Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is a French singer, songwriter and musician.
Early years Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in Constantine, French Algeria. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia (1914–2004), Le Malouf Constantinois was a violinist in an orchestra that played primarily malouf, Andalusian classical music. Gaston played the guitar from childhood, and started playing with the Cheikh Raymond Leyris Orchestra at age 15.
He pursued a school teacher career, but continued playing the guitar. In 1961, the Algerian War of Independence was raging, and the situation became untenable for Europeans in Constantine. The assassination in 1961 of his father-in-law and musician Cheikh Raymond Leyris by the National Liberation Front (FLN) was of immense effect on Gaston Ghrenassia, and appears to have been due to his opposition to the independence of Algeria from France and pro-Israel stance. Gaston left Algeria with his wife, Suzy, on 29 July 1961, eleven months before the end of the Algerian War of Independence, and went into exile in mainland France. He has not been permitted to return to Algeria ever since.
Career
After living for a time in Argenteuil, he eventually moved to Paris, where he decided to pursue a music career. At first, he tried translating into French the malouf numbers which he already knew. Later on, he developed a new French repertoire that he performed in cafés and cabarets. He remained, though, a popular interpreter of Arab-Andalusian music and Judeo-Arab songs in France.
He adopted the stage name Enrico Macias and made his first recording in 1962 after a meeting with Raymond Bernard of Pathé. The result was the recording of "Adieu mon pays" ("Goodbye, my home country"), which he had composed for his beloved Algeria on the ship on his way to France. He appeared on French television and became an overnight sensation. This led to a first tour in 1963, opening for Paola and Billy Bridge. His daughter, Jocya, was born that year.
In the spring of 1964, he opened for Les Compagnons de la chanson at the Paris Olympia and then undertook a tour of Eastern Mediterranean countries, performing in Israel, Greece, and Turkey. In Turkey, many of his songs were translated and interpreted by Turkish artists. In 1965, he was awarded the Prix Vincent Scotto, and the following year he sang before 120,000 people at the Dinamo Stadium of Moscow, in a tour that took him to more than forty Soviet cities. He also toured Japan and recorded titles in Spanish and Italian.
His American debut, at a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert, took place on 17 February 1968. He continued to tour the United States, singing in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. In Quebec, Canada, he was warmly welcomed as a Francophone artist.
In 1971, he performed at the Paris Olympia, then at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and back to Japan, Canada, Italy, and Spain. A second US tour culminated in a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1972. In 1974, he gave ten shows at the Uris Theater on Broadway, and also at the Olympia for the sixth time since his debut there. He toured France and went twice to Israel in 1976 and 1978.
He was invited to Egypt by the Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat to sing for peace. This came after Macias had been banned from Arab countries for many years, despite keeping his popularity with Arab and ethnic audiences in the Middle East and North Africa. In Egypt, he sang in front of 20,000 people at the foot of the Pyramids. After Sadat's assassination, he wrote a song dedicated to the late president entitled "Un berger vient de tomber" ("A shepherd has just fallen").
In 1988, he had a big hit with "Zingarella", particularly in Israel and Turkey, which he toured in addition to South Korea.
In April 1992, he tried acting in a play adapted from the English repertoire, called Quelle Nuit (What a night). He also had a role as a local judge in the French TV film Monsieur Molina.
In July 2019, Macias played himself in the comedy Family Business, broadcast on Netflix.
He also wrote Hatikva's most famous recording, the Israeli anthem, recorded in 1993 for his album "À Suzy".
Albums and singles Of great popularity were his 1960s Oriental-influenced songs like "Adieu mon pays" (also known as "J'ai quitté mon pays"), "Les filles de mon pays", "L'Oriental", "Entre l'orient et l'occident" and tribute songs like "Le violon de mon père" (to his father), and "Mon chanteur préferé" (a tribute to his father-in-law Cheikh Raymond).
He was also popular with the French interpretation of "'Oh guitare, guitare" and the Spanish versions of "El Porompompero" and "Solenzara".
French hits include "Paris, tu m'as pris dans tes bras", "La femme de mon ami", "Non je n'ai pas oublié", "La France de mon enfance", "Les gens du nord" and "Les filles de mon pays".
He has sung in many languages including French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish, Greek, English, Armenian, Arabic and some of its dialects, as well as in Yiddish.
Achievements In 1965 he was awarded the Prix Vincent Scotto. He received a gold disc in 1976 for "Mélisa". He was named Singer of Peace by UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim in 1980 after he donated the proceeds of his single "Malheur à celui qui blesse un enfant" to the UNICEF. In 1997, Kofi Annan named him Roving Ambassador for Peace and the Defence of Children.
Collaborations He has collaborated with numerous artists and his songs have been interpreted in many languages. He sang "Melisa", "Je t'apprendrai l'amour", "Un grand amour" and "On s'embrasse et on oublie" as a duet with internationally famous Turkish singer Ajda Pekkan and they released a live album called "A L'Olympia" together in 1976. In 1985, he collaborated with numerous artists to sing "Viva Les Bleus", a France national football team song to the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. In 1990, he had a duet with Killing Joke Jazz Coleman entitled "Minarets and Memories". In 1991, he had a duet with Ginni Gallan entitled "Un amour, une amie". In 2003, he sang "Koum Tara" with Cheb Mami featured in the latter's album Du Sud au Nord and again a live version, this time on Cheb Mami's 2004 album Live au Grand Rex In Turkey, many artists have interpreted his songs with Turkish lyrics including Ajda Pekkan, Başar Tamer, Berkant, Engin Evin, Ferdi Özbeğen, Gökben, Gönül Yazar, Hümeyra, İhsan Kayral, Juanito, Kamuran Akkor, Mavi Çocuklar, Nilüfer, Ömür Göksel, Selçuk Ural, Semiramis Pekkan, Seyyal Taner, Sezer Güvenirgil, Sibel Egemen, Tanju Okan, Yeliz
Controversies His decision to try to play concerts in Algeria resulted in huge controversy. After the cancellation of a proposed tour in Algeria in 2000, he wrote a book Mon Algérie, marketed as a "veritable love story between one man and his homeland".
On 14 February 2007, he announced his support of Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidential elections. He confirmed his political convictions of the political left, but said he could not support the Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal, although he would have supported Laurent Fabius or Dominique Strauss-Kahn if they had been the candidates.
He attempted again unsuccessfully to visit Algeria in November 2007 accompanying French president Nicolas Sarkozy, but was faced with fierce resistance from several Algerian organizations and individuals, including Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, due to Macias's support for Israel. He has never been permitted to return to Algeria since he left in 1961.
In September 2025, Turkish authorities banned Macias from performing at a concert in the Şişli district, Istanbul over his pro-Israeli stance and after "intense calls for protests against the concert." This came after Macias stated in an interview on YouTube in August: "My problem is that I can’t stand the violence of the terrorists, and if there was violence on the Israeli side, it was because of Hamas."
Personal life Enrico Macias is a widower. His wife Suzy Leyris suffered heart disease and died on 23 December 2008. His 1993 album Suzy is dedicated to her. He has a son Jean-Claude, who worked with him as a musician and a daughter named Jocya.
Discography Albums Charts YearAlbumPeak positionsCertificationNotesBEL WaFR2003Oranges amères 31Produced by his son, Jean-Claude Ghrenassia)2005Chanter 1082006La vie populaire 302011Voyage d'une mélodie 7744Multilingual album in French, Spanish, Tamazight (Berber language), Arabic, Hebrew and Yiddish2012Venez tous mes amis! 7539Famous Macias songs in new arrangements and duo collaborations2016Les clefs 84872018Enrico Macias & Al Orchestra 19488
Studio albums 1983: Deux ailes et trois plumes 1984: Générosité 1987: Enrico 1989: Le vent du sud 1991: Enrico 1992: Mon chanteur préferé 1993: Suzy 1994: La France de mon enfance 1995: Et Johnny Chante L'amour 1999: Aie Aie Aie Je T'Aime 1999: Hommage à Cheikh Raymond 2003: Oranges amères 2005: Chanter 2006: La Vie populaire 2011: Voyage d'une mélodie 2012: Venez tous mes amis! 2016: Les clefs 2019: Enrico Macias & Al orchestra
Live albums / compilations 1968: Olympia 68 1989: Olympia 89 1990: Disque d'Or 1992: Le plus grand bonheur du monde 1996: La Fête à l'Olympia 2003: Les Indispensables de Enrico Macias 2003: Concerts Musicorama 2006: Olympia 2003 2006: Les Concerts Exclusifs Europe 2008: Platinum Collection
Songs (Macias songs in alphabetical order)
A
A ceux qui m'ont béni 1981 A la face de l'humanité 1972 A Venise 1971 Adieu mon pays 1962 Aie aie aie je t'aime 1989 Aime-moi je t'aime 1986 Aimez vous les uns les autres 1977 L'âme des gitans 1977 Ami, dis lui 1965 L'ami fidèle 1964 L'amour c'est pour rien 1964 L'amour de la famille 1978 L'amour n'est jamais fini 1979 Apprendre à vivre ensemble 1995 Après moi 1989 Asturias 1970 Au cœur de la Camargue 1963 Au nom des droits de l'homme 1993 Au temps du Balajo 1970 Aux quatre coins du monde 1968 Aux talons de ses souliers 1968 Avec les moyens du bord 1983
B
La ballade des innocents 1987 Beyrouth 1963 Brésil 1995
C
C'est ça l'amour 1973 C'est du soleil 1971 C'est une femme 1981 C'est vrai 1980 C'était le bon temps 1973 Chanson pour l'auvergnat 1974/1997 Chanter 1966 Chiquita 1962 Come on bye bye 1991 Compagnon disparu 1963 Constantina 1984 Constantine 1962 La courte échelle 1981
D
Dans la nuit mexicaine 1963 De musique en musique 1969 Dès que je me réveille 1968 Deux ailes et trois plumes 1983 Deux femmes a Dublin 1976 Dieu de l'espérance 1993 Dis-moi ce qui ne va pas 1968 Dis-moi l'avenir 1973 Dix ans déjà 1970
E
El Porompompero 1964 Elle reviendra bientôt 1975 L'Enfant de mon enfant (Mon petit Symon) 1993 Enfants de tous pays 1963 Entre l'orient et l'occident 1976 Est-il un ennemi? 1965
F
La femme de mon ami 1962 La fête orientale 1971 Les Filles de mon pays 1964 La folle espérance 1977 La France de mon enfance 1980 Le fusil rouillé 1984
G
Générosité 1984 Les gens du nord 1967 Le grain de blé 1966 Le grand pardon 1997
I
L'île du Rhône, 1964 ? Il est comme le soleil 1977 L'instituteur 1981
J
J'ai douze ans 1989 J'ai peur 1967 J'appelle le soleil 1966 Jalousie maladie 1975 Jamais Deux Sans Trois 1966 J'en ai plein mon cœur des souvenirs 1966 Je crois en Dieu 1971 Je le vois sur ton visage 1967 Je n'ai pas vu mes enfants grandir 1984 Je t'aimerai pour deux 1966 Je vous apporte la nouvelle 1975 Jérusalem j'ai froid 1988 Juif Espagnol 1980 Jusqu'au bout de la course 1981
K
Koum Tara 1976 + avec Cheb Mami (reprise) 1999
L
La lavande 1967 Luther King 1984 La dernière prière 1996
M
Ma maison, ma maison 1962 Ma patrie 1964 Ma raison de vivre 1964 Malheur à celui qui blesse un enfant (Enrico Macias et Jacques Demarny) 1975 La Marelle 1977 Maya 1964 Mélisa 1975 Le mendiant de l'amour 1980 La mère et l'enfant 1989 Les millionnaires du dimanche 1967 Mon ami mon frère 1963 Mon chanteur préféré 1986 Mon cœur d'attache 1966
N