Dalida, a singer that could not be ignored, magnified by an exceptional career, but also a fragile, shy and touching person
who, through her tunes sewn up all on edge, assembled and dismantled the jigsaw of her life.
Either tender, triumphal or painful, the main stages of her life nearly always took place in the shadow of another myth: the
Olympia., the famous concert hall where it all started for her in 1956 when she was invited on Europe 1 radio station for the
"Numéros uns de demain" ("Tomorrow's number ones") broadcast. The Olympia once more, when after a ruthless
conspiracy mounted against her, Dalida managed to reverse the situation in her favour and to have one of her most triumphant
successes ever, and again several years later when she celebrated her return to life eight months after her suicide attempt. The
Olympia too, to mark the end of her "winter years" and offer a "love rendezvous" or receive eight Oscars for singing. The
Olympia finally, to celebrate her twenty-five years in the show business and to give her last public performance in Paris.
But beyond the golden lady with the profile of an Etruscan goddess (hundreds of gold records, golden hair galore and, above
all, a heart in solid gold sheltered from any dishonest compromise), beyond the honours paid by many countries throughout
the world, the most evocative and even touching testimonies from the Dalida universe remain above all her songs. These
platinum-awarded vinyl delights have acquired a certain sheen through time and have definitely become part of our collective
memory. Masterpiece of any self-respecting survival kit, the Complete "Orlando Years" includes all Dalida's recordings come
out in France since 1970 under the "International Show" label set up by Orlando who was the singer's younger brother, but
also her art director since 1966.
The "Darla Dirladada" enormous hit acted as the
singer's launching pad, but the real change came
with several purple passages tailor-composed by
Mykis Theodorakis, the Jacques Revaux/Michel
Sardou duo and Michel Legrand, not to forget
Gilbert Bécaud or Didier Barbelivien. Several
classic such as "Avec le temps" by Léo Ferré, "Je
suis malade" by Serge Lama or "Que reste-t-il de
nos amours?" by Charles Trénet (who would later
offer her "Le Visage de l'Amour" were performed
and sometimes reinvented, or even reappropriated
by Dalida, to great satisfaction of their respective
creators, who saw their songs enjoy a new lease of
life and herald the new "Dali".
The radiant mastermind of many young authors (the inescapable Pascal Sevran, Michaële Lana and Paul Sébastian, later
followed by Michel Jouveaux, Jeff Banel and Gilbert Sinoué among others), who made up her twenty-four-hour guard, the
singer then enjoyed her golden age with songs such as "Pour ne pas vivre seul", "Paroles, Paroles", a legendary duo with
Alain Delon, "Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans", or the great "Gigi l'amoroso", that reached the top of the chart in France and in
various other countries world-wide, including Greece, Canada, Spain and Japan.
A short while later, to everybody's great surprise, Dalida brilliantly and forcibly made a name for herself in a field where no
one was expecting her: that of disco music. An undisputed pioneer (the 1976 version of "J'attendrai" was France's first ever
disco hit), she even offered herself the luxury of beating several masters on their own territory, with "Génération 78" -
France's first ever video clip - "Ca me fait rêver", and later "Monday-Tuesday". An avant garde show woman dressed in
gorgeous sequin dressed slit up to her hip, forging ahead on her performance at Carnegie Hall in New York, Dalida started
taking a resounding turn. At the Palais des Sports concert hall, under the leadership of Lester Wilson - John Travolta's
choreographer in "Saturday Night Fever" - she performed a great show that was radically different from all she had done
before.
Several months later, the singer performed this show in the Near Eastern countries dear to her heart: Egypt and Lebanon
where, as in all territories of that region, Dalida was an absolute star, revered and acclaimed by frenzied crowds during each
of her live performances. It was also for that part of the world that Dalida recorded in Egyptian the song "Salma ya salama",
that owed her the title of "Peace Singer" when it was broadcast on all the area's radio stations on 19th November 1977, the
date of President Sadate's historical visit to Israel.
Supreme elegance: Dalida is all set to rally the year 2005, that she celebrated as soon as… 1969 in her song "L'an 2005". Is
that anything to be surprised of ? Absolutely not. After all, the stars are always right. And above all those born under the
skies of Egypt, which have inevitably always shone and which will keep on shining forever…
Cairo to Paris, 25th December 1954 : At the dawn of her twenty-second birthday, a young dark-haired lady with a
queenly bearing is experiencing in this plane the adventure of her life. Mid-way between the lights of her city and an idealised
city of lights, flying from the East to the West, Yolanda Gigliotti gives herself up to the thousand and one dreams buzzing
through her head. Crazy, naïve and childish dreams, dreams of glory and happiness, but also - and above all - dreams of
becoming a shar, the reason for her exile. Driven by a faith and determination strong enough to shake the Pyramids, Yolanda
is waiting for her time to come up.
Dalida somehow went down in legend in the same beautiful way as she used to make her entrance: both queenly, touching
and dignified under a thunder of applause. Standing up right into the sunlight, a Madonna of flesh and blood in the crossfire
of the spotlights: that was how she chose to live her life. Without concealing any of her cracks, sharing it all with her vast
public.
Punctuated by an impressive list of achievements, her career is a model on more than one account: Dalida was the first artist
ever awarded a gold record, she was the first singer in Europe to have fans, she was the pioneer of French disco music and
she was the first ever female singer to keep the Palais des Sports concert hall in Paris full for three weeks. From her first
appearance under the joint leadership of Lucien Morisse, Eddie Barclay and Bruno Coquatrix, to her "light-years" alongside
her brother and producer Orlando, Dalida lived through and transcended her destiny until it had become a myth.
In France in 1981, Dalida celebrated her twenty-five years in the show business by giving her last public performance at the
Olympia concert hall. In order not to be outdone, the French television turned Dalida into the favourite guest of the Maritie
and Gilbert Carpentier show, where she was invited countless times. These programmes included songs, special duos and a
number of amazing variety sketches that revealed a genuine unsuspected sense of the comic. Another major television
encounter brought together Dalida and the great Jean-Christophe Averty for the purpose of the "Dalida Idéale" show, an aptly
named visual firework display.
Over that period of time, Dalida recorded three songs in total contrast with the rest of her repertoire. Echoing to the song "A
ma manière", which had come out several years earlier, her "Pour en arriver là" and "Mourir sur scène" sounded like
unusually clear-headed and detached acknowledgements, like Dalida's manifesto. With the passing of time, one can stand
back and view these songs in a completely different light.
Responding to her will to get rid of all flourishes, film producer Youssef Chahine offered her the lead part in his "Le Sixième
Jour" ("On the Sixth Day"), a film that was to receive excellent critics when it was released. However, from the top of their
chima pedestal, even goddesses feel vaguely melancholic and depressed. Dalida was not an exception to the rule. Hidden
away in the depths of her soul for such a long time and lost among the big names, the Yolanda Gigliotti-born little girl of the
sun no longer wanted to play. On 3rd May 1987, she threw in the sponge and lowered the curtain. For ever. Irreparably. The
legend, that feeds on tragic and exceptional destinies, was already on the move.
Ten years, 120 millions records and one thousand songs later, Dalida is more present than ever. "Comme si j'étais là" and "A
ma manière", the two new CDs recorded by Antoine Angelelli with completely updated arrangements and produced by
Orlando, make the headlines, throwing discos, radio stations and above all record-dealers" stalls into a turmoil. In movie
theatres, Dali's hits punctuate some of the greatest French films: "Mina Tannenbaum", "Gazon Maudit", "Pédale Douce" or
"Un air de famille".
Dalida used to record in seven languages. It would be difficult to list all the songs that she recorded: in the area of 500 songs
in French, 200 in Italian and 200 in various other languages: German, Spanish, Japanese, etc… She sold 100 million records
throughout the world and her hit have been crowned with: 1974 Oscar for the World Song Success. During the year 1974,
Dalida was number one in 12 different countries: in 9 countries with "Gigi l'amoroso" and in 3 countries with "Il venait
d'avoir dix-huit ans". Platinum Record in the Benelux countries.
On 13th January 1975, at the Olympia concert hall, Dalida was awarded a Platinum Record for "Gigi l'Amoroso", the most
ever sold record in the Benelux countries, beating Franck Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night", which had been holding the title
since 1966. On 12th February 1975, at Paris City Hall, Dalida received the Prix de l'Académie du Disque Français (Prize of
the Academy of the French Record), song category, for "Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans".
Camilio Daccache
The Bravos du Music-Hall in 1958 with Yves Montand. Five Oscars of Radio Monte Carlo. 1963 Oscar for the World Song
Success. Platinum Record in 1964 (the only female star to have received it). An Oscar rewarding a star who has sold more
than 10 million records. Several Oscars of Radio Luxembourg, the last one being offered to her on 28th October 1970 in the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1968, Medal of the City of Paris.
The Oscar of "Canzonissima", Italy's most popular television programme, in 1967-1968. Oscar for the Song Triumph for the
year 1973. 20 Medals from various countries and 52 Gold Records. In June 1968, the Maison des Intellectuels made Dalida
"Commandeur des Arts Sciences-Lettres" ("Commander of Arts-Sciences-Literature") and awarded the Croix de Vermeil
(Vermeil Cross) at the Palais de la Mutualité de Paris. That same year, on 5th December, at the Paris City Hall, she received
the Médaille de la Présidence de la République (Medal of the Presidency of the French Republic) from the hands of Général
de Gaulle - no other artist has ever been awarded that medal. That medal she received not only rewarded her for being one of
the greatest ambassadors of the French song, but also for her kindness and her modesty which" are - as the President of the
Paris City Council said while he was presenting her with the medal - the noble finery of her undisputed talent"
1981: Diamond Record for her 25 years of success. 1981: Goldene Europa awarded in Germany for being the most popular
star of the year. 1982: accord to an opinion poll carried out by Paris-Match magazine about women with the greatest influence
over the French population, Dalida was the only representative of show business. She came after Simone Veil but ahead of
Danièle Mitterrand for the year 1981.
1985: Télé 7 jours" magazine "Female singers preferred by the French" referendum - Dalida is in the top three. January 1986:
"VS.D." magazine "Female singers preferred by the French" opinion poll - Dalida is classified between Mireille Mathieu and
Jeanne Mas. 20th January 1988: on the occasion of its 20th birthday, the Encyclopedia Universalis commissions an opinion
poll from SOFRES about the events that have had the greatest impact over the French between 1968 and 1988. The results
are published in an article in "Le Monde" newspaper, called "La mémoire des Français depuis vingt ans" ("The memory of
the French over the past twenty years"). "French or foreign personalities (of the worlds of politics, sciences, culture, etc…)
that have had the greatest impact over the French between 1968 and today. Results: Général de Gaulle: 16%. The lonely
death of Dalida: 10% John Paul II: 7% and Mother Teresa: 3%.
PAROLES | PHOTOS | ALBUMS | MONDIAL | |