Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu |
|---|
Mireille Mathieu (IPA: [miʁɛj maˈtjø] in French) (born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has achieved great success in France, as well as becoming an international superstar (she was extremely popular in the Soviet Union). She has performed and recorded songs in at least nine languages.
Biography
Mireille Mathieu was born in Avignon, Vaucluse, France, the oldest daughter of a poor family of fourteen children. She began appearing in public at the age of four, singing in her church. As a young girl she worked in a factory, where she saved money to pay for singing lessons.
Discovered by Johnny Stark, manager of France's biggest star at the time, Johnny Hallyday, she was tutored by orchestra leader Paul Mauriat and song writer André Pascal. Pascal wrote "Mon crédo", "Viens dans ma rue", "La première étoile" and many other hit songs for her . After a television performance in 1965 and a debut run at the Paris Olympia, she was hailed as another Édith Piaf because of her haunting voice.
Singles such as "Mon Credo" and "C'est Ton Nom" made her a huge star in France and elsewhere in Europe, as well as a great success in the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. Her first album release in 1966 En Direct de L'Olympia - on the Barclay label - featured these songs and was highly acclaimed.
Her French cover of Engelbert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz" ("La Dernière Valse") generated much publicity in Great Britain and with hit after hit, she soon toured Canada and the United States where she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Danny Kaye Show. In Las Vegas, she sang with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to great applause.
Still much in demand, she continues to perform regularly. She travels frequently, appearing at such venues as New York City's Carnegie Hall, the Sport Palace in Montreal, Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and Ice Palace of Saint Petersburg.
She has sold about 150 million copies of her albums in her forty-year career, recorded about 1200 songs in nine languages. [1] She was the first western singer in history to give concerts in China. Over the years, she has sung with many famous singers and ensambles including: Red Army Choir, Charles Aznavour, Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, Plácido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Tom Jones, and Peter Alexander.
Songs such as "Acropolis adieu," "Ne me quitte pas," and "Santa Maria de la mer," are considered classics. Her French version of Roy Orbison's ballad, "Blue Bayou", is regarded by many as one of the best covers of that popular song. Noted French/Algerian lyricist Eddy Marnay who wrote songs for Edith Piaf during her later career was the author of several songs Mireille recorded and popularized.
In 1989, President François Mitterrand invited Mireille Mathieu to sing a tribute to General de Gaulle. She gave a series of concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in December 1990. Three years later, she released an album devoted to her idol, Edith Piaf.
In January 1996, "Vous lui direz…" was released. Maxime le Forestier wrote one of the titles, "A la moitié de la distance". She did not choose to perform live in France to promote the album, preferring rather to go to Los Angeles, where she triumphed on November 14th with her vibrant tribute to another of her idols, Judy Garland. The performance was a tremendous success. She was dressed by Provence couturier, Christian Lacroix and looked stunning for the performance. [2]
In 2002, she released her 37th French album De tes mains. Mathieu celebrated the 40th anniversary of her career at the Paris Olympia, in November 2005, after releasing her 38th French album, which reached number 14 on the charts in France and remained in the top 100 for several months.
Many of Mireille's recordings since 1969 featured members of "The Fleschettes" (Francine Chantereau, Martine Latorre, Dominque Poulain and Catherine Bonnevay Welch) as backing chorus vocalists.
Discography (Albums)
| Year | Album | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | En Direct de L'Olympia | France | |
| 1966 | The Fabulous New French Singing Star | USA | |
| 1967 | Made in France | France | |
| 1968 | Le merveilleux petit monde de Mireille Mathieu chante Noël | France | Christmas album |
| 1969 | La première etoile | France | |
| 1969 | Mayerling | Mexique | |
| 1969 | Olympia | France | |
| 1969 | Mireille... Mireille | Germany | First German album - wonderful fold out cover |
| 1970 | Mireille... Mireille | France | |
| 1970 | Merci Mireille | Germany | |
| 1971 | Bonjour Mireille | France | |
| 1971 | Mireille Mathieu en concert au Canada | Canada | Live recording |
| 1972 | Mireille Mathieu chante Francis Lai | France | |
| 1972 | J'étais si jeune | France | |
| 1972 | Meine Träume | Germany | |
| 1973 | Olympia | France | |
| 1973 | L'amour et la vie | France | |
| 1974 | Und der Wind wird ewig singen | Germany | |
| 1974 | Le vent de la nuit | France | |
| 1974 | Mirelle Mathieu chante Ennio Morricone | France | |
| 1974 | Mireille Mathieu en concert à Byblos | Lebanon | Live recording |
| 1975 | Apprends-moi | France | |
| 1975 | Rendezvous mit Mireille | Germany | |
| 1975 | Wünsch Dir was – Eine musikalische Weltreise mit Mireille Mathieu | Germany | |
| 1976 | Et tu seras poète | France | |
| 1976 | Herzlichst Mireille | Germany | |
| 1976 | Und wieder wird es Weihnachtszeit | Germany | Christmas album |
| 1977 | Sentimentalement vôtre | France | |
| 1977 | Die schönsten deutschen Volkslieder | Germany | |
| 1977 | Der Rhein und Das Lied von der Elbe | Germany | |
| 1977 | Das neue Schlager-Album | Germany | |
| 1977 | Es ist Zeit für Musik | Germany | ZDF-Show recording |
| 1978 | Fidelement vôtre | France | |
| 1978 | J'ai peur d'aimer un souvenir | Japan | |
| 1978 | Alle Kinder dieser Erde | Germany | |
| 1979 | Mireille Mathieu Chante Paul Anka: Toi et Moi | France | |
| 1979 | Mireille Mathieu Sings Paul Anka | World | |
| 1979 | Romantiquement vôtre | France | |
| 1979 | So ein schöner Abend | Germany | |
| 1980 | Un peu... beaucoup... passionnément | France | |
| 1980 | Gefuhle | Germany | |
| 1980 | 30 Favoritas de Mireille | Mexique | album 3 lp's avec Madrecita del Niños dios |
| 1981 | Bravo tu as gagné | Japan | |
| 1981 | Je vous aime… | France | |
| 1981 | Die Liebe einer Frau | Germany | |
| 1982 | Trois milliards de gens sur terre | France | |
| 1982 | Ein neuer Morgen | Germany | |
| 1982 | Bonsoir Mathieu | Germany | ZDF-Show recording |
| 1983 | Je veux l'aimer | France | |
| 1983 | Nur für dich | Germany | |
| 1984 | Chanter | France | |
| 1984 | Los cuentos de cri cri | Mexique | |
| 1984 | The tales of cri cri | Usa | |
| 1985 | La demoiselle d'Orléans | France | |
| 1985 | Les grandes chansons françaises | France | |
| 1985 | Welterfolge aus Paris | Germany | German-language version of ‘Les grandes chansons françaises’ |
| 1986 | In Liebe Mireille | Germany | |
| 1986 | Après toi | France | |
| 1987 | Rencontres de femmes | France | |
| 1987 | Tour de L'Europe | Germany | |
| 1988 | Mireille Mathieu à Moscou | USSR | Live recording |
| 1989 | L'American | France | |
| 1989 | Embrujo [Himno al amor, 1990] | Spain | Spanish-language album |
| 1990 | Ce soir je t'ai perdu | France | |
| 1991 | Una mujer | Spain | Spanish-language album |
| 1991 | Mireille Mathieu - Que Pour Toi | France | |
| 1993 | Mireille Mathieu chante Piaf | France | |
| 1993 | Unter dem Himmel von Paris | Germany | German-language version of ‘Mireille Mathieu chante Piaf’ |
| 1995 | Vous lui direz | France | |
| 1996 | In meinem Traum | Germany | |
| 1999 | Alles nur ein Spiel | Germany | |
| 2002 | De tes mains | France | |
| 2005 | Une place dans mon coeur | France | |
| 2007 | In Meinem Herzen | Germany | 12-10-2007 |