Herbert Léonard

Born in Strasbourg in 1945, French crooner Herbert Léonard started his career as guitarist in Les Lionceaux in the mid-'60s before he decided to go it alone following two years of military service. He found fame with French-language versions of Gene Pitney's "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" ("Quelque Chose Tient Mon Coeur") and Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" ("Pour un Peu d'Amour"), but struggled to sustain his success in the '70s, when he instead devoted his time to writing books on his other main passion, Russian aircraft from World War II. In 1981 Léonard staged a triumphant comeback with the album Pour le Plaisir, and remained in the spotlight, performing the theme tune to the soap opera Chateauvallon, starring as Frollo in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, and appearing on the Âge Tendre et Têtes de Bois nostalgia tour. Léonard died on March 2, 2025, at the age of 80. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi