Product details
Biographical note
David Looseley is Emeritus Professor of Contemporary French Culture at the University of Leeds, UK. He writes on the popular music, culture and cultural policy of France, including Édith Piaf: A Cultural History (2015), joint winner of the Franco-British Society Literary Prize, and Popular Music in Contemporary France: Authenticity, Politics, Debate (2003). He was contributing editor (with Diana Holmes) of Imagining the Popular in Contemporary French Culture (2013). He is Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques.A jewel of a little book, elegantly written and limpidly setting out how and why Piaf’s artistry counted in 1961 and is still of interest to lovers of French <i>chanson </i>and to the academic study of popular music alike even sixty years after her death.
French Studies
Looseley’s account condenses a rich body of material and reflection and is written with a grace and erudition that will appeal to amateurs and specialists alike.
Modern & Contemporary France
Hugely engaging and informative ... There is much to like in the book, and the way Looseley pulls together the various cultural, political, historical and biographical strands makes for a quick, entertaining and informative read.
Popular Music
Acknowledgements
1 .Imagining Piaf
2. The Recital
3. The Record (1)
4. The Record (2)
5. Authenticity, Art, Memory, Stardom
Conclusions: Piaf Today
References
Notes
Index