Despite the fear that this blog may be becoming a bit of a "birthday almanac", I note nonetheless that another oddly-matched set of famous people have birthdays today, including Ingmar Bergman, Gerald Finzi, Polly Bergen, Sue Lawley, David Mitchell, Arthur Laurents, Gerald Ford, Karel Gott, Woody Guthrie, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Oldfield and the magnificent Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes [still with us, aged 91, I am pleased to say], it happens to be the 60th birthday today of another in a long line of new diva discoveries here at Dolores Delargo Towers...
... Miss Angélique Kidjo!
I knew her name, of course, but had to my eternal shame never paid much heed to the lady or her music before. She's a bit of a superstar, I find - not only a hugely successful artist in her native West Africa [she was born in Benin, but left the region due to continued war and strife and relocated to Paris], but has [thanks to her "discovery" by the genius that is Chris Blackwell of Island Records, and subsequent critical success] risen to become one of the most respected singers to arise from that catch-all genre "World Music".
In her impressive career, she's collaborated with singers and musicians as wide-ranging as Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Branford Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Philip Glass and Josh Groban, performed tributes to Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone, Cesaria Evora, Jimi Hendrix(!) and Celia Cruz [for the album of which she won a Grammy], and just last year had her very own late night Prom at the Royal Albert Hall! Whew.
Never content with taking the "easy route", it seems, the lady even released an album in tribute to Talking Heads. And from it, this joy:
Many happy returns, Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (born 14th July 1960)
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