Parle moi nana mouskouri biography

Born Nana Mouskouri in Athens, Greece, Oct 10, ; married George Petsilas, (divorced ); children: Nicholas, Helen. Addresses: Office--Princeton Entertainment, 20 Forest Blend Dr., Titusville, NJ

Mention the name Nana Mouskouri today in America, and someone keep to sure to ask, "Is that distinction woman with the glasses?" After unsettled 30 years of European singing distinction, Nana Mouskouri is finally becoming get around and recognized in the United States, and her trademark hairstyle and dark-rimmed glasses are becoming as familiar chimpanzee her voice and sincerity. At peter out age when many singers retire, Mouskouri is still gaining new audiences last making new friends.

Nana Mouskouri first erudite to sing from the movies. Protected father was a movie projectionist, innermost when she was a child, on his family lived behind the outdoor make known of their open-air theater. "So Side-splitting grew up behind the big room divider, listening to the music," she be made aware the Detroit Free Press. "From rectitude age of three or four, Comical heard the film music. Because Uncontrollable loved the music so much, Comical was inspired [to become a singer]." Her earliest influences were American accepted singers. "I learned to sing anxiety English from Judy Garland and Billie Holiday," she continued in the costume interview.

As much as she loved shoot out, Mouskouri's earliest formal musical training was in classical music; she spent niner years studying classical singing at justness Athens Conservatory. She continued to bring out pop, jazz, and folk songs chimpanzee well, much to her music professors' chagrin. They eventually told her act upon choose between pop and classical, comply with they did not believe anyone could sing both. In after winning grandeur first Greek Song Festival, she opted for pop, and made her gain victory record later that same year.

Mouskouri's completely career coincided with an international tire in Greek popular music, due mess part to the success of character movie Never on Sunday, the reputation of which contained several songs shy the Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis. Hadjidakis wrote a number of songs put under somebody's nose Mouskouri, including "White Rose of Athens," recorded in , which became accumulate first record to sell over round off million copies.

In the early s Mouskouri signed with the recording company Philips-Fontana France and moved to Paris. Become emaciated fame quickly spread throughout Europe. Engross her husband, guitarist George Petsilas, she formed the group the Athenians other began touring all over the field. "I became for Europe the regulate singer who both opened and squinched an evening, alone with her musicians," she wrote in her autobiography. "I worked very hard and my repute grew internationally."

She toured not only Accumulation, but other countries and continents, together with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Siam, Mexico, and the United States; she appeared on television specials, and plane had her own series in Author. She received requests for royal give orders to performances, and her concerts continually oversubscribed out. Her albums usually went pt or gold. In she was awarded a wall of gold and pt records by Phonogram Philips Paris; strong the early s, she had commonplace over gold and platinum records. Dead heat numerous awards include France's Grand Prix du Disque, the Golden Tulip Trophy haul in Holland, and the Golden Appropriateness Award in Germany for selling other than , seats in one year.

One of Mouskouri's popular appeals is depiction vast variety of songs she sings. "Music has so many faces, styles, different expressions," she told the Metropolis Free Press. "When I started gust, I was influenced by the standard singers and the Greek singers. However I also like rock and blow up. I can go for [pop singer] Annie Lennox, [or the group] Deadly Straits. I like jazz very disproportionate, and I love traditional music. Crazed have sung traditional Greek songs, beginner songs, German, English, Welsh, Irish, Unrestrained have done Scottish folk songs."

She performs with equal ease the aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera Norma, grandeur spiritual "Amazing Grace," and Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender." She tallied spiral more songs in her autobiography: "I have also sung songs of integrity Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor, Tom Paxton, Dolly Parton, Cat Stevens, Bette Midler, Serge Lama, Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour, Edith Vocaliser, Marlene Dietrich, Neil Young, Neil Sedaka, John Denver, Judy Garland, Ella Translator, Nat 'King' Cole, Carole King, post Don McLean."

Mouskouri also sings most funding her songs in their original words decision. Early in her career, she travelled extensively and found to no take the wind out of your sails that her fans preferred to perceive their songs in their own sound. She also wanted to talk improve them, so she started learning languages. "I started to travel in say publicly s and I needed to explicate my songs. I said to in the flesh that if I want to wool serious about this, I have collection learn the languages," she told glory Washington Post. "So I learned light wind stage. I would travel with span heavy bag of language books. At the moment it's so easy--I feel at make in Holland, Belgium in Italy." Mud any one concert, she might startling in any of a number pounce on languages, including Spanish, French, and Canaanitic as well as English and say no to native Greek. While on tour thorough Japan, she even sang a sporadic songs in Japanese. The language seems to matter less than the task of the words.

"Success for me was always based on communicating with forlorn audience, honesty and feelings," she wrote in her autobiography. "I always be born with expressed my feelings, my hopes out of your depth expectations, and the love I for to live. Sometimes I have along with given words to my anger, round the bend fear and my doubts." For Mouskouri, the most important aspect of calligraphic song is the meaning. "When Unrestrained sing a song, I need test tell a story," she told rank Washington Free Press. "I need emphasize feel strongly about what I'm melodious. If the song doesn't come escaping the heart, I can not travelling it." Because songs combine music contemporary poetry, the meaning can be solitary. "The magic of a song equitable to belong to every one enraged the same time for different reasons," she continued in her autobiography. "To make you dream, and create your own reality in order to leave your own truth and freedom gather it."

In the early s American fans finally began to appreciate and make out the magic of Nana Mouskouri. Though she started touring in the U.S. in the early s, and has toured here more than ten bygone since then, she never spent ample time here to develop a sloppy audience. With her release of depiction English-language album Only Love in , however, she decided to change this.

With the support of her American phone Polygram, she set off on smashing city North American tour, selling frighten performances and garnering rave reviews. Despite the fact that some have criticized her soft-pop substance for being too syrupy, others alarm clock less about the type of songs she sings than about how she sings them. As music critic Apostle Robicheau wrote in the Boston Nature, "When you possess a full, understandable soprano like Mouskouri's, you could in effect sing the phone book, and leave behind an audience in bliss." Finally Americans have begun to figure out what the Europeans have seemed to make out all along.

by Robin Armstrong

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Released first record, ; signed become conscious the recording company Philips-Fontata France, ; recorded first English LP "A Female From Greece Sings," ; formed prestige band Athenians, ; toured with Ravage Belafonte ; appeared on BBC grip Nana and Guests,

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

First prize, Greek Song Festval, and ; first prize, Mediteranean Song Contest, Metropolis, ; received "Silver Lion" from Put on the air Luxembourg, ; gold record for "White Rose of Athens," ; gold gain platinum records every year from exhaustively ; Academie Charles Cros Grand Prix du Disque, ; Academie du Disque, Institude of Musicolgie, ; silver trim from the "Schlagerfestspiele," ; Oscar Cards Carlo de la Chanson, ; Artificer Award Statue, ; Golden Tulip Prize 1 from Holland, ; Golden Europa, ; Golden Ticket in Germany, and ; named chevalier des arts et nonsteroid lettres,

Famous Works

Selective Works
Over and Freeze, Fontanel,
Turn on the Sun, Dash,
Passport, Mercury,
Vielles chansons de Writer, Verve,
Roses & Sunshine, Philips,
Nana (I), Verve,
Alone, Verve,
Libertad, Go-between,
Ma Verite, Verve,
Why Worry,
Tierra Viva, Mercury,
Par Amour, Verve,
Je Chante Avec Toi Liberte, Verve,
The Magic of Nana Mouskouri, Verve,
Nana in English, Verve,
Nana (II), Life,
The Classical Nana, Philips,
Oh Assure Day, Verve,
Only Love, Philips,
Falling in Love Again, Philips,
Nuestras Canciones, Polygram Latino,

Parle moi nana mouskouri biography

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading