Celine: The Authorized Biography

471 Pages·1998·8.19 MB·English

by  Georges-Herbert Germain

Celine
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Celine
The Authorized Biography of Celine Dion
Georges-Hebert Germain
Translated by David Homel and Fred Reed
DUNDURN PRESS
TORONTO ' OXFORD
Copyright © Georges-Hebert Germain, Celine Dion and Rene Angelil, 1998
Copyright © Dundurn Press Limited, 1998, for the Canadian edition.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior
permission of Dundurn Press Limited. Permission to photocopy should be requested from
the Canadian Reprography Collective.
Design: Scott Reid
PrintenTranscontinental Printing Inc.
Cover photograph courtesy Sony Music Canada
Photographer: Michael Thompson
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Germain, Georges-Hebert, 1944-
Celine: the authorized biography of Celine Dion
Translation of: Celine
ISBN 1-55002-318-7
1. Dion, Celine. 2. Singers — Quebec (Province) — Biography. I. Title
ML420.D592G37213 1998 782.42164'092 C98-932235-1
1 2 3 4 5 BJ 02 01 00 99 98
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for
our publishing program. We also acknowledge the support of the
Ontario AftS Council and the Book Publishing IttduStfy
Development Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The
author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references
or credit in subsequent editions.
Printed and bound in Canada.
Printed on recycled paper.
Thanks to Sylvain Beauregard and his web site:
Passion Celine Dion — http://www.celine-dion.net
Dundurn Press Dundurn Press Dundurn Press
8 Market Street 73 Lime Walk 2250 Military Road
Suite 200 Headington, Oxford Tonawanda, NY
Toronto, Ontario, Canada England U.S.A. 14150
M5E 1M6 OX3 7AD
Contents
Foreword 9
New York, April 12, 1997: The First Sigh 11
Chapter One: A Family Affair 16
Paris, September 22, 1996: Departure 19
Chapter Two: The Pleasures of Love 23
Geneva, November 1, 1996: The World from Above 28
Chapter Three: The Dion Tribe 33
Seoul, February 21, 1997: The Press Conference 41
Chapter Four: The Angelil Clan 45
Frankfort, October 16, 1996: The Hotel 54
Chapter Five: The Man Who Loved Gambling 57
Dublin, June 12, 1997: To the Stadium 62
Chapter Six: Loser Takes All 66
Fukuoka, February 11, 1997: Onstage 69
Chapter Seven: A Lesson Well Learned 72
Stockholm, October 25, 1996: Sound Check 76
Chapter Eight: The First Skirmishes 80
Brussels, June 20, 1997: The Crowd 85
Chapter Nine: It Was Only a Dream 88
Cardiff, November 11, 1996: The Canteen 97
ChapterTen: The Voice of Heaven 101
Berlin, June 24, 1997: The Daily Constitutional 108
Chapter Eleven: Bound for Glory Ill
Bandar Seri Begawan, February 23, 1997: Prelude to the Stage 114
Chapter Twelve: Great Beginnings 118
Copenhagen, June 22, 1997: Vocal Gymnastics I 126
Chapter Thirteen: In the Land of the Rising Sun 129
Sydney, March 24, 1996: Vocal Gymnastics II 134
Chapter Fourteen: On a French Roller Coaster 137
Portland, March 29, 1996: Vocal Gymnastics III 144
Chapter Fifteen: The Dove Takes Flight 147
London, November 29, 1996: In the Dressing Room 155
Chapter Sixteen: The First Fan 159
Sheffield, November 13, 1996: Stage Fright 171
Chapter Seventeen: A Beautiful Stranger 173
Milan, October 30, 1996: Backstage Games 184
Chapter Eighteen: The Sound Barrier 188
West Palm Beach, March 12, 1997: The Show 196
Chapter Nineteen: A Rising Star 200
Nimes, October 4, 1996: The Concert Hall 210
Chapter Twenty: First Stirrings 212
Zurich, June 26, 1997: The Ovation 224
Chapter Twenty-One: Little White Lies 228
Chicago, August 11, 1996: Her Song 234
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Key Man 236
Perth, March 18, 1996: The Monologue 240
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Rumor Mill 243
Manchester, November 14, 1996: The Bodyguard 248
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Battle of Quebec 251
Los Angeles, March 25, 1997: The Duet 262
Chapter Twenty-Five: Born in the USA 264
Melbourne, March 23, 1996: A New Song 272
Chapter Twenty-Six: Conquering Canada 275
Hiroshima, February 10, 1997: The Video 290
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Beauty and the Beast 294
Toronto, June 23, 1996: When a Song Fades 301
Chapter Twenty-Eight: You Can Always Count on Love 303
Memphis, March 15, 1997: Walking with the King 321
Chapter Twenty-Nine: True Love Revealed 323
Las Vegas, August 23, 1996: Love Song 332
Chapter Thirty: Leave it to Chance 337
Montreal, December 17, 1996: Her People 341
Chapter Thirty-One: Words that Sing 345
New Orleans, March 16, 1997: The Band 354
Chapter Thirty-Two: Like a Fairy Tale 357
Detroit, August 8, 1996: The Chorus 362
Chapter Thirty-Three: What Price Friendship? 364
Boston, July 23, 1996: Encore 370
Chapter Thirty-Four: ATouch of Eccentricity 373
Hamburg, October 21, 1996: The Gift 381
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Price of Victory 383
Zurich, June 26, 1997: On the Run 395
Chapter Thirty-Six: Northern Lights 397
Epilogue 419
Dreams are a second life.
— Gerard de Nerval
It was only a dream
But so beautiful it came true.
— Therese Tanguay-Dion
For Therese Tanguay-Dion,
who first believed in this fairy tale
Forewords
T
his is the portrait of a young woman — free, independent, loving,
physically and mentally stable, strong but bending. I know what
she's like. I lived in her immediate entourage for over a year and spent
hours talking with her, just the two of us, about everything: her loves, her
sorrows, her happiness and how she's made so many other people happy.
As I write this, I know she's as happy as anyone can possibly be.
People who think she's unhappy, intimidated, ill, suffering from
fatigue, anorexia or bulimia, oppressed by a possessive, authoritarian,
jealous husband, are wrong. They haven't seen, they don't know, they
can't know.
We project our fears and dreams and fantasies onto celebrities. That's
only natural. We say to ourselves, "If I were in her shoes, I'd crack up, I'd
die of fear. Stage fright would just kill me." And we decide, wrongly, that
these stars must be cracking up too, and dying of fear. But Celine Dion isn't
cracking up. She can face enormous pressure. She loves stage fright and
stress. Ambition drives her on. Not other people's ambition, but her own
— her dreams that her impresario, the man of her life, Rene Angelil, helps
her fulfill. In return, she's his lucky star, his passion, the love of his life.
It's true that for many years, he made all the decisions. If he hadn't,
nothing would have happened. He found her other artists whom he
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