Édith Piaf (by Zandra McBryant) Édith Piaf was, on the outside, a French singer; she was a national diva and one of the greatest international star. She did not start out that way, her mother was a singer with poor maternal instincts. Her father came back from war and took her away from her mother and thrusting her upon his mother, who owned a brothel. He was gone and to train to be an acrobat. Édith came down with an infection in her cornea's causing her to go blind for a few months, she was forced to wear a mask over her eyes. Édith became like a child to a woman in the brothel called Titine. A few years later Édith's father came to get here forcing her away from Titine. When he was in no shape to take on the care of a child, he was a drunk. He left the circus to be a solo act, bringing along Édith into his failing mix. His act was mere nothing without the circus and he one day forced his daughter to do something, she choose to sing. This started her to sing on the streets, where her career would take off; only upon meeting Louis Leplée. He persuaded her to sing in his club and dubbed her "The Little Sparrow". During her singing career at Leplée's she collaborated with a well known composer, Marguerite Monnot. He would grow to be her favorite composer she would work with. Her career was lifting and it didn't seem like anything could bring her down, except the death of her Papa Leplée. Leplée was murdered on the 6th of April in 1936, Piaf was questioned and accused as an accessory to this crime, but upon further investigation, acquitted. His was murdered by mobsters with previous ties to Piaf, with this negative media; her career was beginning to be threatened. Édith was on a hard road down and the only person to save her career would be Raymond Asso. He taught her to move her hands and to stand taller, he gave her knowledge of the 'little black dress'. He also would become a romantic figure in her life. Raymond changed her stage name to Édith and threw away with 'little sparrow'. To bring back her passed and further her career, Raymond commissioned Monnot, Édith duo singing 'sister', to write about Piaf's life on the street. Yves Montand lived in Paris when Piaf discovered him, she made him apart of her act and became a mentor of sorts. Yves easily became Édith's lover with the connection they had together. Within a year of mentoring, Yves, became almost as popular as Édith causing her to break off their relationship. After thus, she become more popular than ever in France becoming their most popular entertainer. After the war Édith was on her was to international fame, she toured Europe, United States, and South America. She started many careers like: Atahualpa Yupanqui and Charles Aznavour. Her U.S. audience regarded her as a downcast, until a prominent New York critic praised her. This giving her enough fame to appear on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' over five times and 'Carnegie Hall' twice. During her rise her she married a world champion boxer named Marcel Cerdan. He was the love of her life, they were a star couple. Until October 1949 when Marcel's plan went down on his way to visit Édith in New York City. As Édith was struggling with addiction to morphine and alcohol, Marcel's death did not sit lightly. She was destroying herself slowly, her fatal injury filled car crashes through the years and addictions were slowly killing her. In 1945 she recorded her signature song, "La vie en rose" and in 1963 she recorded her last song, "L'Homme de Berlin". Édith passed later that year of liver cancer after months of being in a out of consciousness. Her last words were, "Every damn fool thing you do in this life, you pay for." Her career was one of greatness, starting from the bottom and refusing to back down until she was at the top. She went through heartbreak and addiction. Édith was more than a singer, she lived life and threw through any cards Saint Teresa put her way. Édith was strong, she was an icon so many artist after her. She is truly a legend.