marriages: with Maryse Massiera and Christine Delvaux. From his second marriage, Dassin left two sons - Jonathan and Julien.
The first love
For the first time, the future singer experienced serious feelings for the Greek actress Melina Mercury at the age of 17. He also dedicated the music and the song written for the film "Jamais le dimanche" to her. Many years later, this woman will make an excellent career as an actress and singer, and then as a politician, becoming the first woman in the history of Greece - the minister of culture.
First marriage
Joe's first wife was Maryse Massera. They met on December 13, 1963 at a party at Eddie Barclay's, dedicated to the debut of the film "This Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Their feelings for each other flashed quickly and after a few days the couple was resting in the suburbs of Paris, where Joe arranged Maryse concerts with a guitar. Soon Maryse moved into the house of Joe's mother and at the end of January 1964, they decide to get engaged.
Joe fully focuses on the responsibilities of the head of the family: he writes short stories, articles for American magazines, dubs American films and acts himself, works as an assistant director.
In 1964, Maryse, with the help of her friend, surprise Joe - she records a flexible disc with Dassin's voice and took it to the record company where Maryse's friend worked as a secretary. The management of the company liked the young performer and Joe was invited for cooperation. But suddenly the Frenchman refused - Joe did not want a singing career.
But Maryse continued to persuade her husband and in the end achieved her goal. At the end of 1964, another disc with songs performed by Dassin was recorded and distributed in the amount of 1000 copies. The first disc almost did not find its buyers, as well as the second, released in a circulation of 2000 pieces. However, the third became a real hit and sold 25 thousand copies.
So Joe's first wife became his guide to the world of great music. Moreover, she was constantly next to him, supported him in everything, helped him, replacing the singer and secretary, and manager, and personal driver, and nutritionist, and hairdresser and dresser.
On January 18, 1966, they play a wedding at the city hall of Paris, inviting only five of their closest relatives.
By 1968, Joe became a real star, earned a lot, and the couple decided to think about the child. It is worth noting that in those years, Joe hid the fact of his marriage. Then, as now, the image of a celebrity demanded that the actor be "single" so that the fans would dream of winning the heart of their idol, and the discs would sell better. Maryse was introduced to everyone as the companion of the reporter Urevich, who often accompanied Joe at official events. Maryse was not upset by this turn of affairs, but viewed everything that happened as a game.
In 1973, Maryse became pregnant. Joe urgently began to build a country house for his family and child in the Parisian suburb of Fesherols. In the autumn of the same year, Maryse had a premature birth and the newborn boy dies at the age of 5 days. This plunged Dassin into a deep depression. To get out of it, the singer goes headlong into work, but relations with his wife began to gradually deteriorate. And on May 5, 1977, they officially broke up.
Massiera currently lives in Paris and does not speak to journalists.
Second marriage
Dassin's second wife was Christine Delvaux, an employee of a photo studio in Rouen. According to one version, they met in the same salon. Joe toured Rouen and in his spare time went to Christine's salon. This happened shortly before the Frenchman parted with his first wife. According to another version, they met back in 1971 during a flight from Geneva to Courchevel.
The wedding with Christine took place on January 14, 1978 in the French town of Cotignac. At the time of the marriage, Joe was 39 years old, and Christine was 29. All relatives and friends of the newlyweds in the amount of 500 people were invited to the wedding. The city hall of Cotignac ten years ago presented the singer with a plot to build a house, and over time, Joe rebuilt himself a huge house in the Provencal style. The wedding took place in this house, after which the newlyweds went on a honeymoon trip to Canada, Los Angeles and Palm Springs - Joe's homeland.
Exactly 9 months after the wedding - September 14, 1978 - Joe becomes the father of Jonathan, his first son. However, shortly after the birth of the child, it was discovered that the relationship between Joe and Christine was upset. The young wife could not stand the role of the wife of a world star and began to take alcohol and drugs.
Joe was very fond of his wife, and she made him scandals and tantrums for a long absence, late concerts, letters and photographs of fans, to whom she was unreasonably jealous of him. It is not surprising, because the singer received about 4 thousand letters a week from his admirers. According to Dassin, he was even more tired of such a family life than of work.
Despite the disagreements in family life, by 1979 Christine began to prepare to become a mother for the second time, and Joe - to divorce her. Dassin met the new 1980 year with only one son, as he filed a lawsuit for divorce proceedings.
In March 1980, Joe's second son, Jules, was born and the singer had to postpone the divorce. But 3 weeks after the birth of the baby, Dassin again filed for divorce, since family life no longer brought him joy and their marriage was doomed. The court, based on the fact that the mother takes alcohol and drugs, left the sons to the father.
On August 20, 1980, Joe Dassin dies of a heart attack. Many believe that the real cause of the singer's death was nervous exhaustion and depression, into which Christine drove him.
Christine herself lived until 1995.
