Wednesday 14 September 2016

Celine Dion (part 1)

As I mentioned at the end of yesterday's entry, we are re-entering the thematic unity concerning LGBT or LGBT-significant artists that come from non-English speaking countries. Most of Nomi's songs were in English, true, but the man himself was from Germany.

Some will probably raise an eyebrow or two concerning today's choice: for most, Celine Dion is considered an English-speaking international star. They forget however that she was born and raised in the French-speaking part of Canada and that many of her songs, including the gay-themed tune that will be our main focus for today, are in French.


Céline Marie Claudette Dion was born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec. She is the youngest of 14 children of Thérèse (née Tanguay), a homemaker, and Adhémar Dion, a butcher, both of French-Canadian descent. Music had always been a major part of the Dion family; indeed, Dion herself was named after the song Céline, which French singer Hugues Aufray had recorded two years before her own birth. Here it is:


At age 12, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to write and compose her first song, Ce N'était Qu'un Rêve, whose title translates as It Was Only a Dream. Her brother, Michel Dion, sent the recording to music manager René Angélil. This is the song:


Angélil was moved to tears by Dion's voice, and decided to make her a star. In 1981, he mortgaged his home to fund her first record, La Voix Du Bon Dieu, which later became a local # 1 hit and made Dion an instant star in Quebec. Here's the title track:


Her popularity spread to other parts of the world when she competed in the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and won the musician's award for "Top Performer" as well as the gold medal for "Best Song" with Tellement J'ai D'amour Pour Toi.


The single D'amour Ou D'amitié (Of Love or of Friendship) was released in France in December 1982. With this single, she became the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France.


The first single off her next album, Mon Ami M'a Quittée, topped the Quebec charts for nine weeks.


This album also contained a version of this huge international hit from the early 70s:


Her 1984 album Mélanie contained Une Colombe, which was performed by Dion for Pope John Paul II in front of 65,000 people at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal (1984) and was also certified Gold.


Her 1987 album Incognito produced six singles, all of which went Top 5 in the Quebec chart. Four went all the way to #1. The title track managed to stay there for 6 weeks.

Incognito started Dion's new look, new sound, new team of writers and producers and was issued by the new record company, CBS Records. You can watch for yourselves Celine transforming herself into a Dance Diva.


Further success came when Dion represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi and won the contest.


Unison (1990) was Dion's first English language album. Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Dion's voice and technique, as well as the album's content. On the commercial level, Unison reached top ten in Norway and top twenty in Canada. Eventually, it was certified seven-times Platinum in Canada, Platinum in the United States, and Gold in the United Kingdom and France. The album has sold over three million copies worldwide.

Where Does My Heart Beat Now became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard US Hot 100, reaching #4.


Unison won Juno Award for Album of the Year and Dion won Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Unison (Mainstream Mix) was also nominated, for Best Dance Recording. Here it is, live in the Millenium Concert, at December 31 1999.


In November 1991 Dion released the album Dion Chante Plamondon. Opening song Des Mots Qui Sonnent was a big hit and it showcases Dion at her rocking best.


It is another song from this album that deserves our full attention: Ziggy (Un Garçon Pas Comme les Autres) is a song that tells the story of a girl falling hopelessly in love with a gay boy. Here are the lyrics in French, as well as the English translation:

Ziggy (A boy like no others)

Ziggy, il s'appelle Ziggy
Je suis folle de lui
C'est un garçon pas comme les autres
Mais moi je l'aime, c'est pas d'ma faute
Même si je sais
Qu'il ne m'aimera jamais

Ziggy, his name is Ziggy
I'm crazy about him
He's a boy like no others
But I love him, it's not my fault
Even if I know
That he will never love me

Ziggy, il s'appelle Ziggy
Je suis folle de lui
La première fois que je l'ai vu
Je m'suis jetée sur lui dans la rue
J'lui ai seulement dit
Que j'avais envie de lui

Ziggy, his name is Ziggy
I'm crazy about him
The first time I saw him
I jumped on him on the street
I simply told him
That I wanted him

Il était quatre heures du matin
J'étais seule et j'avais besoin
De parler à quelqu'un
Il m'a dit: viens prendre un café
Et on s'est raconté nos vies
On a ri, on a pleuré

It was four o'clock in the morning
I was alone and I needed
To talk to someone
He told me: come take a coffee
And we told each other of our lives
We laughed, and we cried

Ziggy, il s'appelle Ziggy
C'est mon seul ami
Dans sa tête y'a que d'la musique
Il vend des disques dans une boutique
On dirait qu'il vit dans une autre galaxie

Ziggy, his name is Ziggy
He's my only friend
In his head there's only music
He sells records in a record store
We could say he's living in another galaxy

Tous les soirs, il m'emmène danser
Dans des endroits très très gais
Où il a des tas d'amis
Oui, je sais, il aime les garçons
Je devrais me faire une raison
Essayer de l'oublier... mais

Every night, he takes me dancing
In very very gay places
Where he has lots of friends
Yes, I know, he likes boys
I should reason with myself
Trying to forget him... but

Ziggy, il s'appelle Ziggy
Je suis folle de lui
C'est un garçon pas comme les autres
Et moi je l'aime, c'est pas d'ma faute
Même si je sais
Qu'il ne m'aimera jamais.

Ziggy, his name is Ziggy
I'm crazy about him
He's a boy like no others
But I love him, it's not my fault
Even if I know
That he will never love me

... And here's the video, starring a very handsome man in the role of Ziggy:



This will have to be a two-parter. Tomorrow we will follow Celine as she becomes an international superstar, with a specialty in Oscar nominated/winning movie songs.

2 comments:

  1. Uncool as it may sound, I find Celine Dion's output to be very enjoyable by Adult Contemporary standards. She is one of the few singers of her style who enjoys chart success even while steering clear of the current sound. I bought Unison and pretty much everything else in the 90s but those French language albums eluded me until now. Ziggy is a beautiful and affecting song so I'm guessing I'll be doing some searches over the next few days. Merci beaucoups mon ami!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you RM! She may appear "uncool" by contemporary Pop standards, but she gives me the feeling of being real, unlike many way "cooler" Pop Divas. And that voice...

      I'm glad that I've given you the incentive to dig into her French-language years. That's my chief purpose in doing this, helping good people discover maybe a song or two more to like. Have a great day!

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