Jeanette Dimech

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Jeanette Dimech (October 10, 1951 - ), who performs under the name Jeanette, is an English-born, American-raised singer who has resided in Spain since the age of 12, and who sings primarily in Spanish.

[edit] Biography

Jeanette is the daughter of an English father and a Spanish mother. Her mother is originally from the Canary Islands.

Because of her grandparents' import-export business, she lived with her parents first in London, where she was born; and later in Chicago and Los Angeles, where she grew up. After her parents' separation at age 12, she moved to Barcelona with her mother and two younger brothers. Having grown up in the United States, Jeanette initially spoke only English when she first moved to Spain. She was placed in an American school at first, but later befriended some local Spanish children who helped teach her Spanish.

During the 1960s she learned to play guitar and began to write her own songs. She styled her music after American folk music, and her idols included Bob Dylan, Donovan, and the Byrds. Later she joined the student band Pic-Nic as a singer, who in 1969 had a measure of success with a folk version of the Spanish children's song "Cállate niña". Other notable songs of theirs included "Amanecer" and "No digas nada".

After the band split up at the end of the 1960s, she moved to Vienna with her husband, the Hungarian musician Laszlo Kristof. At the start of the 1970s, she began her solo career with her hit first single, "Soy rebelde" (I am a rebel). It first enjoyed success in Spanish-speaking countries, and later broadened its influence with French and English versions. This song and others penned by Manuel Alejandro, such as "El muchacho de los ojos tristes" and "Estoy triste" established her as an artist in Spain.

[edit] "Porque te vas"

Her greatest success, "Porque te vas" (Why are you leaving?), was written by José Luis Perales and remained relatively unknown at the start of 1974. Only when the song was used in Carlos Saura's 1976 film Cria Cuervos (Raise Crows), and the film went on be honoured at the Cannes film festival (Jury grand prize) and the Berlin Film Festival (jury special prize), did the song become internationally known and a hit. In Austria it reached number 13, in Switzerland number 4, and in Germany it even reached number 1.

Although after "Porque te vas" Jeanette never achieved similar international success, she continued singing relatively successfully in Spain (and to a lesser degree France) well into the 1990s.