Édith Piaf
Play Radio
Listen to Édith Piaf Radio,
featuring artists like Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, Billie Holiday, Fréhel and more…
9,280,362 plays (485,003 listeners)
Belleville, Paris, France (1935 – 1963)
Édith Piaf (born Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 11 October 1963), was a French singer and cultural icon who became universally regarded as France’s greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads. Among her songs are “La Vie en rose” (1946), “Non, je ne regrette rien” (1960), “Hymne à l’amour” (1949), “Milord” (1959), “La Foule” (1957), “l’Accordéoniste” (1955), and “Padam… Padam…” (1951).
Despite the numerous biographies, many facts and events of Édith’s life are shrouded in mystery. She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris, France, 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).
Despite the numerous biographies, many facts and events of Édith’s life are shrouded in mystery. She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris, France, 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).
Top Albums
-
30e Anniversaire
Édith Piaf
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
The Very Best Of Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $6.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $8.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Non, je ne regrette rien
Édith Piaf Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $6.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
La vie en rose
Édith Piaf Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $5.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $0.01
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
Lulucasoliveira Como não amar?
-
Forteski Feminine Talent group: http://www.last.fm/group/Feminine+Talent
-
ambivallencia Wonderful woman with damn big talent!
-
V1c70r-1337 Non, je ne regrette rien ♥ [3]
-
rosanak "I THINK YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR LOVE WITH BITTER TEARS."
-
Soultiers site Edith Piaf
-
Soultiers
edith-piaf.narod.ru
-
rokkkaholic Non, je ne regrette rien ♥ [2] Kick song kickass!
Videos
-
Play
Perils of Love...
1 shout
-
Play
EDITH PIAF- mon dieu
4 shouts
-
Play
La Foule
2 shouts
-
Play
La Marsellesa-La…
Listening Now
Top Listeners
-
garncarnia
Top Listener
-
e-dionis
Top Listener
-
polexaH
Top Listener
-
PamelaMullerr
Top Listener
More Information
- Links
- Labels
- Other spellings
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Édith Piaf from Universal Music.
