EDITH PIAF
1915 - 1963
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life and times of a famous singer. Édith
Piaf, also known as “The Little Sparrow,” was a French singer who became an
icon of France during World War II.
“All I've
done all my life is disobey.”
—Edith
Piaf
Synopsis
Édith
Piaf, also known as “The Little Sparrow,” was a French singer who became an
icon of France during World War II. Piaf was born in Paris on December 19,
1915, and rose to international stardom in the 1940s as a symbol of French
passion and tenacity. Of Piaf’s many ballads, “La Vie en Rose” is remembered as
her signature song. Édith Piaf died in France in 1963.
Édith
Piaf was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris. She was named after
the World War I British nurse Edith Cavell, executed for helping French
soldiers escape from German captivity. Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard,
was an Italian cafe singer, who performed under the name “Line Marsa.” Édith’s
father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion, was a street acrobat.
Édith 's
parents soon abandoned her, and she may have lived for a short time with her
maternal grandmother, who ran a brothel. In 1929, at the age of 14, she joined
her father in his street performances all over France.
Édith
soon separated from her father, setting out on her own as a street singer in
and around Paris. At 17, she had a daughter named Marcelle, who died of
meningitis two years later.
In 1935,
Piaf was discovered by Louis Leplée, who owned the successful club Le Gerny
off the Champs-Élysées. Her nervous energy and small stature inspired the
nickname that would stay with her for the rest of her life: La Môme Piaf
("The Little Sparrow"). Leplée ran a major publicity campaign
promoting Piaf’s opening night. She was popular enough to record two albums
that same year.
Louis
Leplée was murdered the following spring. After authorities investigated her as
an accomplice to the crime, Piaf took charge of her image. She adopted her
stage name—Édith Piaf—permanently, and commissioned songs that romanticized her
life on the streets, emphasizing her passion and inner strength.
Piaf was
one of the most popular performers in France during World War II. Her concerts
for German servicemen were controversial, although she later stated that she
had been working for the French Resistance. While the veracity of this claim is
unclear, she was instrumental in helping a number of individuals escape Nazi
persecution.
After the
war, her fame spread quickly. She toured Europe, South America and the United
States. Although American audiences were initially put off by her dour demeanor
and dark clothes, Piaf garnered glowing reviews and ultimately achieved enough
of an audience to warrant two televised performances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The
personal life of Édith Piaf was characteristically dramatic. She was involved
in three serious car crashes after 1951, leading to morphine and alcohol
addictions.
Piaf
remained professionally active until the final years of her life, performing
frequently in Paris between 1955 and 1962. In April 1963, she recorded her last
song.
Édith
Piaf died of cancer at her French Riviera villa on October 10, 1963. She was
47. The Archbishop of Paris denied requests for a funeral Mass, citing Piaf’s
irreligious lifestyle. She is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris next to
her daughter Marcelle.
Clancys comment: Interesting and sad that so many famous people died so young.
I'm ...
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