Joe Dassin

Biography

Joseph Ira Dassin (November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was an American singer-songwriter. He sang in multiple languages but found his greatest successes in France and the French-speaking world. In total, he sold nearly 25 million records worldwide.

Dassin was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Jewish-American parents. His father was film director Jules Dassin and his mother was violinist Béatrice Launer, who studied at the Juilliard School. Both of his parents were mostly of Ukrainian-Jewish extraction from Kamianets-Podilskyi, Sataniv and Buchach.

Dassin lived in New York City and Los Angeles until his father was placed on the Hollywood blacklist in 1950, at which time his family moved t...