Celine Dion, The #15 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

 

"That unmistakable, incomparable, angelic voice that I have loved all my life! God bless you, Celine. Thank you for being a part of my life all these years."

"Celine Dion is awesome!"

"This woman is absolutely special."

"A beautiful woman with a golden voice."

"There are just a few true GREATS and this lady is one of them!!! My God, what a voice. Love to hear her sing!"

"The Queen of Music, living legend."

"One of the greatest of all-time."

"A legendary voice that is irreplaceable."

"She's the most romantic singer ever."

"One of the greatest voices of all-time."

"Her voice sends shivers up my spine and brings tears to my eyes. Incredible."

"Celine is an icon. Legendary."

"One of my favorite singers of all-time."

"Celine Dion forever. The real diva. Legendary."

"One of the best ever."

"Such an extraordinary voice!!!!"

"Her songs motivate me; they give me strength and courage to go on when I pass through difficult moments."

"Her music is beautiful and meaningful."

"Celine Dion is a legend. She has a way to evoke so much emotion and her voice is just mesmerizing and heaven-sent."

"Celine manages to make every song eternal."

"Her voice is so pure and angelic."

"She is magical, just heavenly."

"My favorite artist forever."

"Her voice is such a blessing to us."

"My favorite singer of all-time."

"Living legend--you are the best."

"Her voice is total precision, like a finely-tuned instrument."

Celine was ranked 10th in the 2014 book The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era*.  Her album sales have continued to soar since that time, to the point where now, Celine is the fourth-ranked female artist of all-time.

Celine Dion (named after the song "Céline", which had been recorded by Hugues Aufray two years before her birth) was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, the youngest of 14 children.  Celine made her first public appearance when she sang at her brother Michel's wedding in 1973 at the age of five.  Dion continued to perform with her siblings at Le Vieux Baril ("The Old Barrel"), her parents' small piano bar.  Celine also was a member of Girl Guides of Canada.

When she was 12, Celine wrote her first song,  "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only A Dream", with her mother and brother Jacques.  Michel sent the recording to music manager René Angélil.  Angélil loved what he heard and set out to make her a star.  Angélil was so committed that in 1981, he mortgaged his home to fund her first record, "La voix du bon Dieu", which became a big hit in Quebec.

The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Carole King and Anne Murray are among the influences on Celine, all of whom eventually collaborated with her.

Dion competed in the 1982 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and came home with the award for "Top Performer" and the gold medal for Best Song with "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi".  The following year, she became the first Canadian artist to earn a Gold record in France for "D'amour ou d'amitié" ("Of Love Or Of Friendship"), and in 1988, Celine represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest and won the contest singing "Ne partez pas sans moi".  

By 1987, Dion had released eight French language albums, and her most recent, Incognito, boasted worldwide sales of 500,000.  Dion had high ambitions and although Angélil was convinced she had the talent to be a big star, he also realized that Celine's image had to be changed to be able to market her worldwide.  Celine underwent dental surgery and she was sent to the Ecole Berlitz in 1989 to improve her English.

 

Just two years after she learned English, Celine released her debut album Unison in 1990 with the help of producer David Foster.  The single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" was written by Taylor Rhodes, who has written songs for Journey and Loverboy, and Robert Johnson, who wrote many songs for Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The song hit #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #4 overall in the U.S. and #6 in Canada.  

 

The following year, Celine's duet with Peabo Bryson in the animated movie Beauty and the Beast gave her tremendous exposure, and the title song also reached the Top 10 and earned Celine a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and an Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.  The message is that love can be strong no matter how different two people are.  "Beauty And The Beast" rose to #2 in Canada, #3 on the AC chart and #9 Popular in the U.S. as well as in the U.K. and sold over one million singles.

Celine was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for her self-titled album.

 

The single also appeared on Celine's self-titled album in 1992, which went Triple Platinum and reached #3 in Canada.  The album has sold over five million worldwide.  "If You Asked Me To", written by famed songwriter Diane Warren, reached #1 in Canada and #4 in the U.S. (#4 AC).

"If You Asked Me To" captured the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song and was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year.  Celine also earned a Billboard nomination for Hot Adult Contemporary Artist.

 

Dion performed this song for the first time on July 14 on The Tonight Show.  The single "Nothing Broken But My Heart", another Warren tune, gave Celine her first U.S. #1 on the Adult chart and reached #3 in Canada and also won an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Song.  

Walter Afanasieff, who co-wrote several songs with Mariah Carey, produced and arranged the song and also played keyboards and synthesized bass and oversaw the drum and rhythm programming.  Michael Landau, who has played on albums by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, James Taylor, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Boz Scaggs, Richard Marx, Stevie Nicks, Glenn Frey, and Seal, among many others, played guitar on the track.  

Celine scored another Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S., a song that unexplainably stalled at #36 overall.  It is one of The Most Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  Here is the inspirational "Love Can Move Mountains".

Celine may have taken longer to get off the ground without Warren (!), who also wrote this great track--"Water From The Moon".

Afanasieff also co-wrote this song with John Bettis--"If You Could See Me Now".

 

Here is another solid track--"If I Were You".

Dion and Angélil became romantically involved during this time, and were married in 1994.  Dion released another French album, Dion chante Plamondon, which reached #2 in France and has now sold over two million copies worldwide.

Meanwhile, Dion released her third English album, The Colour Of My Love, which was a huge success, selling over six million in the U.S. alone, another two million in both the U.K. and Canada, and a total of 20 million globally.  The album topped charts in the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Belgium, and reached #2 in the Netherlands and #4 in the U.S.  Celine won World's Best-Selling Female Recording Artist of the Year at the World Music Awards.  

 

The first hit of this song was Doris Day's version in 1952.  "When I Fall In Love", with Clive Griffin, from the classic movie Sleepless in Seattle, was nominated for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards and hit #6 on the AC chart.

Celine's remake of the Jennifer Rush song "The Power Of Love" topped charts in the U.S., Australia, and Canada and reached #3 in France and #4 in the U.K.  It has sold over two million singles in the U.S. alone.  David Foster produced the song and also played keyboards on "The Power Of Love", the 8th-best-selling song of 1994.

"The Power Of Love" was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Popular (which for the last 65 years has been Rock) Single, a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Billboard Music Awards for Hot 100 Single of the Year and Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year.  Celine received nominations for Top Pop Artist - Female, Hot Adult Contemporary Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album Artist - Female and Hot 100 Singles Artist - Female at the Billboard Music Awards.

 

The great song "To Love You More" went to #1 on the Adult chart in the U.S. and peaked at #9 in Canada.

 

Aldo Nova, who had a minor hit with "Fantasy" in 1982, produced this song.  "Think Twice" was a big hit in the U.K., landing at #1 for seven weeks and was only the fourth single by a female artist ever to top one million in sales.

 

Here is the beautiful "Love Doesn't Ask Why".

Celine continued to release albums recorded in French, including the live À l'Olympia, recorded at the Paris Olympia in 1994, and D'eux in 1995, which became the top-selling French-language album of all-time and has now achieved 10 million in worldwide sales.

 

"Pour que tu m'aimes encore" ("So That You'll Love Me Again") claimed the #1 spot in France for 12 weeks, was #1 for 15 weeks in Belgium, and also landed in the Top 10 in the U.K. and Ireland, one of only a handful of French songs to reach the Top 10 in those locations.  It sold over one million copies in France alone and four million worldwide.  It has become so popular that in 2015, it ranked #5 on Billboard's France Digital Songs Sales Chart, 20 years after its release!

In 1996, Celine won a World Music Award for World's Best-selling Female Recording Artist of the Year for the third straight time.

Dion impressed with her first few albums and was gaining popularity rapidly.  In the next segment, she becomes a superstar!