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BETWEEN RAQUEL BITTON, EDITH PIAF AND THE FRENCH AMERICAN CABARET. Cont'd.

Some of Bitton’s answers might astonish you, disturb you, confuse you, elevate your soul, energize you mind, stimulate your determination to succeed in life, and some other answers might throw you off wall. Some of Bitton’s answers will most certainly shed bright and new lights on Raquel Bitton, the “woman”, the “honest human being”, the “fighter”, the “survivor”, the “visionary” and the free-spirited artist…a strong woman with strong personal conviction, a very predominant individual philosophy sweetly, strongly and honestly expressed in sweet, strong and honest answers. Were Bitton’s answers aimed at defining her style, her character, her unique “genre” and mastery, or were they a strong personal reaction and an attempt to distant herself from Edith Piaf? I think, both! Some of Bitton’s answers were unexpected. Some readers might welcome them with a new understanding of Bitton the woman and artist, while some others might pose for a wile and wonder why Raquel Bitton did answer the questions in that fashion with such intensity? Once you read the interview, you will immediately understand that Bitton is not Piaf the “sad-soul-woman” nor “the street-born and raised singer”!! I did not know Bitton was so different from the picture and the conceptualized image I created of her. Otherwise, I would have asked different questions, even though, I researched Bitton’s impressive accomplishments…life…where she grew up in Casablanca…stories about the remarkable parents she had, observant Jews who worked at the U.S. Air Force Base there…the Bitton’s house which was a sanctuary for music and songs…charming stories about the atrium her father built and filled it with birds…Bitton’s first performance at 8 at the Marrakesh Casino…how American Jewish organizations helped the Bittons emigrate from Morocco…how the Bittons left Morocco with only the clothes on their back and settled in San Francisco, where Bitton's aunt lived….but obviously, this was not enough! Raquel Bitton appeared to be bigger than the events of her life and quite different from the conventional portrayal of a young singer who was taken by her idol. The interview will clearly invite you to like and admire Bitton’s presence and personality but, some readers might believe that Bitton was too strong, too independent, too critical, too “individual” and very distant and different from Edith Piaf! But no one will ever contest the amazing talent of this woman, I mean Bitton. Raquel Bitton stated very clearly to me that Piaf did not affect her life. Bitton made it clear to me that she admired Piaf’s great sense of choosing and creating her repertoire, but in no way she needed to be her. Bitton, frankly, strongly and straightforwardly explained that Piaf’s voice echoed hers (meaning Bitton’s voice).

Thus, she felt “safe”. Bitton added: “I don't think I look like her. We both are brunet, she had blue eyes, mine are brown, she was smaller in stature, fragile, I am not. The face you see is mine, the expressions are mine, the interpretation of my repertoire is mine.” However, Raquel Bitton acknowledges that she has one very obvious thing in common with Piaf. “We respect the lyrics of a song.” Bitton said.  Before her audience, Raquel explained: "We may carry the same intensity, but certainly my voice is different than hers in many ways. We carry the same passion and I will not lie that it comes from my heritage as a Jewish Sephardic girl growing up listening to Latino songs.”

Bitton wants you to know and remember that she did not need to hide behind the Phenomenon Piaf, and that she had hers to build upon. Grosso modo, Britton is categorically separating herself from Edith Piaff. She told WACJ “ How else would I have gained the respect of Michel Rivgauche, Henri Contet, Francis Lai, if I did not separate myself from the subject? I never lived in the Universe of Piaf. I sang the text in French, “a ma facon” (my way), I conquered with simplicity.” Don't try to flatter Bitton by comparing her to Edith Piaf. It would be a mistake. She will not consider it a compliment. For Bitton, Raquel Bitton is Bitton, and Piaf is Piaf!! Wow!! In 1964, the entertainment division of the RTF in Paris (Radio Television Française: The Consortium of Radio and Television of France) decided to air a special show on France’s great, the late Edith Piaf. Georgette Lemaire (Born in Paris on February 15, 1943), one of France’s most respected singers was selected to star in that show called “"Télé-Dimanche", hosted by Roger Lanzac and Raymond Marcillac. She fell sick. At the very last minute, on November 21^st 1965, Lemaire was replaced by a new talented and relatively unknown singer who  just won a "radio-crochet" (a singing competition) in Avignon, France in 1964.

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