Show for March 20, 2011. No Regrets: Biographer Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf
Carolyn Burke’s previous two biographies—of the poet Mina Loy and photographer Lee Miller—documented the lives of trailblazing and under-recognized women artists. Her third effort, just released, takes on a much better-known subject. No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf sheds new light on the singer and her songs, looking past the Piaf legend to sketch a fuller portrait of France’s indispensable chanteuse. It may be impossible to really say what makes a great artist great, but Carolyn and I do our best in this interview, while listening to some examples from the Piaf canon. Subjects include Piaf’s guttersnipe beginnings, the French penchant for misérabilisme, her wartime exploits, her physical decline and final, improbable comeback.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the interview, or download the MP3 here.
Here’s a video of Piaf singing La Foule (The Crowd), one of Carolyn’s favorites, and mine, too:
Notes
-
nerd2dnthpower liked this
-
7thave posted this
