Dalida

Natasha, she of the wonderful Radio Oh-La-La, made her first guest-selection for my blog. Read her story about Dalida:

"Dalida was a performer with enough music, energy and glamour to fill three entire lifetimes. In her short lifespan of 54 years cut short by suicide, she dominated music charts worldwide for 30 of them, singing in no less than 11 languages and selling more than 125 million records around the globe. Miss Egypt in the 1950s, the most popular French artist of the 1960s, her face on a French stamp as recent as 2001, she has received so many honours that it is hard to keep up with her even after her death.

Singer, entertainer and actress, she was born Italian, raised in Egypt, and lived in France. She rolled her r’s, refused to wear much needed eye glasses, constantly changed styles, and followed musical trends from chanson to disco, adapting to the times while remaining true to herself. Her audience loved her then and a whole new generation of music lovers is falling for her today.

Some of the better party numbers from her enormous repertoire include sing along favourites Paroles, Paroles with French actor Alain Delon and the seven minute mini-saga Gigi L’Amoroso. Her best-known hit is most probably her first, Bambino, followed by others, such as Gondolier, Il venait d’avoir 18 ans, J’attendrai and hundreds more. Some people even claim that she was one of the first artists to expose Europeans to rai music. These days, many of Dalida’s hits are being remixed, including Arabic hits, such as Salma Ya Salma and Helwa Ya Baladi.

One of the most tragic parts of her life is having driven three men to suicide. Once, she performed a song written by a young unknown Italian songwriter at the San Remo music festival ironically entitled Ciao Amore. Ironically, because after having lost the contest, the songwriter was so angry, drunk and full of pills that he first yelled at the jury and later committed suicide. This was even more tragic as Dalida had announced her marriage to him just before the festival.

Dalida has been elevated to the status of cult figure in dozens of countries, including Germany, Canada and Vietnam. Her tomb at the Montmartre cemetery in Paris is probably the most original one there, featuring a life-size statue of her. Not too far away from the Montmartre castle she lived in overlooking Paris a statue of her was erected in Square Dalida.

Dalida’s success and sorrow is nothing short of a real-life Italian opera. Her appearance has all the trappings of kitsch, but in her case, nothing could have been any more real. Her personality coloured all of her music and turned it into something authentic that cannot be ignored, like a big bright summer sun. Dalida may have been the heroine of a modern-day saga on stage and in her private life, but she is still known today as the Maria Callas of the French stage."

Dalida - J'Attendrai
Hear Here

Dalida - Gigi L'Amoroso
Hear Here