Celine Dion performs onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas.
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Even if you don’t know the first thing about sports, you’ll want to tune into the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday (July 26). There is an excellent chance you’ll hear the timeless French standard “La Vie en Rose” – possibly sung by the megastar teaming of Céline Dion and Lady Gaga. (That duet is unconfirmed, but is a tantalizing possibility.)
Both singers have a history with the song, which was made famous by French chanteuse Édith Piaf. Dion sang it on Michael Drucker’s TV show in Paris in 1993 (when she was all of 15). Gaga sang it in 2016 on the Emmy-nominated TV special Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come and again two years later in the Oscar-nominated film A Star Is Born.
“La Vie En Rose” was written in 1945 and became a global hit for Piaf in the late ’40s – and in the U.S. in 1950. The song’s wistful quality captured the sad, yet hopeful mood of a people who had endured the horrors and hardships of World War II.
The lyrics were written by Piaf, with music composed by Louiguy. English lyrics were later written by Mack David, the older brother of Hal David. According to legend, people in Piaf’s camp thought the song was weaker than the rest of her repertoire. (Can you imagine?) Heeding their advice, Piaf put the song aside, only to later change her mind. Good thing she did! The ballad became Piaf’s signature song, and one of the most famous songs ever to come out of France.
The literal translation of the song title is “life in pink,” but it can also mean “life in happy hues” or “life in rosy hues.”
Piaf died from liver cancer in 1963 at just 47, but her song will live forever. Here are 13 of the most famous renditions of the longtime pop standard.
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Edith Piaf, 1947
Image Credit: Steve Oroz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Piaf performed her most famous song in the 1948 French movie Neuf garçons, un cœur. The first of her albums to include the song was Chansons Parisiennes, released in 1950. That same year, her version reached No. 23 on the Billboard pop charts of the era. Piaf’s recording was released 11 years before the inception of the Grammy Awards, but it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. It was heard in the 2007 biopic La Vie En Rose, for which Marion Cotillard won an Oscar for best actress.
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Louis Armstrong, 1950
Many artists covered the song in 1950, including Louis Armstrong, whose version reached No. 28. Satchmo’s version was later featured in the 1995 film French Kiss and the 2008 Disney/Pixar film WALL-E.
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Bing Crosby, 1950
Crosby’s version reached No. 13. Three years later, he included the song on his French-language album, Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris. Crosby recorded the entire album in one day – May 16, 1953. All recordings were made with Paul Durand et Son Grand Orchestre. Of his attempt at a French accent, the genial Crosby remarked that any complaints should be sent “to the back door of the United Nations.”
Piaf, Armstrong and Crosby weren’t the only artists to place the song on Billboard pop charts in 1950. (Such “cover battles” were common in that era.) Tony Martin (No. 9), Paul Weston (No. 12), Ralph Flanagan (No. 27) and Victor Young (No. 27) also charted versions.
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Dean Martin, 1962
The ultra-cool singer recorded the song on his album French Style, which was his debut album for Reprise Records, the label founded by fellow Rat-Packer Frank Sinatra. The album featured French-themed popular songs and chansons arranged by Neal Hefti. Others included “C’est Si Bon,” the title song from the 1958 musical Gigi and two classic Cole Porter tunes.
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Dionne Warwick, 1966
The pop and R&B singer included the song on her live album Dionne Warwick in Paris, which was recorded in January 1966 at the Olympia Theater. The album featured such other French songs as “C’est Si Bon” and “The Good Life” (the latter made famous by Tony Bennett), as well as Cole Porter’s “I Love Paris” and French translations of her previous Bacharach/David hits “A House Is Not a Home” and “You’ll Never Get to Heaven.” Bacharach and David produced the album, which reached No. 76 on the Billboard 200.
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Grace Jones, 1977
Image Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images Jones included the song on her debut album, Portfolio, which reached No. 109 on the Billboard 200. Released as a single, an edited version bubbled under the Hot 100 at No. 109 (coincidentally, the same as the album’s peak position). Disco pioneer Tom Moulton produced Jones’ album. Jones’ version plays over the closing credits of Robert Altman’s 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter. Her version was later included on the soundtrack to the 1999 film Summer of Sam, which was set in 1977. The song was also featured in Grace Jones: A One-Man Show, which received a 1984 Grammy nod for best long form music video.
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Bette Midler, 1977
This was the closing track on Midler’s eclectic album Broken Blossom, which was produced by Brooks Arthur. The album reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
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Three Tenors, 1990
Image Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images The power trio consisting of Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti sang the song in their July 1990 concert at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The concert was recorded and became the hit album Carreras/Domingo/Pavarotti in Concert. The album, produced by Zubin Mehta, reached No. 35 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best classical vocal performance. It was also nominated for best classical album.
Domingo also sang the song on his 1991 album Be My Love…An Album of Love. The album reached No. 171 on the Billboard 200.
Listen to the Three Tenors here and Domingo’s solo version here.
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Tony Bennett & k.d. lang, 2002
The superlative singers, who had first teamed to sing “Moonglow” on Bennett’s Grammy-winning MTV Unplugged album, sang the song on their album A Wonderful World. T Bone Burnett and Bennett’s son Danny Bennett produced the collection, which reached No. 41 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.
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Andrea Bocelli, 2013
The Italian tenor recorded the song as a virtual duet with Piaf and included it on his album, Passione, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The album was produced by David Foster.
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Madonna, 2015
Madonna performed the song in honor of the victims of the Nov. 13 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris. Introducing the song, she said, “Here is my favorite part; my favorite moment in the show. I don’t just do this because I’m in Paris. To me, this is one of the greatest love songs ever written – performed by one of my favorite singers in the whole world – and it is my honor (and I hope I don’t f–k it up) – to sing it for you now. A song about love, again.” Madonna also performed the song on her Rebel Heart tour.
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Michael Bublé, 2018
This bilingual version featured French/American jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant. It was featured on Love, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The album marked the Canadian crooner’s reunion with producer David Foster. The deluxe edition of the album was nominated for a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album.
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Lady Gaga, 2018
Image Credit: Antony Jones/Getty Images Gaga sang the song on the 2016 TV special Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come and again two years later in the reboot of A Star Is Born, for which she received an Oscar nomination for best actress. It also appeared on the soundtrack, which topped the Billboard 200 for four nonconsecutive weeks and won a Grammy for best compilation soundtrack for visual media.
Listen to the TV show version here and the film version here.