Jean Beauvoir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean Beauvoir was born of Haitian parents in Chicago, Illinois. Jean was destined to be a performer. He was the leader of the junior high school rock band at 13, which lead to playing dances and clubs throughout the New York area. Lying about his age, that summer he was recruited to be musical director for Gary US Bonds and went on to do shows throughout the US with Dick Clark, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and many others. Soon after this, he became the youngest lead singer of the group The Flamingos of I Only Have Eyes for You fame.
Having difficulty at home with his choice of profession, he moved out on his own and headed to the Big Apple at the tender age of 15. Before long, he found himself in contact with the New York punk scene. After seeing an ad in a local newspaper, he was recruited for what was the beginning of the group The Plasmatics[1]. He changed his image to suit the part: the awakening of the blond mohawk.
The Plasmatics went on to take over the US and worldwide press within six months of his entry to the gang. Wendy O’Williams and the band’s exorbitant stage antics shocked millions and made them a household name as a highlight of the 6 o’clock news and Saturday morning cartoons. After three years of constant touring and recording, Jean decided it was time for him to move on. Little Steven was coincidentally introduced to Beauvoir by Gary U.S. Bonds manager. Recognizing his talent, Steven convinced him to participate on the Little Steven & Disciple of Soul albums Men without Women and Voice of America. This was the beginning of a long friendship and working relationship. These critically acclaimed albums and two years of worldwide touring gave Jean the credibility that he needed to be accepted as an artist of his own rank. He soon partnered up with Gary Kurfirst and Richard Branson and signed his first co-venture label deal with Virgin Records with Jean’s solo album slated as the first release.
Not long after recording his first album for Virgin, Sylvester Stallone, while editing in a Hollywood studio, caught a glimpse of the editing of Jean’s video for the track entitled Feel the Heat. Stallone chose this track as the leading track for his film Cobra. Jean and Gary added Columbia Records to the mix. Beauvoir selling over 1,5 million copies worldwide from his first solo effort lead to productions and co-writing ventures with artists such as KISS[2], The Ramones, N’Sync, John Waite, Deborah Harry, Lionel Richie, The Pretenders, Carol Davis, Nile Rogers, Nona Hendryx, Desmond Child, Jim Vallance and many more. He toured and performed with the Eurythmics, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Little Steven, Bruce Springsteen and The Who. He’s made hundreds of personal and TV appearances throughout the world and has sold in excess of 20 million records worldwide as an artist, producer and songwriter.
Jean also expanded his musical horizons through his groups, Voodoo X and Crown of Thorns, he released four additional solo records to date and was also actively involved in the hugely successful Hand in Hand Charity in Berlin Germany amongst others throughout the years.
As an entrepreneur, he formed companies to harness the different facets of his musical career. He founded and served as President of Voodoo Island Entertainment Group whose divisions included Voodoo Island records and Voodoo Island Productions. Over the course of his professional career, he has created joint venture partnerships with some of the most powerful music industry greats such as Richard Branson (Virgin Records), Al Teller (Columbia Records), Ted Fields and Jimmy Iovine (Interscope Records), Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (Kiss), Lou Perlman and labels such as Def Jam, Warner Bros, Avex, EMI, Edel and more. Through these partnerships he has released in excess of 50 Albums over the past two decades.
Beauvoir is also the founder and President of Hot Boy Music and Tigre Noire Music co, two music publishing companies whose partners include SBK Entertainment, EMI music publishing, CBS Songs International, Polygram Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, and Bertelsmann Music Group. Beauvoir’s worldwide music catalogue contains over 250 published titles.
In addition to his film music work with Sylvester Stallone, his credit list includes the title track for Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, Wes Craven’s blockbuster Shocker, Flawless Robert DeNiro, School of Rock (Jack Black), Christmas with the Kranks (Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Akroyd), The Guilty (Bill Pullman), Rock and Roll High School Forever, and Berlin Nights
[edit] References
- ^ Gimarc, George (1997). Post Punk Diary. St. Martin's Press, 166. ISBN 031216968X.
- ^ Elliott, Paul (2002). Kiss: Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock & Roll: Stories Behind the Songs. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1560254181.
