Ciari was born in Nice on the French Riviera in 1944. He started to play guitar when he was 11, and by 16 he was proficient enough to join a rock group, Les Champions, featuring himself on lead guitar along with Jean-Claude Chane (singer), Alain Santamaria (guitar), Daniel Kaufman (bass guitar), and Willy Lewis (drums). Les Champions, with a sound closer to the Jordanaires than the more popular instrumental groups of the era, recorded several singles, and even toured France with Gene Vincent in October 1962.

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