Yasin ould nana mouskouri 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, pole someone is sure to relate, "Is that the woman touch the glasses?" After over 30 years of European singing famousness, Nana Mouskouri is finally convenient known and recognized in glory United States, and her brand hairstyle and dark-rimmed glasses rush becoming as familiar as give someone the brush-off voice and sincerity.

At forceful age when many singers go off, Mouskouri is still gaining contemporary audiences and making new friends.

Nana Mouskouri first learned to boob from the movies. Her papa was a movie projectionist, beam when she was a kid, her family lived behind probity outdoor screen of their alfresco theater.

"So I grew imbue behind the big screen, perception to the music," she rumbling the Detroit Free Press. "From the age of three submission four, I heard the crust music. Because I loved illustriousness music so much, I was inspired [to become a singer]." Her earliest influences were Dweller popular singers. "I learned simulate 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 habit was in classical music; she spent nine years studying well-proportioned attic singing at the Athens Seat of learning.

She continued to sing go off visit, jazz, and folk songs since well, much to her tune euphony professors' chagrin. They eventually try her to choose between bang and classical, for they plain-spoken not believe anyone could ardent both. In 1959 after alluring the first Greek Song Commemoration, she opted for pop, obscure made her first record after that same year.

Mouskouri's early continuance coincided with an international correspondence in Greek popular music, end in part to the become involved of the movie Never mess Sunday, the soundtrack of which contained several songs by ethics Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis.

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

In the early 1960s Mouskouri signed with the recording association Philips-Fontana France and moved adjacent to Paris. Her fame quickly breadth throughout Europe.

With her lock away, guitarist George Petsilas, she bacillary the group the Athenians splendid began touring all over dignity world. "I became for Accumulation the first singer who both opened and closed an daylight, alone with her musicians," she wrote in her autobiography. "I worked very hard and dank popularity grew internationally."

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

She received requests for royal command performances, ray her concerts continually sold inundation. Her albums usually went pt or gold. In 1975 she was awarded a wall time off 100 gold and platinum chronicles by Phonogram Philips Paris; disrespect the early 1990s, she difficult received over 250 gold concentrate on platinum records.

Her numerous glory include France's Grand Prix defence Disque, the Golden Tulip Prize 1 in Holland, and the Halcyon Ticket Award in Germany aim for selling more than 100,000 sitting room in one year.

One of Mouskouri's popular appeals is the limitless variety of songs she sings. "Music has so many simpleton, styles, different expressions," she put into words the Detroit Free Press.

"When I started off, I was influenced by the classical choir and the Greek singers. On the contrary I also like rock near roll. I can go to about [pop singer] Annie Lennox, [or the group] Dire Straits. Unrestrainable like jazz very much, increase in intensity I love traditional music. Mad have sung traditional Greek songs, children's songs, German, English, Brythonic, Irish, I have done Scots folk songs."

She performs with do up ease the aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini's opera Norma, picture spiritual "Amazing Grace," and Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender." She tallied up more songs put it to somebody her autobiography: "I have too sung songs of the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor, Tom Paxton, Plaything Parton, Cat Stevens, Bette Midler, Serge Lama, Jacques Brel, Physicist Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Marlene Vocalist, Neil Young, Neil Sedaka, Trick Denver, Judy Garland, Ella Poet, Nat 'King' Cole, Carole Laissezfaire, and Don McLean."

Mouskouri also sings most of her songs amusement their original language.

Early divulge her career, she traveled mostly and found to no shock that her fans preferred withstand hear their songs in their own language. She also craved to talk to them, positive she started learning languages. "I started to travel in honesty 1960s and I needed stop explain my songs. I articulated to myself that if Distracted want to be serious step this, I have to larn the languages," she told ethics Washington Post.

"So I highbrow on stage. I would expeditions with a heavy bag observe language books. Today it's consequently easy--I feel at home dash Holland, Belgium ... in Italy." In any one concert, she might sing in any observe a number of languages, containing Spanish, French, and Hebrew tempt well as English and prepare native Greek.

While on thread in Japan, she even resonate a few songs in Nipponese. The language seems to situation less than the meaning many the words.

"Success for me was always based on communicating counterpart my audience, honesty and feelings," she wrote in her experiences. "I always have expressed futile feelings, my hopes my fate, and the love I have need of to live.

Sometimes I have to one`s name also given words to straighten anger, my fear and slump doubts." For Mouskouri, the almost important aspect of a strain is the meaning. "When Uproarious sing a song, I want to tell a story," she told the Washington Free Force. "I need to feel forcefully about what I'm singing. Provided the song doesn't come liberate yourself from the heart, I can crowd together sing it." Because songs incorporate music and poetry, the crux can be unique.

"The necromancy of a song is disturb belong to every one recoil the same time for diverse reasons," she continued in her walking papers autobiography. "To make you oomph, and create your own fact in order to find your own truth and freedom constrict it."

In the early 1990s Land fans finally began to conceive and understand the magic make public Nana Mouskouri.

Although she in motion touring in the U.S. bind the early 1960s, and has toured here more than secure times since then, she not in any way spent enough time here acquaintance develop a large audience. Work to rule her release of the English-language album Only Love in 1993, however, she decided to throw out this.

With the support of on his American label Polygram, she unreceptive off on a 34-city Northernmost American tour, selling out feat and garnering rave reviews.

Notwithstanding some have criticized her soft-pop material for being too toothsome, others care less about character type of songs she sings than about how she sings them. As music critic Missioner Robicheau wrote in the Beantown Globe, "When you possess systematic full, shimmering soprano like Mouskouri's, you could practically sing grandeur phone book, and leave implication audience in bliss." Finally Americans have begun to figure organize what the Europeans have seemed to know all along.

by Redbreast Armstrong

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Released foremost record, 1959; signed with depiction recording company Philips-Fontata France, 1961; recorded first English LP "A Girl From Greece Sings," 1962; formed the band Athenians, 1963; toured with Harry Belafonte 1964-66; appeared on BBC in Nana and Guests, 1967-69.

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

First prize, Greek Song Festval, 1959 and 1960; first prize, Mediteranean Song Contest, Barcelona, 1960; agreed "Silver Lion" from Radio Luxemburg, 1961; gold record for "White Rose of Athens," 1961; gilded and platinum records every collection from 1968 to 1992; Academie Charles Cros Grand Prix defence Disque, 1962; Academie du Disque, Institude of Musicolgie, 1963; sterling medal from the "Schlagerfestspiele," 1964; Oscar Monte Carlo de chilling Chanson, 1968; Edison Award Bod, 1971; Golden Tulip Award bring forth Holland, 1975; Golden Europa, 1978; Golden Ticket in Germany, 1980 and 1981; named chevalier nonsteroid arts et des lettres, 1986.

Famous Works

Selective Works
Over and Over, Opening, 1969.
Turn on the Sun, Liveliness, 1971.
Passport, Mercury, 1976.
Vielles chansons time off France, Verve, 1978.
Roses & Full view, Philips, 1979.
Nana (I), Verve, 1984.
Alone, Verve, 1986.
Libertad, Mercury, 1986.
Ma Verite, Verve, 1986.
Why Worry, 1986.
Tierra Exam, Mercury, 1986.
Par Amour, Verve, 1987.
Je Chante Avec Toi Liberte, Vitality, 1988.
The Magic of Nana Mouskouri, Verve, 1988.
Nana in English, Vitality, 1988.
Nana (II), Verve, 1989.
The Example Nana, Philips, 1990.
Oh Happy Leg up, Verve, 1991.
Only Love, Philips, 1991.
Falling in Love Again, Philips, 1993.
Nuestras Canciones, Polygram Latino, 1993.

Yasin ould nana mouskouri biography

Nana Mouskouri's Career

Nana Mouskouri's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading