Yves Montand: biography, best songs, interesting facts, listen

Yves Montand

Yves Montand was a true model of Italian character - active, loud, passionate. Life answered him the same way, throwing up fantastic opportunities, bringing with the most beautiful and popular women of the time, whom Yves gave unique emotions, but not for long. For many of them, Montand remained only a hero of memories of passionate romance. As vigorously and successfully, as personal life, the career of a singer and actor took shape.

A brief biography of Yves Montana and lots of interesting facts about the singer can be found on our page.

short biography

Yves Montand - stage name, the real name of the future star sounded like this: Ivo Livi. The Italians' parents lived in Tuscany and belonged to almost opposite religious and political groups: the mother was a Catholic who zealously observed all the canons, and the father was a Communist-minded Jew. But this did not prevent them from living together for many years and having three children, of which Ivo, born October 13, 1921, was the youngest. When in the late 20s Italy was in the grip of the fascists, Livi decided to emigrate to America. However, staying in Marseilles for visas, they stayed there and arranged for life in a new place.

The family was not rich, and the children were forced to work. 13-year-old Ivo helped his sister in the barbershop, and then began working in the port. In parallel, the young man sang in restaurants, receiving not only creative satisfaction, but also a worthy cash reward, supplementing the family budget of 50 francs a week. Parents did not prohibit his son such a passion, but did not expect that singing would be the main business of his life.

Ivo rather quickly gained fame in Marseilles, and in 1938 first appeared on a relatively serious stage - he sang before a cinema session. However, Montana's singing career was interrupted a couple of times due to some historical events. So, at the time France entered the war with Nazi Germany, Yves went to work for a shipbuilding company, but did not stop dreaming of the fame of the singer, rehearsing at home, despite the lack of performances. In 1941, he finally gets the opportunity to continue to sing, conquers the first fans, participates in tours throughout the country. Also during this period Montana songs begin to broadcast on the radio. But the rise of his career was again interrupted - Yves was forced to enter alternative service, which replaced military service in France at that time - "Youth construction".

Montana invented his stage name, forming it from the original Italian-French expression that his mother used to say, inviting her son home from the street: "Ivo, monta!" - "Ivo, get up!" He was first announced before performing under this name at the age of 17. Perhaps it was these words of the mother, captured in the artist's pseudonym, that stimulated Ivo to conquer new heights both on stage and in personal life.

Creation

Love for singing settled in the heart of Montana from birth and did not let go throughout life. It is thanks to his voice that he became an internationally known artist. The main distinctive feature of Montana creativity is its proximity to the common people. He chose for himself the image of a singing hard worker who knows firsthand about the difficulties of the life of the proletariat. In general, he was so in real life. The heroes of his songs were appropriate: the hammer-striker, the boxer, the soldier, the hired worker. This played a role in the development of Montana as a popular chansonnay - ordinary people valued him no less than the sophisticated music lovers, and the halls at his speeches were packed to capacity. The compositions begin to appear on records, which gives rise to even greater popularity and recognition.

At the end of the 1940s, Ivo has his own team of musicians, with whom he will make his further journey on the stage. The poet of the song Montana becomes the author of Jacques Prevert - these compositions will become world famous and beloved. Next to Montana will be the poet Francis Lemark, guitarist Henri Croll, pianist Bob Castell.

But a little earlier, another person will enter Ivo’s life, who will have a huge impact on him. It was Edith Piaf. They met during one of the general speeches. Edith was 6 years older and became a real tutor for the young talent. It was she who taught Montana to stay on the stage, helped to organize concerts, select the repertoire, supplementing it with new hits. Yves and Edith often performed together, sang a duet, which made the fans incredibly happy. Their union broke up as soon as the passion disappeared. In addition, the popularity of Montana steadily grew, which could strain Piaf. Meeting with Edith can be called one of the fundamental in the fate of Ivo, because it was thanks to her that many great works appeared, and Montand became the way the whole world fell in love with him.

Further in the fate of Montana begins a period of great accomplishments: in the 50s he tours, performs in the largest and most prestigious concert halls with a solo program, invariably collecting full house. During the evening he presented to the public 22 songs and 2 poems. As critics have noticed, for Montana the words in the songs turned out to be much more important than music. His performances were notable for their artistry: Ivo did not miss the opportunity to accompany the plot of the song with expressive gestures and facial expressions. Speaking at the Etoile Theater in Paris, he set a record of 200 concerts in a row for 6 months, a fabulous number of tickets sold and the same amount of fees. To commemorate this event, a golden disc with Montana hits was released.

The list of countries visited by Montana is updated by the Soviet Union, America, and Eastern European states. Despite some political obstacles, in the United States performances are a resounding success, and Montand receives the unofficial title of a sex symbol of his time.

Personal life

Montana's relationship with women can give writers stories for several love stories - so much they were all imbued with passion and vivid emotions. Montana’s first true love was Edith Piafand she taught the young lover not only the intricacies of the pop singer. It is thanks to her that Ivo realized that his explosive Italian temperament adds sharpness to relationships rather than spoils them. From this point on, absolutely all the novels of Montana will be subject to extremely sensual impulses.

In mid-1949, Montan charmed the famous French actress Simone Signoret. At that moment she was married, and for two years, Yves was content with the role of a lover. In 1951, Simone left her husband and she and Montana got married. The most beautiful wedding ceremony on the Cote d'Azur, which connected two bright stars of cinema and variety, became a memorable event, and subsequently the journalists and journalists closely watched Ivo and Simon’s relations, regularly publishing their joint pictures in the newspapers and magazines. Montand adopted the heiress of her first husband Simone, and Signoret, in turn, almost abandoned her acting career. She received a lot of pretty promising offers from Hollywood, but Simone loved her husband so much that she refused them, preferring to accompany him to concerts and filming, cook hot breakfasts and wash clothes. Simona did her best to please his beloved, and never entered into arguments with him, did not provoke or support conflicts. Temperamental Montana quickly bored with intelligent relationships, and he began to have one affair after another, not really trying to hide them from his wife.

And once Simone succumbed to these provocations - in the house of the spouses began constant scandals with a loud clarification of relationships, smashing dishes and insults. Apparently, Ivo was pleased, because it was precisely such passions that he lacked. Signoret again began to act in films, and achieved greater success in this field. And then something happened that finally destroyed the once beautiful and happy family.

Last years

Soon after the death of Simone, Yves married his last sweetheart. Just a young girl gave Montana the happiness of fatherhood - when he was 67 years old, she bore him a son. A quiet family happiness finally overwhelmed Montana with his head, he less often went on stage, preferring to spend time with his only heir. But Montana did not intend to completely abandon his career: the plans included a performance in the largest hall of Paris, Ivo also participated in the shooting of the next film. The role that went to him, became fatal: Montand was to play an elderly man who dies of a heart attack. During the filming, he was forced to spend a lot of time in cold water, and this provoked pneumonia. Against the background of the disease, Montana suffered a heart attack. He died on November 9, 1991.

Interesting Facts

• Yves Montand visited the Soviet Union in 1956, and was received with special honors, even able to communicate with Nikita Khrushchev. This visit had political overtones: Montana wanted to personally visit the socialist countries, but was convicted by the French government for touring the USSR. Khrushchev, on the contrary, considered the arrival of Montana a peculiar manifestation of the solidarity of Western states. Chanson concerts were held in several large cities and everywhere were accompanied by a full house in the hall and an incredibly warm welcome of the audience.
• After Montana’s visit to the USSR, there was a song dedicated to him, performed by M. Bernes to lyrics by J. Helemski.

• Montana is the first performer, whose performance was shown on satellite television in 1962. However, this did not happen by his will, moreover, it almost caused a political scandal between France and the United States. The French craftsmen "intercepted" the signal of the Americans, replacing it with a broadcast from the Montana concert.
• In adulthood, chanson begins to be actively interested in politics, and, following the example of his father, appeals to the communist parties. In 1950, Yves participated in the creation of a document banning the use of nuclear weapons, and also supported many other initiatives close to his leftist views. He later revised his convictions, and became a liberal. But in one political party Montana officially did not consist.
• Yves was buried next to the woman with whom he had been in the relationship longer than anyone else, and who endured his many betrayals and bouts of jealousy - Simone Signoret. At the same cemetery is the grave of Edith Piaf.
• A few years after the death of Montana, he became the hero of the next scandal, which was covered in detail by the press. Actress Anna-Gilberta Drossar publicly suggested that her daughter's father is Yves. Naturally, with a positive court decision in her favor, she could claim the inheritance of Montana. The proceedings went so far that the body of Montana was exhumed to take DNA samples. The test did not confirm paternity.
• It is believed that it was Edith Piaf who opened Yves in the way to the big stage, like many other performers.

The biggest betrayal

Marilyn Monroe appeared in the fate of Yves Montana after his tour of America, when he received an offer to participate in the Hollywood film "Make Love". The actress became his shooting partner, and at first the film crew was keenly discussing Ivo’s dislike of the Hollywood diva: he was outraged by her waywardness. However, soon the reason for gossip was the fact that the actors began to retire often. Montana's wife Simona Signoret could not be around, as well as her husband Monroe.

The image of a stormy romance on the set bore its fruits - Yves and Marilyn became lovers. After finishing work on the film, the actress did not want to let go of her lover to his spouse, and even made a bold and romantic act, stopping him on the way to France to spend a few hours together.

Yves still returned home, but Simone could no longer so meekly forgive another betrayal. She began to drink, and for several months she lost her heart considerably, which ultimately pushed Willow away from herself and her family. He started a new novel - this time with his own secretary, while Montana was 50 years older than the girl. The news of this shattered Simon even more - she was diagnosed with cancer. The woman who loved Montana, perhaps more than the rest of his passion, died in 1985.

Best songs

Many songs became hits in the performance of Montana. And the songs written by poets and composers especially for Willow, to this day, constitute the golden fund of French chanson.

Even Edith Piaf herself wrote songs for Montana during the period of their novel. These were such compositions as "What's wrong with me?", "He is humming", "Big city", "Her eyes". Close relations with Edith provided Yves with the opportunity to collaborate with several other major authors of the time - Margarita Monno and Henri Conte. Their co-authors presented songs to Montana."My girl, my baby"and"This very gentleman"The last composition is a sketch, which tells about a quite decent man who learns about his wife's adultery. Michel Emer, a composer and poet with Russian roots, created compositions for Willow"He sings all the time"and"So life goes on".

During the joint work with the poet F. Lemark the Montana repertoire was replenished with 16 of his songs. Composition "In Paris"At first, Iva didn’t like it, and it was already offered for Edith Piaf to play. While the star was wondering whether to take it, Yves agreed and recorded the song.

Another eternal hit was the song from the first film with the participation of Yves Montana "Gates of the Night" - "Fallen leaves". True, this song was not at first liked by the public, but Montand was in no hurry to abandon it, performing for several years. Until finally, the fans did not like the love of this composition.

"Fallen leaves" (listen)

Filmography

Since childhood, Montana attracted not only singing, but also cinema: earning the first money, he spent them on tickets to the cinema, where he dreamed of someday becoming a famous artist. Fate is favorable to Montana, and a simple boy managed to fulfill his cherished dream.

In 1946, with a light hand, Edith Piaf chansonnier received the main role in the film "Gates of the Night". The film career also went uphill - Yves regularly received offers to be removed, many of which he gladly accepted. During the period of the novel with Marilyn Monroe, he was even asked to stay in Hollywood to play in several more films. However, Ivo had a poor command of English, which added work to the assistants and annoyed Montana himself. He refused, and became a real star of French cinema of the time. In the later period of his work, Montand began to pay much more attention to filming than his singing career.

The complete filmography of Yves Montana has about 6 dozen films. Here are the most famous ones:

• Fee for fear (1953)
• Napoleon (1955)
• Let's make love (1960)
• Do you love Brahms? (1960)
• Grand Prix (1966)
• Living to Live (1967)
• On a clear day you will see eternity (1970)
• Red Circle (1970)
• Mania of Greatness (1971)
• The Light of a Woman (1979)
• Waiter (1983)
• Jean de Florette (1986)
• Manon from a source (1986)
• IP5: Mastodon Island (1992)

Music in movies

Many directors do not cease to appeal to the work of Yves Montand, so his songs can be heard in many modern films and TV shows:

The fate of Yves Montana was bright and rich in sensational events. Throughout his creative activity, he was under the scrutiny of journalists. It could not be otherwise, because the handsome Frenchman with Italian roots conquered the hearts of women around the world at first sight, from the first notes. He lived his life as he saw fit, never looking back, trusting his own emotions and feelings in everything. Probably this is the secret of such a successful and enchanting fate of Yves Montana.