Dorothée

Frédérique Hoschedé (born 14 July 1953), better known by the stage name Dorothée, is a French singer and television presenter. She was a continuity announcer on French public broadcaster Antenne 2 from 1977 to 1983, but she is best known for having presented children's television shows like, (1977–1978), langRécré A2 (1978–1987), and especially (1987–1997), which totalled up to about thirty hours of broadcast per week and popularized anime in France (with titles like Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, City Hunter, or Hokuto no Ken sparking controversy and complaints from the CSA as well as some political figures, for their violent content).

Dorothée is a singer with a large discography (one album per year on average between 1980 and 1996), singing pop music for children, and she has recorded well-known French traditional nursery rhymes in a record collection called Le jardin des chansons. Several of her songs were used for the openings of animated series featured in Club Dorothée (including "Candy" and "Sophie et Virginie"). One of her trademarks is that each of her albums, from Hou ! la menteuse in 1982 to Dorothée 2010, featured a song with the word "valise" (suitcase) in its title, with a similar melody but a different arrangement and partially updated lyrics, totalling sixteen "valise" songs.

Between 1990 and 1996, Dorothée performed 56 shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (now called AccorHotels Arena), still the record for a female artist and the third-highest total number of concerts in this venue behind Michel Sardou and Johnny Hallyday. In addition, her 1992 tour attracted more people in France than Johnny Hallyday and Michael Jackson, earning her a "Fauteuil d'Or" award for more than 500,000 tickets sold.

Later in her musical career, Dorothée developed a particular interest in early rock music. In 1993 and 1994, she presented three special prime time shows called Dorothée Rock'n'roll Show, in which she sang duets with major rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists, including Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Cliff Richard, Henri Salvador, Percy Sledge, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, with whom she sang "Great Balls of Fire", which also featured on her album Une histoire d'amour (1992). Her 1994 album, Nashville Tennessee, was recorded in the titular city of Nashville, in the recording studio made famous by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley.

Dorothée had a brief stint in cinema, appearing in three movies between 1979 and 1980, including a prominent role in L'amour en fuite by François Truffaut. She also made a cameo appearance in the 2019 live action Nicky Larson movie.

Discography Albums

1980 : Dorothée au pays des chansons 1981 : Dorothée & les récré amis chantent 1981 : Candy raconte à Dorothée 1982 : Hou ! la menteuse 1983 : Pour faire une chanson 1983 : Les Schtroumpfs 1984 : Qu'il est bête! (certified Gold) 1984 : Schtroumpfs parade 1985 : Allô Allô M. l'Ordinateur (certified Gold) 1986 : Maman (certified Gold) 1987 : Docteur 1988 : Attention Danger (certified Platinum) 1989 : Tremblement de terre (2x certified Gold) 1990 : Live à Bercy 1990 : Chagrin d'amour (certified Gold) 1991 : Les neiges de l'Himalaya 1992 : Une histoire d'amour 1993 : Bercy 93 1993 : 2394 1994 : Nashville Tennessee 1995 : Bonheur City 1996 : La Honte de la famille 2010 : Dorothée 2010

Compilations

1980 : Les feuilletons de Récré A2 1982 : Les feuilletons de Récré A2 (2nd edition) 1988 : Les super chansons 1990 : Top Dorothée 1994 : Cristal 1997 : 15 ans d'amour 1998 : Le jardin des chansons 2004 : Les plus belles chansons (2nd edition of 15 ans d'amour) 2006 : Dorothée BERCY 2016 : Dorothée : L'essentiel (Best of + 7 unreleased songs) 2023 : Dorothée le coffret anniversaire (100 tracks + several unreleased songs)

Main singles

1980 : "Musique magique" 1981 : "Tchou ! Tchou ! Le petit train" 1981 : "Rox & Rouky" 1982 : "Enfin récré A2 !" 1982 : "Hou la menteuse / La valise" (SNEP: Silver) 1983 : "Pour faire une chanson" 1983 : "Les Schtroumpfs" (certified Platinum) 1984 : "Qu'il est bête !" 1984 : "Les petits Ewoks" 1985 : "Vive les vacances" 1985 : "Allô Allô M. l'Ordinateur" (SNEP: Silver) 1986 : "Tant qu'on a des amis" 1986 : "Maman" (SNEP: Silver) 1987 : "Où se cache l'amour" 1987 : "Le sourire du dragon" (French opening theme of Dungeons & Dragons) 1987 : "La chanson des Ewoks" 1987 : "Docteur" 1988 : "La chanson de Candy" 1988 : "Attention danger" 1989 : "La machine avalé" 1989 : "Tremblement de terre" 1990 : "Nicolas & Marjolaine" 1990 : "Chagrin d'amour" 1991 : "Un jour on se retrouvera" 1991 : "Valise Ninety One" 1991 : "Les neiges de l'Himalaya" 1992 : "Le collège des cœurs brisés" 1992 : "Où est le garçon" 1992 : "Une histoire d'amour" 1993 : "Toutes les guitares du rock'n'roll" 1993 : "Bats-toi" 1993 : "Il faut chanter" 1993 : "2394" 1994 : "Si j'ai menti" 1994 : "Chanson pour un garçon" 1994 : "Non non-ne dis pas" 1995 : "Folle de vous" 1995 : "Des millions de copains" 1995 : "Bonheur City" 1996 : "Je rêve" 1996 : "La honte de la famille" 1997 : "Toutes les chansons du monde" 2006 : "Hou la menteuse remix" (certified Silver) 2006 : "La valise remix" 2006 : "Allô, allô M. l'Ordinateur remix" 2010 : "Coup de tonnerre" 2010 : "À l'Olympia"

Greatest hits

Film 1979: L'Amour en fuite by François Truffaut: Sabine Barnerias 1979: La Gueule de l'autre by Pierre Tchernia: television announcer 1980: Pile ou Face by Robert Enrico: Laurence Bertil 2019: Nicky Larson et le Parfum de Cupidon by Philippe Lacheau: cameo 2023: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts: Airazor (voice, French dub)