Gérard was born in Paris, France to an Armenian father and a Corsican mother, but grew up mainly in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.

[3] After cutting a further EP featuring a cover of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" ("O pauvre moi") which was buried by a rival version by Sacha Distel and an adaptation of the Fraternity Brothers' "Passion Flower" ("Tout l'amour"), he was drafted and spent 1959 to 1961 stationed in North Africa.

He also began to write songs, penning tunes for Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, Dalida, Richard Anthony, German-based star Caterina Valente, actress Marie Laforêt and Austrian singer Udo Jürgens.

He returned in 1970 with the French hit "Même un clown" but his international breakthrough came in 1971 with "Butterfly",[4] which he recorded in several languages and which has sold seven million copies.

Among the more interesting recordings from this period are his "Atmosphère" album, which included both "Butterfly" and the funky groover "Sexologie", and the follow-up, logically titled "Atmosphère 2", which featured the hit "D'Amérique au coeur du Japon", as well as the late seventies' "Gone With the Wind" album, which housed the nostalgic "Les temps changent".