Mireille Mathieu From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable references. Unsourced or poorly sourced material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially harmful. (July 2008 ) Mireille Mathieu Performance at Victory Day in Moscow in May 2005 Background information Also known as Mimi Born July 22, 1946(1946-07-22) Avignon, Vaucluse, France Genre(s) Pop standards, Cabaret songs, Dixieland, Jazz Occupation(s) Singer, Actress Years active 1950 - present Mireille Mathieu (pronounced [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 has gained great popularity in Russia). She has performed and recorded songs in at least nine languages. Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Discography (Albums) 3 See also 4 References 5 External links [edit] Biography Mireille Mathieu was born in Avignon, Vaucluse, France, the eldest 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 the orchestra leader Paul Mauriat and the 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. Following her outstanding performance at the London Palladium, her French cover of Engelbert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz" ("La Dernière Valse") generated much publicity in Great Britain and was a hit even though the original had been number one only a few months previously. 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, and 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 ensembles, including: Red Army Choir, Charles Aznavour, Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, Plácido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Tom Jones, and Peter Alexander. First album release in 1966: En Direct de L'OlympiaSongs 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 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 thirty-seventh French album De tes mains. Mathieu celebrated the fortieth anniversary of her career at the Paris Olympia, in November 2005, after releasing her thirty-eighth 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 have featured members of "The Fleschettes" (Francine Chantereau, Martine Latorre, Dominque Poulain and Catherine Bonnevay Welch) as backing chorus vocalists. [edit] 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 Mexico 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 Mexico 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 Mexico 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 [edit] See also List of best selling music artists [edit] References Biography, official site. ^ Mireille Mathieu Biographie en 16 Langues ^ RFI Musique - - Mireille Mathieu [edit] External links Official site Russian fan site (Russian) German fan site (German) Israeli fan site Preceded by Brigitte Bardot Marianne 1978–1985 Succeeded by Catherine Deneuve Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mireille_Mathieu" Categories: 1946 births | Living people | People from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | French singers | French female singers | French pop singers | Marianne (personification) | People from Avignon | French-language singers | German-language singers | Spanish-language singers | English-language singers | Italian-language singers