Georges Moustaki
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Mustacchi, known as Georges Moustaki , (born in Alexandria
, Egypt May 3, 1934) is a French singer and songwriter of Italo
-Greek
Jewish origin, best known for his poetic rhythm, eloquent simplicity and his hundreds of romantic songs. He has written songs for Édith Piaf
(including "Milord
"), Dalida
, Françoise Hardy
, Barbara
, Brigitte Fontaine
, Herbert Pagani
, France Gall
, and Cindy Daniel
, as well as for himself.
, Greece, and were Corfiot Italian
Jews, but they moved to Alexandria
, Egypt, where Georges learned French. They had a bookshop in the cosmopolitan city where many communities lived together.
At home, everyone spoke Italian. In the street, the children spoke Arabic. At school, young Giuseppe learned and spoke French. His parents were very attached to French culture and put him into a French school, along with his sisters.
Moustaki went to Paris in 1951 and was inspired by the young Georges Brassens
. He changed his name to Georges Moustaki, in honor of him.
Moustaki sang songs in French, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, English and Arabic.
He married at twenty and has a large family in France, Israel, Brazil and Venezuela.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt May 3, 1934) is a French singer and songwriter of Italo
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Jewish origin, best known for his poetic rhythm, eloquent simplicity and his hundreds of romantic songs. He has written songs for Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
(including "Milord
Milord (song)
"Milord" or "Ombre de la Rue" is a 1959 song , famously sung by Édith Piaf. It is a chanson that recounts the feelings of a lower-class "girl of the port" who develops a crush on an elegantly attired apparent upper-class British traveller , whom she has seen walking the streets of the...
"), Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
, Françoise Hardy
Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
, Barbara
Monique Serf
Monique Andrée Serf , known as Barbara , was a popular French female singer...
, Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
, Herbert Pagani
Herbert Pagani
Herbert Pagani is an artist and musician.He comes from a family of Libyan Jews who were italianized by the Colonial Administration. He spent his childhood and adolescence between Italy, Germany and France...
, France Gall
France Gall
France Gall is a popular French yé-yé singer.Gall was married to, and had a successful singing career in partnership with, French singer-songwriter Michel Berger....
, and Cindy Daniel
Cindy Daniel
Cindy Daniel is a Canadian singer. She is well known in the French-Canadian public, mostly in the province of Quebec, where she started her career. The song "Sous une pluie d'étoiles" has made her known to the audience and was ranked on the top 10 billboard of 2006...
, as well as for himself.
Life
His parents, Nessim and Sarah, came originally from the island of CorfuCorfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Greece, and were Corfiot Italian
Corfiot Italians
Corfiot Italians are a population from the Greek island of Corfu with ethnic and linguistic ties to the Republic of Venice. Their name was specifically established by Niccolò Tommaseo during the Italian Risorgimento...
Jews, but they moved to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt, where Georges learned French. They had a bookshop in the cosmopolitan city where many communities lived together.
At home, everyone spoke Italian. In the street, the children spoke Arabic. At school, young Giuseppe learned and spoke French. His parents were very attached to French culture and put him into a French school, along with his sisters.
Moustaki went to Paris in 1951 and was inspired by the young Georges Brassens
Georges Brassens
Georges Brassens , 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981), was a French singer-songwriter and poet.Brassens was born in Sète, a town in southern France near Montpellier...
. He changed his name to Georges Moustaki, in honor of him.
Moustaki sang songs in French, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, English and Arabic.
He married at twenty and has a large family in France, Israel, Brazil and Venezuela.