L’essentiel

France's national chanteuse, singer, songwriter and actress Édith Piaf (1915-1963) also became one of the countrys greatest international stars. Her music was often autobiographical with her songs reflecting her life. Piaf's specialties were the chanson and torch ballads, particularly of love, loss and sorrow. This 18-track selection spans her career from the years 1946 to 1961. It includes all of her big hits, such as La Vie En Rose, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, Hymne à Lamour, Milord, La Foule, LAccordéoniste, and Padam Padam, among many others. Selection recorded in Paris & New York, between 1946 and 1961.

"I want to make people cry even when they don't understand my words. I've always wanted to sing, just as I've always known that one day I would have my own niche in the annals of song. It was a feeling I had. Singing is a way of escaping. It's another world. When I sing I'm no longer on earth." Édith Piaf