FROM AC/DC TO LEONARD
Eclectic tastes for Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri enjoys speaking of the musical greats.
The iconic 83-year-old Greek singer has a long list of favourites, from Leonard Cohen to Charles Aznavour, Billie Holiday to ... AC/DC?
“Oh yes,” she says with evident delight over the phone from Paris, where the bespectacled singer is doing advance press before the Forever Young tour that brings her to Calgary on Saturday night.
“AC/DC is very good, I enjoy them very much and they have always been very complimentary to me.”
That Angus Young and crew treat Mouskouri with due reverence comes as no surprise considering her longevity in the business. One of the world’s all-time bestselling musical artists, she’s been dropping million-selling records since 1962’s The White Rose of Athens, amassing hundreds of hit albums and singles, all sung in a variety of different languages.
Initially a folksinger who moved toward jazz and easy-listening, Mouskouri is unabashed about
her love for raunchy rock ’n roll. “I grew up with artists like Nat King Cole, and then when rock and roll came out I listened to it a lot. It’s true that I went more with popular ballads and folk songs, but I love rock very much. Maybe in another life I can sing an AC/ DC song, but I can do other ones on this new album.”
Her newest release, 2018’s Forever Young, sees the internationally beloved chanteuse wrapping her vocals around songs by the likes of Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse. It’s her first release since shrugging off what turned out to be a premature retirement in 2008 before she realized that puttering in the garden was simply not going to work for her. We spoke with the singer about her early years, facility with languages, and love of Amy Winehouse.
Q: You weren’t trying to be an international singer when you started out, were you?
A: No, not really. I was part of this Greek film, or rather a German production of a Greek film, where I did this song that they asked me to sing in German (White Roses from Athens.) I was very lucky to sing in this, but I didn’t especially want to do it in German. Later, I met Quincy Jones and he asked me to go to America and make records with him that had jazz ballads. I sang in English with Harry Belafonte, and then had success in Spain as well. None of this was planned, it just simply happened that way.
Q: It gave you a unique profile among singers.
A: It was fascinating to me. It’s a means of communication. I always wanted to communicate with the people; if I went to a place like Mexico I could sing in the language but also talk to them about the program. To do this I needed to know more than the Greek language, which you cannot go very far with. Italian, Spanish and French, you can go far with. But there have been many other wonderful singers who have sung in different languages as well, like Julio Iglesias.
Q : What made you decide to go with the Amy Winehouse cover on Forever Young ?
A: Oh, I’ve always loved the music of England. It has been a special place for me. One day I heard Amy and loved her style, it reminded me of Billie Holiday. Not in the sound of her voice — she had her own style, but in the suffering and sadness you heard. I was very much touched by her and wanted to do one of her songs. This one struck me as a good fit for me. She was a great singer. I also loved Whitney Houston as well. People like that you never forget.