Rachid Taha
(Arabic: رشيد طه), born on September 18, 1958, in Saint-Denis-du-Sig
(now known as Sig, Algeria) and passed away on September 12, 2018, in
Les Lilas (Seine-Saint-Denis), was a Franco-Algerian singer and musician
who lived most of his life in France.
A young storyteller and
Arabic singer, nostalgic for his childhood land, often warm and dusty,
he began to improvise on new wave music and, from 1980 to 1982,
participated in the creation of the band “Carte de Séjour” in Lyon.
Their first album in 1983 and the 1985 cover of the song Douce France brought this group international recognition.
After
separating from his Lyon-based band in 1989, Rachid Taha, residing in
Paris or its outskirts but frequently traveling, pursued a solo career
that earned him exceptional global fame, far surpassing his renown in
France. His music was inspired by different styles, which he helped to
rejuvenate, including raï, chaâbi, techno, rock 'n' roll, and punk in the new wave movement of the early 1980s.
Biography
Origins and Family
Rachid’s father, Ali Chérif
Taha, from Sidi Aïch (in the Béjaïa region) and fond of Egyptian music,
met his mother, Aïcha, from Mascara, who enjoyed raï music, in
the Oran area. Initially, his father migrated alone to find work in the
textile industry in the Vosges region. He settled first in
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace before bringing his family over.
Rachid, uprooted from Oran, arrived in France at the age of nine. His
father worked at the Decouvelaere textile mill in Lépanges-sur-Vologne
in the Vosges, and in 1968, the rest of the family joined him, living in
the worker's community. Rachid attended transition classes in public
school and later studied at the Jeanne d'Arc high school in Bruyères.
During this time, he truly learned to write Arabic and speak literary
Arabic, often by listening to the songs of Oum Kalthoum, his father's
favorite. Quick and lively, Rachid also enjoyed a sporty and carefree
youth: he was a goalkeeper for Lépange’s handball team and played soccer
for a neighboring club in Cheniménil. His long hair and tireless,
collective-oriented play on the right wing earned him the nickname
"Rocheteau," after the famed player. Reflecting on those times, Rachid
later said, “Until the textile crisis, the Vosges was like a small
America for us.” On Saturday nights, he would go dancing with friends at
clubs in Gérardmer.
Every summer since arriving in France, his
family returned to Oran. Rachid remembered the long trips there, with
his father insisting he stay awake to read the road signs. He held dual
French and Algerian citizenship.
Career
He
began studying accounting. At 19, he left the struggling Vosges in
search of work, spending eighteen months selling French literature
door-to-door. After this independent period, he rejoined his family, who
had moved to Les Minguettes in Vénissieux near Lyon due to his father’s
layoff from the textile mill. Rachid drifted through internships and
odd jobs, experiencing urban racism and working as a DJ to vent his
anger, as he would later say.
In 1981, Rachid settled in
Rillieux-la-Pape, where he worked in the Therm'x factory (part of
Majorette), cleaning toy cars before packaging. There, he met Mohammed
and Moktar Amini, who encouraged him to write lyrics and sing rather
than pursue his wish to become a drummer. Together, in 1980, they formed
Carte de Séjour, finalizing the lineup with Jérôme Savy in
1982. Advocating tolerance for immigrants, the band participated in the
Marseille-to-Paris March for Equality and Against Racism.
In 1986, Carte de Séjour’s rendition of Douce France,
originally sung by Charles Trenet during WWII to boost morale, was
distributed to members of the French National Assembly. However, the
band disbanded in 1989, and Rachid began a solo career with Barbès in 1991.
In May 1998, he released Diwân, a future gold record compiling chaâbi classics by artists like Dahmane El Harrachi (Ya Rayah),
Hadj El Anka, Akli Yahyaten, Nass El Ghiwane, and Farid El Atrache. His
collaborations with Cheikha Remitti’s rhythms and melodies would also
be a lasting influence. In November 1998, he released the live album Un, deux, trois soleils, alongside Khaled and Faudel, notably featuring Ya Rayah and Abdel Kader. This period marked his international rise, particularly with Ya Rayah’s success.
In 2004, he released Tékitoi, which was well-received in the French and American press. His cover of The Clash’s Rock the Casbah (retitled Rock el Casbah)
gained widespread acclaim, with The Clash's Mick Jones even stating a
preference for Taha’s version, which they performed together multiple
times on stage.
In 2013, his ninth solo album, Zoom,
produced by Justin Adams, paid homage to both Elvis Presley and Oum
Kalthoum. The album led him on a world tour, accompanied by both new and
long-time musicians.
In 2015, he received a Victoires de la Musique lifetime achievement award. In 2017, he co-founded the group CousCous Clan with his friend Rodolphe Burger, releasing his final solo album, Je suis africain, posthumously in 2019.
Illness and Death
Rachid
Taha suffered from Arnold-Chiari disease, diagnosed around 1987, which
affected his balance and was often mistaken for drunkenness on stage. He
passed away in his sleep from a heart attack on the night of September
11-12, 2018, in Les Lilas, Seine-Saint-Denis, and was buried in Sig. His
friends paid tribute to him in Paris, honoring the legacy of an artist
who had arrived in France at age ten and left a lasting impact on its
music scene.
