Un soir, sur le bord du chemin Il y avait une étoile, je l'ai ramassée Elle m'a souri au creux des mains Comme si c'était normal Je crois qu'elle m'attendait
Je l'ai prise avec moi J'entends souvent sa voix
Tant que je peux, je t'éclaire Ouvre les yeux Il y a tant de choses à faire Puisque tout est éphémère On peut faire mieux Pas le moment de se taire
La vie c'est gratuit, ça va sans dire Tu devrais te resservir Tant qu'on éclaire, on espère
L'étoile a si bien éclairé les pensées ténébreuses Qui me ralentissaient L'étoile a si bien expliqué que chaque minute est précieuse Pas de temps pour les regrets
Et tant qu'elle sera là Nous chanterons à vive voix
Tant que je peux, je t'éclaire Ouvre les yeux Il y a tant de choses à faire Puisque tout est éphémère On peut faire mieux Pas le moment de se taire
La vie c'est gratuit, ça va sans dire Tu devrais te resservir Tant qu'on éclaire, on espère
Si à mon tour, je t'éclaire Ouvre les yeux Être ton étoile, je sais faire Nous créerons cette lumière C'est contagieux Tant qu'on éclaire, on espère
Tant que je peux, je t'éclaire Ouvre les yeux Il y a tant de choses à faire Puisque tout est éphémère On peut faire mieux Pas le moment de se taire
La vie c'est gratuit, ça va sans dire Tu devrais te resservir Tant qu'on éclaire, on espère
One night on the roadside There was a star I picked her up She smiled at me in the palm of hands As if it was normal I think she was waiting for me
I took with me I often hear her voice
I light you up as much as I can Open your eyes There are so many things to do we can do better No time to just be quiet
Life is free, that goes without saying
You should serve yourself up another helping (of life) As long as we light things up, we have hope
The star so skillfully lit up the dark thoughts That had slowed me down The star explained so throughly that every minute is precious No time for regrets
And as long she's there We'll sing together
I light you up as much as I can Open your eyes There are so many things to do We can do better No time to just be quiet Life is free, that goes without saying You should serve yourself up another helping (of life)
And if I light you up Open your eyes I know how to be your star We'll create this light It's contagious As long as we light up, we hope
I light you up as much as I can Open your eyes There are so many things to do we can do better No time to just be quiet Life is free, that goes without saying You should serve yourself up another helping (of life)
Life is free, that goes without saying
You should serve yourself up another helping (of life) As long as we light things up, we have hope.
Today, The Grandma has been listening to one of the most popular songs sung byCéline Dion, My Heart Will Go Onincluded in the album Let's talk about love, that was released on a day like today in 1997.
My Heart Will Go Onis a song recorded by Celine Dion as the theme for the film Titanic.
It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings. It was produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen. My Heart Will Go On was released as a single internationally by Columbia and Epic on November 24, 1997, and was included on Dion's fifth English-language album, Let's Talk About Love (1997), released ten days before, and the Titanic soundtrack.
Horner composed the basis of My Heart Will Go On as a motif used in the film soundtrack, and suggested developing it into a song. The Titanic director, James Cameron, resisted, as he felt a pop song would be inappropriate for the film, but agreed to use it after hearing the demo. The final version was arranged by Afanasieff.
My Heart Will Go On is considered Dion's signature song. The song topped the charts in more than twenty-five countries. With worldwide sales estimated at over 18 million copies, it is the second-best-selling single by a woman in music history, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. It was also the world's best-selling single of 1998.
It was included in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The music video was directed by Bille Woodruff and released at the end of 1997. Dion performed the song to honour the 20th anniversary of the film at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.
Before the release of the film Titanic, studio executives were worried that it would be a commercial failure. Sony had paid $800,000 for the rights to the soundtrack album and were hoping it would include a theme song. However, the director, James Cameron, did not want to end Titanic with a pop song, feeling it would be inappropriate.
James Horner initially composed the music for My Heart Will Go On as an instrumental motif for the film soundtrack. Wanting to prepare a vocal version to use during the end credits, he enlisted the lyricist Will Jennings, who wrote the lyrics from the point of view of a person of a great age looking back so many years.
Originally intended for the Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø, the song was given to Céline Dion instead. Simon Franglen, who was working with Horner on electronic textures and synthesizers for the film score, suggested Dion, with whom he had worked on many of her hits. Dion initially did not want to record it, as she had already recorded the film songs Beauty and the Beast and Because You Loved Me. However, her husband and producer, René Angélil, convinced her to record a demo.
Horner waited until Cameron was in an appropriate mood before presenting him with the demo. After listening several times, Cameron approved it, but worried that he might be criticized for "going commercial at the end of the movie". Cameron also wanted to appease the anxious studio executives and saw that a hit song from his movie could only be a positive factor in guaranteeing its completion.
The producer Walter Afanasieff was not impressed with the demo, finding it meandering and dreary, but agreed to arrange and produce the studio version. He replaced every part of Horner's demo, and was upset that Horner was given a co-producer credit.
The song is written in the key of E major. The verses follow the chord progression of E-Bsus4-Aadd9-E-B. The chorus has the chord progression of C♯m-B-A-B. The song modulates to A-flat major. It contains heavy emphasis on the instrumental arranging. Usage of Tin Whistle is prominent, backed by melodic use of strings and rhythm guitars. The song features both acoustic and electronic instrumentation. Dion's vocal performance is described as emotional and demanding by Pandora Radio.
The Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø was scheduled to record the song for the film in 1997, but Dion's vocals were preferred due to Horner's decision to support Dion's career.
In a December 2014 interview, Horner quotes: When I had completed the Titanic film, I had to decide for Céline Dion or Sissel's vocals. Sissel I am very close, while Céline I had known since she was 18, and I had already written three film songs for her. But that was before Céline was known and filmmakers and marketing people had not done what they should have done for Céline and her songs. So I felt I owed her a Titanic chance, but I could still have used Sissel there.
Instead, Kyrkjebø completed much of the score for the soundtrack album, Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture. Dion accepted to sing a demo for the film, despite being initially hesitant to record as she had already done three film songs earlier. Years later, Horner chose Kyrkjebø to perform My Heart Will Go On on both world premieres of Titanic 3D (2012) and Titanic Live (2015).
You're here, there's nothing I fear And I know that my heart will go on We'll stay forever this way You are safe in my heart and My heart will go on and on
Another day in Las Vegas and another big and unforgettable surprise for The Stones & The Grandma.
Today, the family has been invited to watch an incredible show interpreted by CélineDion.
It has been a private show, only for TheStones, at Caesars Palace and the family has spent a wonderful evening enjoying the most beautiful songs of one of the best singers of our time.
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Quebecker singer. She is renowned for her powerful, technically skilled vocals, and remains the best-selling Canadian recording artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of over 200 million worldwide.
During the 2000s, she built her reputation as a highly successful live performer with A New Day... on the Las Vegas Strip (2003–07), which remains the highest-grossing concert residency of all time, as well as the Taking ChancesWorld Tour (2008–09), one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time.
She has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Billboard named her the Queen of Adult Contemporary for having the most number-one songs on the radio format for a female artist. She is the second best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era.
In 2003, she was honoured by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling over 50 million albums in Europe.
In early 2002, Dion announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, A New Day..., at TheColosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Céline was the second concert residency by Quebecker recording artistCéline Dion.
The residency was performed at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in LasVegas, Nevada, beginning 15 March 2011, with an estimated 70 performances per year, which makes Dion the top money earner in Las Vegas, earning $500,000 a show.
The new show features 31 musicians, consisting of a full orchestra and band. The residency was Directed and Produced by Ken Ehrlich with the creative production from Dion's long time Lighting Designer Yves Aucoin and Sound Mixer/Designer, Denis Savage.
Moment Factory will be producing the visual elements for the residency, the company previously worked with Nine Inch Nails and DJ Tiesto. The residency does not contain the dancers and Cirque du Soleil style choreography seen in Dion's previous show at the Colosseum, A New Day.
Being seen by over 200,000 people, the residency became the number one show in 2011 for North America. The residency has also made Dionthe most profitable music act in Las Vegas since Elvis Presley.
The show concluded on 8 June 2019, as announced on 24 September 2018.
What have in common Jennifer Rush, Céline Dion, Umberto Tozzi and Alphaville? All of them are great singers with incredible hits and all of them have been versioned by one of the most popular voices of the 1980's and 1990's, Laura Branigan, the American singer who became famous for covering these artists with her own versions full of energy and passion.
The Grandma, who is a great consumer of Coke, always remembers the first time that she watched the spot Coke is it! where LauraBranigan sang the main song.
Laura Branigan died on a day like today in 2004. She was too young to die but she will be forever young. The Grandma thinks that the best way to pay homage to her is talking about her career and her life.
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952-August 26, 2004) was an Americansinger, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single Gloria, stayed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking at No. 2.
It also reached number one in Australia and Canada. In 1984, she reached number one in Canada and Germany with the U.S. No. 4 hit Self Control. She also had success in the United Kingdom with both Gloria and Self Control making the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
Seeing
her greatest level of success in the 1980s, Branigan's other singles
included the Top 10 hit Solitaire (1983), the U.S. AC chart number one How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (1983), the Australian No. 2
hit Ti amo (1984), and The Power of Love (1987). Her most successful
album was 1984's platinum-selling Self Control.
She also contributed songs to motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy and Academy Award-winning Flashdance soundtrack (1983), and the Ghostbusters soundtrack (1984).
In 1985, she won the Tokyo Music Festival with the song The Lucky One. Her chart success began to wane as the decade closed and after her last two albums Laura Branigan (1990) and Over My Heart (1993) garnered little attention, she generally retired from public life for the rest of the 1990s.
She
began returning to performing in the early 2000s, most notably
appearing as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis.
Laura Branigan
As
she was recording new music and preparing a comeback to the music
industry, she died at her home in August 2004 from a previously
undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm.
In 2019, Gloria was adopted by the NHL's St.Louis Blues as their unofficial victory song, leading to the song entering ice hockey lore as an unlikely championship anthem. Branigan's legacy manager Kathy Golik embraced the trend and traveled to St. Louis to publicly represent Branigan among the Blues fanbase during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, later stating her belief that Branigan and Gloriawill forever be intertwined with the Blues and the city of St. Louis.
Laura Ann Branigan was born on July 3, 1952 in the New York City suburban village of Brewster, New York.
Branigan attended Byram Hills High School from 1966 to 1970, starring in the high school musical The Pajama Game in her senior year.
Between 1970 and 1972 she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and worked as a waitress.
In 1972 she met acoustic guitarist Walker Daniels and his future wife Sharon Storm, and acoustic guitarist Chris Van Cleave, forming the folk-rock band Meadow, named as a good place for Paul McCartney's band Wings to land in.
In 1973 the group, with bass player Bob Valdez, released their debut album The Friend Ship, featuring the singles When You Were Young, and Cane and Able,which featured the hook line Throw away your cane and you are able. The record was not properly promoted and never re-released. The band broke up, after which Walker Daniels committed suicide. Branigan preferred not to discuss her involvement with Meadow publicly.
During the years after Meadow broke up, Branigan had various jobs, including a stint as one of Leonard Cohen's backup singers for his European tour in April–August 1976.
In December 1978 after meeting him at a party in Manhattan, New York City earlier in the year, Branigan married Larry Ross Kruteck (1936–1996), a lawyer, who died of colon cancer on June 15, 1996.
In
1979, after a chance meeting with manager Sid Bernstein on her return
from Europe, Branigan was signed by Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records.
The strength and range of her voice actually impeded her career for
several years while the label went through the process of categorizing
her as a pop singer, and her 1981 single Looking Out for Number One,
from her unreleased album Silver Dreams, made a brief appearance on the
U.S. dance chart, reaching No. 60.
Laura Branigan
Two other early Atlantic singles, Tell Him and Fool's Affair, followed. None of these three singles or the B-side, When, were included on her first album, but all four songs were eventually released on CD over 30 years later in 2014 as bonus cuts on a U.S. CD reissue of Branigan's first album.
Branigan's 9-track debut album, Branigan, was released in March 1982. The first single from the album was All Night with Me, which reached No. 69 on the Billboard charts in early 1982.
The album alternated four energetic up-tempo songs with five ballads, including one of the few songs written solely by Branigan,I Wish We Could Be Alone.
Gloria, an Italian love song recorded in 1979 by Umberto Tozzi and successful in several European countries, was released as the album's second single.
Branigan's version was reworked with Tozzi's own arranger, Greg Mathieson, who updated its production with fellow producer Jack White to give it what Branigan called an American kick to match the new English lyrics. U.S. radio stations were initially unreceptive to Gloria but after it was embraced by dance clubs it eventually won them over, becoming one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. The album went gold, and the single was eventually certified platinum, sales of more than two million U.S. copies.
Branigan's performance of Gloria was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance alongside Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Juice Newton and that year's winner, Melissa Manchester, becoming her only solo nomination.
In the spring of 1983
Branigan released her second album Branigan 2. Branigan's vocals
propelled her English-language version of the French song Solitaire
toward the top of the U.S. charts. The original Solitaire was written
and recorded in 1981 by French singer-songwriter Martine Clemenceau.
Two
songs included on the album began the careers for two then-unknowns:
the English translation of Solitaire was the first major hit for
songwriter Diane Warren, while the ballad How Am I Supposed to Live
Without You was the first major hit for its co-writer, Michael Bolton.
Branigan's version reached No. 12 on the hot 100 and spent three weeks
at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.
During
the height of her career, Branigan also made acting appearances, first
in 1981 in An American Girl in Berlin for West German television, and
then after the success of Gloria, guest appearances on American
television series such as CHiPs (Fox Trap, season 6, episode 16, in
which she played Sarah, lead singer of the female rock band Cadillac
Foxes), Automan and Knight Rider.
She would later appear
in independent films including Mugsy's Girls, aka DeltaPi, 1985, with
Academy Awards winner Ruth Gordon, and the Australian film Backstage.
She sang on major national television and radio campaigns for products
including Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola and Chrysler, which sponsored her
1985–1986 Hold Me tour.
Laura Branigan
The year 1984 was the height of the European synthpop era, and SelfControl, the title track of Branigan's third album, released in April 1984 became her biggest hit internationally, topping the charts in over six countries, most notably West Germany, where it spent six weeks at No. 1.
The original version was recorded a few months earlier in 1984 by one of the song's co-writers Raffaele Riefoli under the name Raf held the West German number 2 spot during this time period; outside of Raf's native Italy, Branigan'sversion enjoyed more success, hitting No. 4 in the U.S. The song was featured on episode No. 8 of the first season of the TV series Miami Vice titled The Great McCarthy, which aired on November 16, 1984.
Other pop, disco, and adult contemporary hits from Branigan's Self Control album include The Lucky One, which won her a Tokyo Music Festival prize, the continental ballad Ti Amo, another Umberto Tozzi hit, and a No. 2 hit in Australia for Branigan, and the dance hit Satisfaction. The album also featured an understated version of Carole King's Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow; as a counterpoint to all the dance productions, it was a bare-bones piano version.
In concerts and television appearances throughout her career, Branigan accompanied herself on the piano for the song.
In 1984 Branigan's live show was recorded twice, for a syndicated radio concert series and a concert video. Branigan was also nominated for an award at the American Music Awards of 1985 for favorite pop/rock female video artist, won by Cyndi Lauper. Also in 1985 Branigan performed the main theme song for the television mini-series Hollywood Wives, based on the novel by Jackie Collins.
By the time Branigan's fourth album Hold Me was released in July 1985, Self Control was a worldwide success. The hits continued with Spanish Eddie, which was her sixth U.S. Billboard top 40 pop hit in two and a half years.
The subsequent single release Hold Me was a U.S. top-40 dance hit, and Branigan's introduction of the rock ballad I Found Someone, co-written by Michael Bolton, a later hit for Cher, scored even higher on the adult contemporary chart. However, neither song was supported by a music video, and both stalled at the low end of the Hot 100 chart.
On June 13, 1985, Branigan made her fourth appearance on legendary TV music show American Bandstand, performing Spanish Eddie and Hold Me. On July 4, 1985 she performed in Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Laura Branigan
Branigan's fifth album Touch,released July 7, 1987, marked a change in her career.
Under new management and using different producers, Branigan took a more active role in her work and in the studio, seeing her return to dance floors with the Stock-Aitken-Waterman-produced track Shattered Glass written by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe, of the band Monsoon.
Shattered Glass was performed by Branigan on the last episode of AmericanBandstand, hosted by Dick Clark, to be broadcast on ABC on September 5, 1987, becoming their last guest performer.
The album also included a return to the Billboard top-40 with her cover of Jennifer Rush's Power of Love, which was one of the 20 bestselling singles in the U.S. during the Christmas season.
The album's third single Cry Wolf, a top-30 AC hit, did not capture the attention of pop radio stations and stalled; the ballad was recorded two years later by Stevie Nicks, and more recently by its writer Jude Johnstone.
Branigan's sixth album, Laura Branigan (March 21, 1990), brought her back to the Hi-NRG charts and gay clubs with Moonlight on Water, and she scored a top-30 adult contemporary hit with Never in a Million Years.
Branigan added production to her list of credits with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson's disco-era Turn the Beat Around and the atmospheric Let Me In, a cover of an Eddie Money song. The album also includes Unison, which was the title track for Céline Dion's English debut CD in the same year.
The album's closing track, a cover of Bryan Adams' The Best Was Yet to Come, was produced and arranged by Branigan.
The 1990–1991 Laura
Branigan Tour, which was kicked off with an appearance on The Tonight
Show Starring Johnny Carson on July 13, 1990 was followed by a
performance in the Trump Regency Showroom in Atlantic City, New Jersey
on July 14, and filmed for a syndicated U.S. television show SRO in
Concert, which was released on videocassette and laserdisc; on July 15,
1990 she performed at the Warwick Musical Theatre in Rhode Island.
On Branigan's seventh
and final studio album Over My Heart (August 17, 1993), the singer again
produced, with Phil Ramone, and wrote and arranged. It included Didn't
We Almost Win It All by Branigan and Brian BecVar, released as the
first single, a cover of Cher's song Hard Enough Getting Over You,
released as the second single, a cover of the Patty Loveless single How
Can I Help You Say Goodbye, a cover of Roxette's song The Sweet
Hello, the Sad Goodbye, and Is There Anybody Here But Me?, a smooth
mid-tempo number.
Laura Branigan
After 1990 Branigan's chart success cooled in the U.S., though she was still in demand around the world and went on several global tours.
In 1994, not long after the release of Over MyHeart, Larry Kruteck, Branigan'shusband was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Branigan refused to accept the medical prognosis, and left the music industry to devote her attention to him.
Branigan put Kruteck on herbal treatments, eventually nursing him full-time. Kruteck survived for another two and a half years and died on June 15, 1996, in New York.
In early 2001, Branigan's return to the stage was postponed, when she broke both of her femurs in a 10-foot fall from a ladder while she was hanging wisteria outside her three-bedroom lakeside home in Westchester County, New York, resulting in physical therapy for six months.
In 2002, she performed twice as the singing Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis, before dropping out of the show. I left Janis because the producers failed to file with Equity properly, she told the Sunday News in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was sort of relieved. My voice isn't anything like JanisJoplin's, and there were 19 of her songs in the show.
In later years she continued to record, and dated the drummer in her band Tommy Bayiokos.
Also in 2002, her second official US hits collection, The Essentials, was released, including the long out-of-print hit I Found Someone.
Laura Branigan died in her sleep at her lodge in East Quogue, New York, on August 26, 2004, at age 52. The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed ventricular brain aneurysm. It was reported in the media that she had been experiencing headaches for several weeks before her death, but did not seek medical attention. Her ashes were scattered over Long Island Sound.
The NHL's St. Louis Blues began using Laura Branigan's cover version of Gloria as its unofficial victory song when they went on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak during the 2018–19 season. A few Blues players visited a bar in South Philadelphia called Jacks NYB to watch the NFL Wild Card game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears.
Today, The Watsons are still preparing the candidature of RennetteWatson to participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
They have been talking about the power of the social networks to expand a message and they have created a new account to promotionate Rennette in Instagram, under the username of @rennette_watson.
After, The Watsons have been talking with TheGrandma by Skype about one of the most popular winners of the EurovisionSongContest, the Quebecker celebrity Céline Dion, who represented Switzerland in 1988.
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons and four official languages: Romansh, Italian, German and French. Switzerland participates in the Eurovision Song Contest representing all these languages (one every contest). In 1988, the song had to be performanced by a French-spoken artist and Céline Dion was the chosen one.
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (Charlemagne, Quebec, born 30 March 1968) is a Quebecker singer. Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec,she emerged as a teen star in her homeland with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s.
She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland.
After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison,establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
During the 1990s, she achieved worldwide fame after releasing several best-selling English albums, such as Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997), which were both certified diamond in the US. She also scored a series of international number-one hits, including The Power of Love, Think Twice,BecauseYou Loved Me, It's All Coming Back to Me Now, My Heart Will Go On, and I'mYour Angel.
Céline Dion in Eurovision, 1988
Dion continued releasing French albums between each English record; D'eux (1995) became the best-selling French-language album of all time, while S'il suffisait d'aimer (1998), Sansattendre (2012), and Encore un soir (2016), were all certified diamond in France.
During the 2000s, she built her reputation as a highly successful live performer with A New Day... in Las Vegas Strip (2003–07), which remains the highest-grossing concert residency of all time, as well as the Taking Chances World Tour (2008–09), one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time.
Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical. Her recordings are mainly in French and English, although she also sings in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. She has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
Billboard named her the Queen of Adult Contemporary for having the most number ones on the radio format for a female artist. She is the second best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era.
In 2003, she was honoured by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling over 50 million albums in Europe. She remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of 200 million copies worldwide.
Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, 24 kilometres northeast of Montreal, the youngest of 14 children of Thérèse (née Tanguay, 1927–2020), a homemaker, and Adhémar Dion (1923-2003), a butcher, both of French-Canadian descent. She was raised a Roman Catholic in a poor, but, by her own account, happy home in Charlemagne. Music had always been a major part of the Dion family, and she was named after the song Céline, which French singer Hugues Aufray had recorded two years before her own birth.
On 13 August 1973, at the age of five, the young Céline made her first public appearance at her brother Michel's wedding, where she performed Christine Charbonneau's song Du fil des aiguilles et du coton. She continued to perform with her siblings in her parents' small piano bar called Le Vieux Baril. From an early age, she had dreamed of being a performer.
Céline Dion won Eurovision, 1988
In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she recalled, I missed my family and my home, but I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer.
Two years after she learned English, Dion made her debut into the Anglophone market with Unison (1990), the lead single having originally been recorded by Laura Branigan. She incorporated the help of many established musicians, including Vito Luprano and Canadian producer David Foster. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock music that quickly found a niche within the adult contemporary radio format. Unison also hit the right notes with critics: Jim Faber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that her vocals were tastefullyunadorned, and that she never attempted to bring off styles that are beyond her.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic declared it a fine, sophisticated American debut. Singles from the album included (If There Was) Any Other Way, The Last to Know, Unison, and Where Does My Heart Beat Now, a mid-tempo soft-rock ballad that made prominent use of the electric guitar. The latter became her first top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four.
In 1991, Dion was a featured soloist on Voices That Care, a tribute to American troops fighting in Operation Desert Storm.
In 1993, Dion announced her feelings for her manager by declaring him the colour of [her] love in the dedication section of her third English-language album The Colour of My Love. However, instead of criticizing their relationship as she had feared, fans embraced the couple. Eventually, Angélil and Dion married in an extravagant wedding ceremony in December 1994, which was broadcast live on Canadian television.
Dion was asked to perform The Power of the Dream at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In March 1996, she launched the Falling into You Tour in support of her new album, performing concerts around the world for over a year.
Let's Talk About Love was another major success, reaching No. 1 all over the world, attaining platinum status in twenty-four sales territories, and becoming the fastest selling album of her career.
Céline Dion in Eurovision, 1988
The most successful single from the album was the classically influenced ballad My Heart Will Go On, which was written and composed by James Horner and Will Jennings, and produced by Horner and Walter Afanasieff for Titanic movie.
In early 2002, Dion announced a three-year, 600-show contract to appear five nights a week in an entertainment extravaganza, A New Day..., at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
On 21 May 2007, Dion released the French-language album D'elles, which debuted at the top of the Canadian album charts, selling 72,200 copies in its first week.
On 22 August 2008, Dion presented a free outdoor concert, mostly in French, on the Plains of Abraham, in Québec City, for the 400th anniversary of Québec City.
On 13 August 2014, Dion announced the indefinite postponement of all her show business activities, including her concert residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and the cancellation of her Asia Tour, because of the worsening of her husband's health.
In October 2015, Dion announced on social media that she had begun working on a new French album, posting a photo by the side of Algerian singer Zaho. Dion's French single, Encore un soir, was released on 24 May 2016.
On 3 May 2018, she released the single Ashes from the film Deadpool 2.
On 3 April 2019, Dion announced her 2019/2020 Courage World Tour, beginning in Quebec City. She also announced a new English language album of the same name, to be released later in November 2019.
Dion is often regarded as one of pop music's most influential voices. According to Linda Lister in Divafication: The Deification of Modern Female Pop Stars, she has been described as a reigning Queen of Pop for her influence over the record industry during the 1990s, alongside other female entertainers, including Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
The Grandma is still in Brussels. She is enjoying the city, its people and its amazing culture. Today, she has decided to know more things about Jacques Brel,one of the most popular Belgian singers of all times and one of The Grandma's favouriteone, too.
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (8 April 1929-9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer, songwriter, poet, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following -initially in Belgium and France- later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.
Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many performers, including: Bowie; Walker, Ray Charles; Judy Collins; John Denver; The Kingston Trio; Nina Simone; Shirley Bassey; Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams.
Brel was a successful actor, appearing in 10 films. He directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time.
Brel married Thérèse "Miche" Michielsen in 1950, and the couple had three children. He also had a romantic relationship with actress and dancer Maddly Bamy from 1972 until his death in 1978.
Jacques Romain Georges
Brel was born on 8 April 1929 in Schaerbeek, Brussels, to Élisabeth
"Lisette" and Romain Brel. He came from a family of Flemish descent, who
had adopted the French language; part of his family originated in
Zandvoorde, near Ypres.
Jacques Brel
His father worked for Cominex, an import–export firm, and later became co-director of a company that manufactured cardboard. Jacques and his older brother Pierre grew up in an austere household, and attended a Catholic primary school, École Saint-Viateur, run by the order of Saint Viator.
Remembered as a courteous and manageable pupil, Brel did well in reading and writing, but struggled through arithmetic and Dutch. The boys were also members of the local Boy Scouts troop, enjoyed their time at summer camp and on family outings to the North Sea coast.
In Brussels, the family lived at 138 Avenue du Diamant in Schaerbeek, then moved to 26 Boulevard Belgica in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, and finally settled at 7 Rue Jacques-Manne in Anderlecht. Brel was close to his mother, fascinated by her generosity and sense of humour, which he inherited.
In September 1941, his
parents enrolled Brel at the Institut Saint-Louis at rue du Marais near
the Botanical Garden of Brussels. Although he did poorly in many
subjects, he did well in history and French, and showed a talent for
writing. He helped set up the school's drama club, taking on his first
stage roles with great enthusiasm. He wrote short stories, poems, and
essays.
In 1944, at the age of 15, Brel began playing the guitar. The following year he formed his own theatre group with friends and began writing plays. In the spring of 1947, during his final year at Saint-Louis, Brel wrote a short story titled Frédéric for a school magazine Le Grand Feu. Published pseudonymously, the story is about a man on his death bed who encourages his grandson to run away while the rest of the family makes arrangements for his funeral. Despite his growing talent for writing, Brel was not a good student, and failed many of his exams.
With an academic career not in his future, the 18-year-old Brel went to work at his father's cardboard factory in August 1947. His job at Vanneste and Brel was predictable and uninspiring -a routine that involved fixing prices and meeting customers. Apart from joining the
company football team, he showed little interest in the company's social
activities and events. Perhaps to offset the boredom of his daily
office routine, he joined a local Catholic youth organisation La Franche
Cordée (FC), which had as its motto, More is within you.
Dedicated to philanthropic work,
the group organised religious retreats, fundraising events, and food
and clothing deliveries to orphanages and old people's homes.
Jacques Brel
Brel supported these activities with great enthusiasm and believed strongly in FC's mission. His parents were pleased with their son's dedication, and provided him with the company van and family car to support his FC activities.
In June 1948, Brel enlisted for military service, did his basic training in Limbourg, and served as a corporal in the Belgian air force stationed at Groenveld barracks in Zellik near Brussels. Throughout his military service, Brel was still able to attend FC meetings. While working at FC, Brel met his future wife, Thérèse Michielsen, known to her friends as "Miche".
On 1 June 1950, Jacques and Miche were married at Laeken, a suburb of the City of Brussels. On 6 December 1951, Miche gave birth to their first daughter, Chantal.
In 1952 Brel began
writing songs and performing them at family gatherings and on Brussels'
cabaret circuit. His family and friends were not supportive of his stark
lyrics and violent, emotional performances. That year he performed on a
local radio station for the first time.
In January 1953, Brel performed at the cabaret La Rose Noire in Brussels. In February he signed a contract with Philips Records and recorded his first 78 rpm record, Il Y A, which was released in March. The talent scout and artistic director at the record company, Jacques Canetti, invited him to move to Paris.
Despite his family's objections and the added pressure of raising a second daughter, France, born on 12 July, he left Brussels for Paris in the autumn of 1953. In Paris Brel worked hard to get his career off the ground. He stayed at the Hotel Stevens and gave guitar lessons to artist-dancer Francesco Frediani to pay his rent. He found work on the cabaret circuit at venues such as L'Écluse, L'Échelle de Jacob, and in Jacques Canetti's cabaret Les Trois Baudets.
In 1954 Brel competed in
the music contest Grand Prix de la Chanson in Knokke-le-Zoute,
finishing a disappointing 27th out of 28 participants. One positive
result of the experience was that the French star Juliette Gréco
requested to sing one of Brel's songs, Le diable (Ça va), at her
up-and-coming concert at the prestigious Olympia music-hall. She went on
to record the song that spring.
Jacques Brel
In July 1954, Brel made his first appearance at the prestigious Olympia Theatre in Paris.
Later that summer, he embarked on his first French tour, appearing on the bill with French singers Dario Moreno, Philippe Clay, and Catherine Sauvage. By the end of the year, Philips released his debut album, a nine-song, 10-inch LP called Jacques Brel et ses Chansons. In February 1955, Brel met Georges "Jojo" Pasquier, who would become the singer's closest friend, manager, and personal chauffeur. He began singing with a number of Christian associations, which later led to his nickname of Abbé "Abbot" Brel. In March Brel's wife and children joined him in France and the family settled in the Paris suburb of Montreuil-sous-Bois at the rue du Moulin à vent. In June he toured France again with Canetti's show Les Filles de Papa, which included Françoise Dorin, Perrette Souplex, and Suzanne Gabriello.
In March 1956, Brel
performed in North Africa, Amsterdam, Lausanne, and throughout Belgium.
In July, while visiting Grenoble, he met François Rauber, a classical
pianist who would become his accompanist on future recordings. Rauber
played a major role in providing Brel with the formal musical training
he was lacking and was responsible for Brel's musical arrangements.
The year 1964 brought a
mix of personal tragedies and professional triumphs. On 8 January,
Brel's father, Romain, died of bronchial pneumonia. Only two months
later, on 7 March, his mother Élisabeth, nicknamed Mouky, also died. At
the same time, he was given the Gold Medal of Brussels from the Tourist
Information Bureau and won a prize from the Société d’Auteurs
Belge/Belgische Auteurs Maatschappij (SABAM). He was also awarded the
French Academy's Grand Prix du Disque. He continued his ambitious
touring schedule.
By the end of the year, he released a new live album, Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1964. That year, he discovered a new passion, aviation. After taking flying lessons with Paul Lepanse, he purchased a small plane.
In the United States,
his audience was growing. American poet and singer Rod McKuen began
translating Brel's songs into English, and the Kingston Trio recorded
one of his English versions on their Time to Think album, Seasons in
the Sun, based on Brel's Le Moribond.
In January 1967, Brel
finished recording songs for a new studio album, Jacques Brel 67, which
was released later in the year. The album included Mon Enfance, Fils
de..., Les bonbons 67, and La Chanson des vieux amants. In late
January, he returned to Carnegie Hall and gave one final performance.
Jacques Brel
By early 1973, Brel knew that he was ill. He prepared his will, leaving everything to his wife Miche. In the spring he recorded a new single, L'Enfance, the proceeds of which he donated to La Fondation Perce Neige, an association set up to help disabled children.
After completing his last film L'emmerdeur, he took his daughters on a cruise. In November, he embarked on a two-month cruise across the Atlantic with five of his closest friends on the training ship Le Korrig. Brel devoted the final years of his life to his passion for sailing.
In 1977, Brel decided to record one final album. Despite his recent years away from the continent, his legend lived on in Europe and his records still sold millions of copies each year. In August, Brel returned to Paris and moved into a small hotel. He had quit smoking and, despite his poor health, was enthusiastic about working again with his faithful collaborators François Rauber and Gérard Jouannest.
In September and October, Brel recorded 12 of the 17 new songs he had written in the Marquesas. The result was his final album, Les Marquises, which included Jaures, Vieillir, Le Bon Dieu, Orly, Voir un Ami pleurer, Jojo, and Les Marquises. The new album was released on 17 November and was received as an historic national event in France.
At Brel's request,
Barclay did not run a huge promotional campaign for the album, and
still, by word of mouth alone, over a million fans placed advance
orders. The day the album was released, Jacques and Maddly returned to
their home in the Marquesas Islands.
From January to June 1978, Jacques and Maddly lived quietly at their home on Atuona Bay on Hiva-Oa island. In July, after his health began to fail, Brel was flown back to France and rushed to a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where doctors discovered a cancerous tumour. He remained in the hospital for six weeks and then spent the rest of the summer in Southern France.
On 7 October, he was rushed to hospital Avicenne in Bobigny near Paris. He died of a pulmonary embolism at 4.10 am on 9 October 1978 at the age of 49. On 12 October, his body was flown back to the Marquesas Islands, where he was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona on the southern side of Hiva Oa island in the Marquesas, French Polynesia -a few yards away from the grave of artist Paul Gauguin.
Brel himself occasionally included parts of his songs in Dutch, one of the three official languages of Belgium, as in Mariek. He also recorded eight other Dutch versions of songs, such as Mijn vlakke land, Laat me niet alleen, Rosa, De Burgerij, and De Nuttelozen van de Nacht. Brel also recorded two obscure singles in Dutch, De apen and Men vergeet niets, which were included in the 16-CD box set Boîte à Bonbons by Barclay. So far unreleased is the song Als men niets dan liefde heeft.
Marieke was translated by Brel himself. Since his own command of Dutch was poor, most of Brel's later Dutch interpretations were translated by Ernst van Altena, with Brel's cooperation, and are generally considered to be relatively true to the original French and poetic. De Apen was translated by Eric Franssen. Men vergeet niets was translated by well known Flemish artist Will Ferdy. Popular singers from the Netherlands singing Brel's songs in Dutch have been Liesbeth List, Jan Mesdag and Jeroen Willems.
Ne me quitte pas Il faut oublier Tout peut s'oublier Qui s'enfuit déjà Oublier le temps Des malentendus Et le temps perdu À savoir comment Oublier ces heures Qui tuaient parfois à coups de pourquoi Le cœur du bonheur
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