Danielle Messia struggled for a long time before the doors of the Music industry finally opened to her. His life, too, was not easy. Born in Jaffa, Israel, in 1956, she grew up in the Paris suburbs, alongside her mother and sister, her father having left the family home to live in the United States.
As a teenager, she tried her hand at the guitar then joined a folk group. At the same time, she completed a history degree and began to compose a repertoire that would allow her to perform in cabarets. His meeting with conductor Eddy Schaff will be decisive. She joined Barclay, who produced two albums: “Le paradis des musicians”, in 1980, and “De la main gauche”, two years later. His style is completely in tune with the times: one foot in French song, the other in the world of rock.
Danielle Messia begins filming in France. In Quimper, Gérard Classe, a former journalist from the Télégramme editorial team, who also organizes concerts, falls in love with the talent of the young singer and the strength of her lyrics. “I’ve made it happen a few times. One day, she asked me to work with her and find her dates. I got started. »
The discreet and effective support of Jean-Jacques Goldman
Gérard Classe will find dates for him in Brest, Quimper and other Breton towns. “She loved coming here. The landscapes, the atmosphere, the people, everything spoke to him. » The months pass and Danielle Messia makes a name for herself in the very protected world of French song. She is invited to the Drucker set. Jean-Jacques Goldman, who was at the height of his glory in the early 1980s, supported her in the shadows, with the discretion that we know of him. He is convinced that the young singer has a bright future. Just wait. That the score is played in advance.
But then cancer invites itself into Danielle Messia's life. He will not let go of her until his last breath. Between two treatments, the young artist continues to perform while keeping secret the illness which progresses inexorably. “One day she told me to come into her dressing room. And she took off her wig. A strong gesture,” says Gérard Classe, his voice still broken by emotion.
In the following months, Danielle Messia clung to life. She performed on stage at Printemps de Bourges in 1984. The following year, in April, “Carnaval”, her new album, was released. Goldman, who has not taken his eyes off her, offers her the music for the piece “Le temps des enfants”. The album was enthusiastically received by critics, who praised the talent of Danielle Messia. The praise is pouring in. But the cancer progressed, insidious. On June 13, 1985, Danielle Messia's voice died away forever in a room at the Paul-Brousse hospital in Villejuif, a few months after her last performance on the stage of the Equinoxe festival, at the Penfeld exhibition center, in Brest.
87 titles, including unreleased ones
Gérard Classe, very affected by her death, will make a point of keeping the memory of the young singer alive. “His family decided to leave me all their artistic material,” explains the former journalist. Tapes and models which later made it possible to release a posthumous album, “Les mots”, which was awarded the Charles-Cros prize in 1987.
Jean-Jacques Goldman, too, blames the blow. He dedicates the song “Family” to Danielle Messia, on her album “Non homologé”. During the following years, Goldman will always be alongside Gérard Classe to support initiatives in memory of the deceased singer. Notably, during the recording, in 1995, of the album “The blues of Danielle Messia”, performed by the Brest singer, Morgane. Without forgetting the series of concerts “They sing Danielle Messia”, in which many Breton artists participated. Published by EPM Musique and developed by Gérard Classe, the Re-naissance box set, which includes 87 titles, recorded on five CDs, is released on November 15. Clarisse Lavanant lends her voice, alongside Gérard Classe, for the reading of a text entitled “Edith and Danielle”.
France
Music
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