" I take care of myself.
After a certain age, we must help nature.
She may be confined to waiting to be vaccinated, Nicoletta does not lose either her flair or her humor.
She misses her house bought thanks to the immense success of "Mamy Blue" and the view of Lake Geneva, but this "eternal mountain girl" is in Paris for an excellent reason: to promote "Soul Sister", a beautiful collection of memories and of photos in which she celebrates her 50 years on stage and tells about her “life as a mountebank”.
It doesn't sound like it, but the blonde Nicoletta, all smiles in her leather jacket, is approaching the 77th spring.
Her first hit, “Music”, dates back to the summer of 1967. “The enfant terrible of song”, as it was nicknamed at the time, went on tours and hits, “My life is a merry-go-round”, “ He died the sun ”,“ Closed shutters ”,“ Fio Maravilla ”,“ What is the point of living free ”, and of course“ Mamy Blue ”, not to mention the“ Black Ideas ”with Bernard Lavilliers.
Yet Nicole Grisoni, her real name, was born a long way from showbiz in Haute-Savoie, on the shores of Lake Leman.
Her book begins with this poignant revelation: "My mother, Jeanne, suffered from mental retardation and my father, her childhood friend, abused her innocence during a ball on July 14".
She discovers at the age of eight that her father is in fact her neighbor across the street.
“I was brought up by my grandmother, an extraordinary woman who hid Django Reinhardt and his family during the war,” says Nicoletta.
My mother was like a child, always laughing.
Blessed are the simple-minded ... "
The "second birth"
She is 20 years old and tries her luck in Paris, when her mother dies.
“The worst injustice,” she wrote.
She was leaving at 40, a victim of cancer after being laughed at all her life.
The day after the funeral, Nicoletta makes a suicide attempt.
Two boxes of painkillers, eight days in a coma, a near-death experience and what she considers "a second birth".
In 1970, she recorded "Mamy Blue", "to pay tribute to my dear mother", without suspecting that in 2012, she would become "Mamy" in a duet with JoeyStarr and that the rapper would become her friend.
“I like Didier a lot.
He has a huge heart, a tremendous appetite for life.
I know his children, his mother, he has great respect for the family.
"
Nicoletta's life is full of surprises - she was one of the first female DJ's in France at the end of the 1960s - and encounters, like the one with Jimi Hendrix in 1969. “We often went to party in London, which was very fashionable, she says.
It was Eric Burdon, from Animals, who introduced it to me.
When he came to Paris, I took him to shop for clothes, I only have good memories with him.
" See more ?
“I never talk about my love affairs, out of respect for my son and my companion.
I had a great time until I was thirty.
Afterwards, I got married.
"
Her meeting with Ray Charles, who considered her "the only white with a black singer's voice", marked a "turning point".
“He gave me confidence.
I made him listen later
He died the sun
he wanted to translate and sing.
It was the second Americanized French song, after “Comme d'habitude” which became “My Way”.
We were supposed to sing it together but Ray unfortunately died before an agreement was reached between the record companies.
"
Beautiful emotions thanks to gospel
It is with gospel that his career will find new life.
“In 1995, I was the first to sing in churches and cathedrals with a choir, and the success was immediate.
Thanks to gospel, I experienced emotions that showbiz never gave me.
And as the churches are full, the good Lord is happy.
"
If the horizon clears up, on November 4 and 7, she will celebrate her 50 years on stage at the Lido, the Champs-Elysées cabaret in Paris.
“As a provincial, singing on the most beautiful avenue in the world is very chic,” she smiles.
It will be my Las Vegas.
"
Newsletter The list of our desires
Our favorites for fun and culture.
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
The editor's note
: 3.5 / 5
“Nicoletta, Soul Sister.
50 years on the stage ”
, published by Recherches-Midi, 146 pages, 28 euros.