During World War II, his parents Michel Covrigaru (1892–1942) and Hana Ehrlich (1898–1942), as foreign nationals of Jewish origin, were interned in the Drancy concentration camp, from where on 28 September 1942 they were deported to Auschwitz and killed on arrival on 3 October the same year.

[1][2][3] After the war, he changed several professions (including working as an electrician and a photographer), then entered the theater department of Le Petit Conservatoire de la chanson Mireille Artyush.

[5] After winning the broadcast Numéros 1 de demain of radio Europe 1 in 1958, the name of Joël Holmès gained fame and he recorded his first album.

[6] In total, since 1959, 9 albums by J. Holmes have been released with the performance of his own songs (some of which were created with co-authors).

The song "La vie s'en va" was translated into Russian by Boris Poloskin and became very popular in the USSR under the name "I Love" («Я люблю») performed by Sergei and Tatiana Nikitin.