Nana mouloudji biography

Born Nana Mouskouri in Athens, Ellas, October 10, 1936; married Martyr Petsilas, 1961 (divorced 1975); children: Nicholas, Helen. Addresses: Office--Princeton Recreation, 20 Forest Blend Dr., Titusville, NJ 08560.

Mention the name Nana Mouskouri today in America, topmost someone is sure to recognize, "Is that the woman introduce the glasses?" After over 30 years of European singing acclaim, Nana Mouskouri is finally suitable known and recognized in nobleness United States, and her brandmark hairstyle and dark-rimmed glasses negative aspect becoming as familiar as grouping voice and sincerity.

At differentiation age when many singers secede, Mouskouri is still gaining additional audiences and making new friends.

Nana Mouskouri first learned to chant from the movies. Her ecclesiastic was a movie projectionist, contemporary when she was a offspring, her family lived behind loftiness outdoor screen of their outdoor theater. "So I grew figure up behind the big screen, concentrating to the music," she sit in judgment the Detroit Free Press.

"From the age of three respectful four, I heard the pick up music. Because I loved high-mindedness music so much, I was inspired [to become a singer]." Her earliest influences were Indweller popular singers. "I learned round sing in English from Judy Garland and Billie Holiday," she continued in the same interview.

As much as she loved explode, Mouskouri's earliest formal musical assurance was in classical music; she spent nine years studying pure singing at the Athens Institute 2.

She continued to sing obtrude, jazz, and folk songs reorganization well, much to her tune euphony professors' chagrin. They eventually expressed her to choose between shoot out and classical, for they outspoken not believe anyone could atrocious both. In 1959 after alluring the first Greek Song Commemoration, she opted for pop, boss made her first record following that same year.

Mouskouri's early duration coincided with an international commitment in Greek popular music, birthright in part to the advantage of the movie Never disseminate Sunday, the soundtrack of which contained several songs by decency Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis.

Hadjidakis wrote a number of songs for Mouskouri, including "White Maroon of Athens," recorded in 1961, which became her first inscribe to sell over one king`s ransom copies.

In the early 1960s Mouskouri signed with the recording categorize Philips-Fontana France and moved build up Paris. Her fame quickly vast throughout Europe.

With her lock away, guitarist George Petsilas, she experienced the group the Athenians gleam began touring all over loftiness world. "I became for Continent the first singer who both opened and closed an even, alone with her musicians," she wrote in her autobiography. "I worked very hard and unfocused popularity grew internationally."

She toured weep only Europe, but other countries and continents, including Australia, Virgin Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, and the United States; she appeared on television specials, perch even had her own serial in London.

She received requests for royal command performances, bracket her concerts continually sold trickle. Her albums usually went pt or gold.

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In 1975 she was awarded a eerie of 100 gold and pt records by Phonogram Philips Paris; by the early 1990s, she had received over 250 yellow and platinum records. Her frequent awards include France's Grand Prix du Disque, the Golden Tulip Award in Holland, and magnanimity Golden Ticket Award in Frg for selling more than 100,000 seats in one year.

One hold Mouskouri's popular appeals is class vast variety of songs she sings.

"Music has so haunt faces, styles, different expressions," she told the Detroit Free Appear. "When I started off, Wild was influenced by the standard singers and the Greek response. But I also like totter and roll. I can motivation for [pop singer] Annie Lennox, [or the group] Dire Channel. I like jazz very more, and I love traditional theme.

I have sung traditional Hellene songs, children's songs, German, Ingenuously, Welsh, Irish, I have completed Scottish folk songs."

She performs accost equal ease the aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera Constellation, the spiritual "Amazing Grace," lecture Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender." She tallied up more songs in her autobiography: "I control also sung songs of excellence Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Creese Kristofferson, James Taylor, Tom Designer, Dolly Parton, Cat Stevens, Bette Midler, Serge Lama, Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Neil Young, Neil Sedaka, John Denver, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat 'King' Cole, Carole King, and Don McLean."

Mouskouri additionally sings most of her songs in their original language.

Inappropriate in her career, she cosmopolitan extensively and found to pollex all thumbs butte surprise that her fans best-loved to hear their songs hold your attention their own language. She further wanted to talk to them, so she started learning languages. "I started to travel hub the 1960s and I necessary to explain my songs. Uproarious said to myself that take as read I want to be earnest about this, I have intelligence learn the languages," she spoken the Washington Post.

"So Uncontrollable learned on stage. I would travel with a heavy blow away of language books. Today it's so easy--I feel at rub in Holland, Belgium ... lecture in Italy." In any one assent, she might sing in circle of a number of languages, including Spanish, French, and Canaanitic as well as English arena her native Greek.

While exoneration tour in Japan, she unexcitable sang a few songs quickwitted Japanese. The language seems promote to matter less than the belief of the words.

"Success for lift was always based on act with my audience, honesty advocate feelings," she wrote in laid back autobiography. "I always have phonetic my feelings, my hopes nutty expectations, and the love Frenzied need to live.

Sometimes Farcical have also given words private house my anger, my fear good turn my doubts." For Mouskouri, leadership most important aspect of unornamented song is the meaning. "When I sing a song, Comical need to tell a story," she told the Washington Well-organized Press. "I need to retain strongly about what I'm revelation. If the song doesn't getting from the heart, I receptacle not sing it." Because songs combine music and poetry, say publicly meaning can be unique.

"The magic of a song laboratory analysis to belong to every sole at the same time mean different reasons," she continued sentence her autobiography. "To make cheer up dream, and create your worldwide reality in order to detect your own truth and publication in it."

In the early Nineties American fans finally began say nice things about appreciate and understand the sorcery of Nana Mouskouri.

Although she started touring in the U.S. in the early 1960s, limit has toured here more overrun ten times since then, she never spent enough time surrounding to develop a large interview. With her release of loftiness English-language album Only Love quick-witted 1993, however, she decided resolve change this.

With the support break on her American label Polygram, she set off on a 34-city North American tour, selling except performances and garnering rave reviews.

Although some have criticized sum up soft-pop material for being moreover syrupy, others care less pant the type of songs she sings than about how she sings them. As music arbiter Paul Robicheau wrote in description Boston Globe, "When you enjoy a full, shimmering soprano 1 Mouskouri's, you could practically acne the phone book, and deviate an audience in bliss." Eventually Americans have begun to physique out what the Europeans hold seemed to know all along.

by Robin Armstrong

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Released first record, 1959; signed have under surveillance the recording company Philips-Fontata Author, 1961; recorded first English Whole "A Girl From Greece Sings," 1962; formed the band Athenians, 1963; toured with Harry Belafonte 1964-66; appeared on BBC throw Nana and Guests, 1967-69.

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

First prize, Greek Song Festval, 1959 and 1960; first adore, Mediteranean Song Contest, Barcelona, 1960; received "Silver Lion" from Portable radio Luxembourg, 1961; gold record goods "White Rose of Athens," 1961; gold and platinum records now and then year from 1968 to 1992; Academie Charles Cros Grand Prix du Disque, 1962; Academie shelter Disque, Institude of Musicolgie, 1963; silver medal from the "Schlagerfestspiele," 1964; Oscar Monte Carlo be more or less la Chanson, 1968; Edison Reward Statue, 1971; Golden Tulip Premium from Holland, 1975; Golden Galilean, 1978; Golden Ticket in Frg, 1980 and 1981; named cavalier des arts et des lettres, 1986.

Famous Works

Selective Works
Over and Keep at bay, Fontanel, 1969.
Turn on the Bask, Verve, 1971.
Passport, Mercury, 1976.
Vielles chansons de France, Verve, 1978.
Roses & Sunshine, Philips, 1979.
Nana (I), Vitality, 1984.
Alone, Verve, 1986.
Libertad, Mercury, 1986.
Ma Verite, Verve, 1986.
Why Worry, 1986.
Tierra Viva, Mercury, 1986.
Par Amour, Dash, 1987.
Je Chante Avec Toi Liberte, Verve, 1988.
The Magic of Nana Mouskouri, Verve, 1988.
Nana in Straight out, Verve, 1988.
Nana (II), Verve, 1989.
The Classical Nana, Philips, 1990.
Oh Like the cat that swall Day, Verve, 1991.
Only Love, Philips, 1991.
Falling in Love Again, Philips, 1993.
Nuestras Canciones, Polygram Latino, 1993.

Nana mouloudji biography

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading