Nanette Workman

Last updated

Nanette Workman
Birth nameNanette Joan Workman
Born (1945-11-20) 20 November 1945 (age 78)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Origin Jackson, Mississippi, United States and
Ormstown, Quebec, Canada
Genres Vocal, rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, actress, author
InstrumentVocals
Years activec. 1956-present
Website Official website

Nanette Joan Workman (born 20 November 1945, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Ormstown, Quebec, Canada, during much of her career. She holds dual citizenship of both the United States and Canada. She was raised by musician parents in Jackson, Mississippi, where she began her first performances. Although raised as an English speaker, she mainly performs in French. She has recorded with well-known musicians in the U.S., Canada, UK and France and has been recognized in Mississippi by being elected to that state's Musicians Hall of Fame and having a Francophone house named after her at the state university. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Childhood

Workman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 20 November 1945, to musician parents. Her mother, Beatryce Kreisman, was in the chorus of Naughty Marietta with the New York City Opera Company, and her father, Ernest Workman, played trumpet in Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. She grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. As a child she studied piano and began her career at 11, appearing in the local WLBT television series Mr. Magic (later Junior Time) until she was given her own weekly show, Teen Tempos. [3]

She graduated from Provine High School and attended the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, leaving college at 18 for Broadway. [4]

Career

After understudying the lead of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , she played the role of Rosemary in 1964 and later played the lead in summer stock. In 1966, Workman met Tony Roman [2] and recorded her first French single, "Et Maintenant", for him in Canada, where the song remained on the charts for fifteen weeks after becoming number one. Over the next two years she became a Canadian recording and TV star, finally hosting Fleurs d'amour, fleurs d'amitié . In 1969, Workman moved to England where she appeared weekly on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's comedy series Not Only... But Also .[ citation needed ] Mistakenly credited as Nanette Newman, Workman sang backing vocals on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Country Honk" (the acoustic precursor to "Honky Tonk Women"), tracks from The Rolling Stones' 1969 album Let It Bleed (she's credited as Nanette Newman, and some have confused her with the British actress married to director Bryan Forbes). She also worked with John Lennon and Elton John. [2] In addition, she appeared in one of the black-and-white episodes of The Benny Hill Show (appearing as Nanette), performing "Everybody's Singing Like Now" on the 24 February 1971 edition.

Workman toured France in 1973 as an opening act for Johnny Hallyday. She made three albums with Yves Martin touring Africa, Polynesia and Europe before returning to Quebec in 1974 where she recorded several more French albums. Lady Marmalade, Danser Danser, Donne Donne and especially Call Girl (by Luc Plamondon) placed first on the hit parades. Returning to France in 1978, she starred in the Rock Opera Starmania as Sadia. In 1979, she sang backing vocals in the Mahogany Rush song "Sister Change" (Tales of an Unexpected album). In 1980, she made an album Chaude in collaboration with her brother Billy Workman and Luc Plamondon and toured Quebec with the show Du gramophone au laser which recounted the history of the Québécois chanson . In 1990, she returned to Paris to become La Diva in Plamondon-Berger's second rock opera, La Légende de Jimmy, based on the life of James Dean.

In April 2000, Workman was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Roots N Blues, another album in English, was released in May 2001. In 2001, she also appeared in a Radio-Canada television series, Rivière-des-Jérémie, and was the hostess for thirteen episodes of Generation 70.

In 2007, she was recognized by the State of Mississippi when Governor Haley Barbour honored her at the opening of The Nanette Workman French (Francophone) House on the Mississippi State University campus. [1] The house accommodates American and French-speaking students from around the world as an upper-classman residence. [5]

Personal life

She has one son, Jesse (born c. 1987). [6]

Awards and recognition

Entertainment industry works

The following is a list of her major entertainment industry works: [4]

Discography

Soundtrack appearances

Film

Television series

Television films

Writings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Dufresne</span> Musical artist

Diane Dufresne, is a French Canadian singer and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Félix Award</span> Annual Canadian music award in Québec

The Félix Award is an award, given by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Starmania is a Canadian-French cyberpunk rock opera written in 1976 with music by Michel Berger and book and lyrics by Luc Plamondon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luc Plamondon</span> Canadian lyricist

Luc Plamondon is a French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. He is best known for his work on the musicals Starmania and Notre-Dame de Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Berger</span> French singer and songwriter (1947–1992)

Michel Jean Hamburger, known professionally as Michel Berger, was a French singer and songwriter. He was a leading figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer; as a songwriter, he was active for such artists as his wife France Gall, Françoise Hardy or Johnny Hallyday. He died of a heart attack at age 44.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patsy Gallant</span> Musical artist

Patricia Gallant is a Canadian pop singer and musical theatre actress. Of Acadian ancestry, she has recorded and performed in both English and French.

<i>Dion chante Plamondon</i> 1991 studio album by Celine Dion

Dion chante Plamondon is the ninth French-language studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released on 4 November 1991 by Sony Music and features songs with words written by French-Canadian lyricist, Luc Plamondon. In Europe, the album was renamed Des mots qui sonnent. It was promoted in Quebec by four promotional singles: "Des mots qui sonnent", "L'amour existe encore", "Je danse dans ma tête" and "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime". In France, three commercial singles were released: "Je danse dans ma tête", "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" and "L'amour existe encore". Dion chante Plamondon won the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year and Félix Award for Best Selling Album of the Year. It topped the chart in Quebec and reached number four in France.

Éric Estève is a French author, composer and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Boulay</span> French Canadian singer

Isabelle Boulay, is a Canadian singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Tell</span> Canadian musician (born Diane Fortin, 1959)

Diane Tell is a Canadian musician who was born in Quebec City, Quebec.

<i>Tellement jai damour...</i> 1982 studio album by Celine Dion

Tellement j'ai d'amour... is the third French-language studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released in Quebec, Canada on 7 September 1982. It includes her first hit song, "D'amour ou d'amitié". The album reached number three in Quebec, was certified Platinum in Canada and won the Félix Award for Best Pop Album of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'amour ou d'amitié</span> 1982 single by Celine Dion

"D'amour ou d'amitié" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her French-language album, Tellement j'ai d'amour... (1982). It was written by lyricist Eddy Marnay and French composers Jean Pierre Lang and Roland Vincent. "D'amour ou d'amitié" was released as a single in France in December 1982 and in Quebec, Canada in May 1983. The song became a commercial success, topping the chart in Quebec and reaching top ten in France. It was also certified Gold in both countries, making Dion the first Canadian artist to receive a Gold certification in France. In 2005, "D'amour ou d'amitié" was included on Dion's greatest hits album, On ne change pas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabienne Thibeault</span> French Canadian singer (born 1952)

Fabienne Thibeault is a French Canadian singer. She is particularly known for her role in Starmania. Thibeault has released numerous albums over her career. She has been the recipient of two Félix Awards.

"Un garçon pas comme les autres" is a song written and produced by Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon for the 1978 musical, Starmania. It was originally performed by Fabienne Thibeault and released on the Starmania album in 1978. The English-language version of the song with lyrics by Tim Rice, titled "Ziggy", was recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion and released on the Tycoon album in 1992. Dion also recorded earlier a French-language version of the song for her tenth studio album, Dion chante Plamondon (1991). She released both versions on a two-track single in France in 1993, reaching number two on the chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martine St. Clair</span> Musical artist

Martine St. Clair is a Canadian singer from the province of Quebec. She has released numerous albums in a career that has spanned over two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurane</span> Musical artist

Claudine Luypaerts, better known as Maurane, was a Francophone Belgian singer and actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilou (singer)</span> Canadian singer and author (born 1990)

Marilou Bourdon is a French-Canadian pop singer and cookbook author from Longueuil.

Marie Carmen is the stage name of Marie-Carmen Aubut, a Canadian pop singer and musical theatre actress born in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.

Pascal Mailloux is a Francophone Canadian pianist.

Fleurs d'amour, fleurs d'amitié was a Canadian variety television series which aired on Radio-Canada in 1968.

References

  1. 1 2 "MSU students say 'bonjour' to campus immersion experience". Mississippi State University. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Nanette Workman" The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Workman's Biography, Discography, and Bibliography
  3. ↑ Herring, Lori (3 March 2002). "Songstress comes back to her roots". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  4. 1 2 Mississippi Musicians: Nanette Workman, Biography of Nanette Workman, Mississippi musician who was raised in Jackson but is now a Canadian singing star
  5. ↑ "A university-owned four-bedroom residence that now will provide a cultural immersion experience for students taking French courses."
  6. ↑ Giguère, Géo (26 December 2007). "Le Temps des fêtes de Nanette Workman". Canoe (in French). Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  7. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts". Jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 26 December 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ "Evil Judgment". Hysteria-lives.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.