Nana Mouskouri is a singer of Greek (Crete) origin (born 1934). Her first name was actually Ioanna but she was called Nana as a child. She is an exemplar of an “interprète” of “chansons”—a singer, but not a lyricist or composer. Mouskouri is distinguished by her clear, lovely voice, her distinctive eyeglasses and her mastery of many foreign languages. A defect in one of her vocal chords contributed to her distinctive vocal characteristics, and her clunky black-rimmed glasses became a personal signature. She began singing lessons at age 12 and in 1950 took classical Athens Conservatory training but was summarily dismissed at the last moment from her end-of-year performance at the amphitheater of Epidaurus. Her transgression-- singing jazz at night with a friends’ group on the side. Her career exemplifies the pathways that solo singers follow. It’s a story of travel, performance, festivals and contests, record contracts and albums, soundtracks and TV performances, endless concert tours, and the important role of personal relationships.
She began by singing in jazz clubs like Zaki in Athens and eventually met composer Manos Hadtzidakis who wrote songs and set poems by Nikos Gatsos to music for her. She competed successfully in song contests like the Greek Song Festival and the Mediterranean Song Festival in Barcelona. In 1961, she performed the soundtrack for a German documentary film about Greece that included a song “The White Rose of Athens” that became a huge hit. In 1962, American Quincy Jones invited her to record an album of American jazz, and Harry Belafonte took her on tour and recorded a duo album. In 1965, she appeared on American TV on the “Danny Kaye Show.” From 1968, she became a TV personality hosting musical programs with BBC and continued to record albums. Over the years, she sang hundreds of songs and recorded 200 albums across a diverse repertoire in at least 12 languages over a long, distinguished career. Her “final” concert in 2008 was actually followed by other appearances. She also found time to serve as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Member of the European Parliament and married twice, now living in Switzerland with her second husband, record-producer André Chapelle.
Nana Mouskouri Songs:
Plaisir d'Amour (Pleasure of Love)
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)