WORLD OF MOTHER: “SINGING IS FIRST OF ALL!”

Mireille Mathieu is a flawless page haircut, sleek eyebrows, invariably coral lipstick. She seems to be the same eternal impersonation of France as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and champagne. Mireille Mathieu, as a true Frenchwoman, is unpredictable, elegant, and unruly. That she was always and still is. She is one of a kind, you can’t confuse her with anyone.

Mireille Mathieu became the “ambassador of the French song.” Even without understanding French, you always enjoy the songs of the singer. They are sincere, it is felt that she sings about something sublime and light.

Cinderella’s Birth
Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946 in the French city of Avignon. Her father worked as a stonecutter, her mother pulled the strap of a poor household on herself: just imagine – there were fourteen children in the family! Music surrounded Mireille since childhood. Dad sang at home and in the studio, and my daughter was just fascinated by his performance.

As soon as father’s singing was heard, she echoed him like a canary. This led the singer Mireille Mathieu to her father’s delight, and in the end he announced that Mireille would participate in the festive Christmas carol. For the first time, the girl experienced true excitement and deserved applause. And the first “fee” was a lollipop, which dad gave it to her.

But besides the father, the girl had another idol, the songs of which she echoed, – Edith Piaf. For Mireille, she became a member of the family. At school, the girl could not memorize anything by heart, but Edith Piaf memorized all the songs immediately and without effort.

Mireille was the oldest of the children, and her childhood did not drag on: at the age of thirteen she had to quit school in order to go to work at the paper mill. Her life seemed to be as hopeless and drab as hundreds of girls from working families. But everything happened like a fairy tale …

Realizing that her daughter had a gift, Roger dad sent her last money to the city singer Mireille Mathieu to participate in the city competition. In that competition, the future star did not win, as in the subsequent one. But a year of intensive vocal lessons, which Mathieu paid for with money earned at the factory, did not pass without a trace. The beginning of a brilliant career is November 21, 1965: on this day, Mimi first appeared on French television and caused a stir. The very next day, the famous impresario Johnny Stark signed a contract with her. To the provincial simplicity of the Mireille, the chosen song from the repertoire of the Great Aunt of France, Edith Piaf, came very close.

Road of Tears Mireille Mathieu
The venerable showman was no longer at that age to be carried away by a young beauty, but his professional sense foresaw a great success for this protégé, and therefore a considerable profit for her discoverer. And in 1965, he sent her an invitation to Paris. A few days later, Mireille appeared before the audience of Olympia, the most prestigious concert hall in France.

singer Mireille Mathies parents
However, the young diamond still had to work hard to turn the girl from a factory woman into a model of French charm, aristocracy and beauty. Low, with angular knees and a terrifying rolling Provençal accent (from which she could not get rid of), Mireille did not immediately conquer the fastidious Parisian public.

Johnny Stark, who became her second father in a strange Paris, trained her mercilessly then. The girl cried all her eyes at night: everything she did was wrong and wrong. She was clumsy since childhood, always confused right and left, besides she swallowed the words. The school teacher was to blame for this, who by all means wanted to make Mirei right-handed (even the ruler was used, which Mireille often felt on her fingers), but it only scared the girl, which made her speaking worse. The letters in the words were confused and “run away” from her. Therefore, Stark was a dictator rather than a kind daddy, so the path to perfection for the future star can be safely called expensive tears.

singer Mireille Mates Johnny Stark
Mireille Mathieu was not able to become a star overnight, “waking up famous.” She conquered the French public slowly. Her long (and it should be noted fairly) reproached for lack of education and provincialism. However, Johnny Stark still made the Great Singer out of her. He knew: no matter what happens, she will survive, because singing is first of all for her. Johnny transferred her to the custody of the head of the orchestra, Paul Mauriat, who taught her not to howl, as Stark said. Johnny argued that the singer’s incredible success was hardly a miracle – she just loved and knew how to work.

In 1966, her first album “My Credo” was released, which was sold in a huge circulation – 1 million 700 thousand copies. “New Piaf,” critics repeated about her. “Edith Piaf is my deity whom I have worshiped since childhood,” said the singer herself. “But she is unique and will remain forever.” Mathieu’s credo was that she did not want to copy anyone, coming from her individuality. Then her stage image began to form: an elegant, miniature French woman, wearing 33-size shoes.