Jocelyne Béroard

  • Jocelyne Béroard
    Domain:
    Music
    Date of birth:
    September 12, 1954

Jocelyne Béroard, zouk singer of the internationally known group Kassav was born on September 12, 1954 in Fort de France. After obtaining her bac D at the age of 17, she moved to the metropolis where she continued her studies in Caen (pharmacy) then joined the Beaux-Arts (artistic French school) in Paris. Thanks to her brother, she joined the West Indian music scene in Paris.

In 1980, having become a professional chorister, Jocelyne Béroard leaves for a few weeks in Jamaica where she records several pieces with Lee "Scratch" Perry and Thirld World. She also records in France with the disco group Gibson Brothers.

1980 is definitely a pivotal year for her, it is indeed this year that she takes her first steps with Kassav' by participating in the choirs of the second album of the group. She recorded the song "Soley" on this album. She continued her career as a chorister where she worked for Bernard Lavilliers, Manu Dibango, Zachary Richard or Herbert Leonard.

Jocelyne Béroard definitively integrates Kassav' in 1983. From then on, Jocelyne Béroard takes more and more importance in Kassav' where she ends up becoming the main singer of the group.

In 1986, her album “Siwo” and the single “Kolé séré” sung in duet with Jean-Claude Naimro were double gold records. She becomes the first Caribbean singer in history to obtain a gold record in France.

In 1988, Philippe Lavil invited him for a duet cover of the hit “Kolé séré” by Kassav'. In 1991, a second album was released entitled "Milan" with titles such as "Jilo Mayé" or "Milan". This album met with mixed success, dissuading the singer from making a new solo album for more than ten years.

In 1997, she recorded the song "Lonbraj An Pyé Mango" with Chris Combette. This song will be devoted to vacation hits in the Caribbean.

In 1999, she was made a knight of the Legion of Honor (French award). In March 2001, she is one of the many performers of the title "Que serais-je demain" (What would I be tomorrow) as a member of the female collective Les Voix de l'Espoir created by Princess Erika. In 2003, she recorded the album "Madousinay" with her friends from Kassav'. Along with the song, we could see it in the film Nèg Maron with in particular the Guadeloupe singer Admiral T.

On May 16, 2009, she took part in the “30 years of Kassav” concert, the biggest zouk concert ever organized in mainland France in front of more than 65,000 people. On May 22, 2011, she triumphed at the Olympia solo a few days after the release of her double album “Yen Ki Lanmou”.

In 2012, she participated in the film "Le Gang des Antillais". In 2013, the group Kassav released their 15th album, “Sonjé”, notably with a tribute to Patrick Saint-Éloi, one of the members of the group who died a few years earlier.