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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Édith Piaf (1915-1963)

December 19 is the birthday of Édith Piaf (1915-1963). Born in Belleville, Paris as Édith Giovanna Gassion, this French singer, songwriter and actress became widely regarded as France's national diva, as well as one of France's greatest international stars. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being Chanson and ballads, particularly of love, loss and sorrow. 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).

Piaf died of liver cancer at age 47. She is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where her grave is among the most visited. Piaf was denied a funeral mass because of her lifestyle. But on October 10, 2013, fifty years after her death, the Roman Catholic Church gave her a memorial mass in the St. Jean-Baptiste Church in Belleville, Paris, the parish she was born into.
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