Les roses blanches Digipack

Description

She was nicknamed "Heart of Gold," and that says it all! She was undoubtedly the most popular of the great popular singers of an era that certainly had no shortage of them. More than a popular star: an "idol," in the full sense of the word that rock'n'roll singers would give to it during the 1960s; that is to say, more than twenty years after her death. It is undoubtedly difficult to imagine today why audiences, seized by an enthusiasm bordering on hysteria, would break the seats of the music halls where she performed, even going so far as to break down the doors of her dressing room at the Alcazar in Marseille in 1935: a time when social conventions demanded a public behavior that was anything but measured (to say the least). However, in another vein, just one of her broadcasts on Radio Toulouse in 1930 earned her sixteen thousand letters from listeners. Similarly, her song Le raccomodeur de faïence sold over three hundred thousand copies in just a few months. Three times the gold record today; an astronomical figure for the time. Even better, Les roses blanches, which was her biggest hit (and whose small format sold over three million copies!) is still regularly voted for by the public every time a referendum is organized on the theme: "What do you think is the greatest French song of the century?" Even if it is certain that such rankings are always a bit vain and ridiculous - how can one possibly compare such different songs that are so far apart in time - such loyalty still carries significant meaning. Yet - and although titles like On n'a pas tous les jours vingt ans, Du gris, or Frou frou remain present in everyone's memory - Berthe Sylva is undoubtedly the least known of all the great popular singers of the interwar period. This is due to the extreme discretion of the person, who, during her lifetime, displayed exemplary modesty. Sparing in details about her life, the singer consistently avoided interviews and photographers. We barely know that she was born in Saint-Brieuc in 1886, under the name of Berthe Faquet, and that she spent most of her youth in Brest, where she initially earned her living as a chambermaid. Starting her singing career around 1925, at nearly forty years old, which is significant when one knows that most of her rivals were already established stars by the age of twenty-five, she gained notoriety starting in 1928, performing at the Caveau de la République where her melodramatic songs received a triumphant welcome. From then on, success never wavered, and Berthe Sylva, whose enormous repertoire covered nearly a thousand songs, recorded just over one hundred twenty 78 RPM records in the span of ten years. However, despite her popularity (which never faltered), she passed away in poverty in Marseille on May 24, 1941, worn down by drink, incessant touring, and financial difficulties. Her generosity and boundless prodigality - in short, her "Heart of Gold" - led her to squander, day by day, the real fortunes that her countless successes brought her.