Édith Piaf (December 19 1915 – October 11 1963)[October 11 is the official date of her death. She actually died on October 10 (see ahead in the article).] was one of France's most loved singers and a national icon. Her music reflected her tragic life, with her speciality being the poignant ballad presented with a heartbreaking voice. Among her most famous songs are "La vie en rose" (1946), "Hymne à l'amour" (1949), "Milord" (1959), "Non, je ne regrette rien" (1960).
Early life
Despite numerous published biographies, many facts and events of Édith's life are shrouded in mystery. She was born "Édith Giovanna Gassion" in
Belleville, Paris, the high-immigration district later described by
Daniel Pennac. Legend has it that she was born on the pavement of
Rue de Belleville 72 but according to her birth certificate that was at
Hôpital Tenon, the Belleville
arrondissement hospital. She was named Édith after the executed British nurse
Edith Cavell (Piaf —Parisian jargon for "sparrow"— came from a nickname she would receive twenty years later).
Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard (1898 – 1945), was a partly-Italian 17-year-old girl, native of Livorno, working as a café singer under the pseudonym Line Marsa; from her, Édith took the middle name of Giovanna. Her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion (1881 – 1944), was a street acrobat with a theatrical past. The little Édith was soon abandoned and left for a short time to her maternal grandmother, Mena (probably a Kabyle). Shortly after, Édith's father brought the child to his mother, who ran a brothel in Normandy, and then joined the French Army (1916). Thus Édith was in contact with the prostitutes and the various attenders of the brothel since her early years, a circumstance which must have had a deep impact on her personality and vision of life.
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Piaf, Edith - Twitter Searchjust sang 'je ne regrette rien' at the broken spoke...I love me some edith piafughIjusttweeted (Christine Stillman) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:09:13 -0000
just sang 'je ne regrette rien' at the broken spoke...I love me some edith piaf
@lyunberg pues le puse de todo, l'amour carla bruni, again again lady gaga, oceania bjork, celebration madonna, ne me quitte pas edith piafGertz88 (Gerardo Vélez A.) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:46:04 -0000
@lyunberg pues le puse de todo, l'amour carla bruni, again again lady gaga, oceania bjork, celebration madonna, ne me quitte pas edith piaf
listening to "Edith Piaf - Mon Homme" â« http://blip.fm/~hiec2lisahorstman (Lisa Horstman) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:23:51 -0000
listening to "Edith Piaf - Mon Homme" ♫ http://blip.fm/~hiec2
@tallescolatino @thikos edith piaf e cássia eller vão ressucitar pra dar uma pisa em gaduzão por causa de ne me quittes paseduarrdo (Eduardo Dias) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:19:48 -0000
@tallescolatino @thikos edith piaf e cássia eller vão ressucitar pra dar uma pisa em gaduzão por causa de ne me quittes pas
@raisamab ahaaz, com Edith Piaf!maelcosta (Mael Costa.) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:09:08 -0000
@raisamab ahaaz, com Edith Piaf!
Edith Piaf procês http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRuLFR91e4&feature=relatedtaianisb (Taiani S. Bina) Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:00:32 -0000
Edith Piaf procês http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRuLFR91e4&feature=related
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Edith Piaf - Detailed photographic history of the singer.
Meta Description: [ A Photographic History of Edith Piaf ]
Literary Traveler: In Honor of Edith Piaf - Article by Deborah Straw Conklin about the French singer, her sometimes turbulent life, and the small museum dedicated to her.
Meta Description: [ An article about Edith Piaf by Literary Traveler ]
Soundprint: The Nights of Edith Piaf - Radio show about the singer, with audio.