Sœur Sourire

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Sœur Sourire [ ˌsœʁ suˈrir ] ( German  "sister of the smile" ) (born October 17, 1933 in Wavre near Brussels ; † March 30, 1985 there ; actually Jeanne-Paule (Jeanine) Marie Deckers ) was a Belgian nun of the Dominican Order and chanson singer .

Life

Early years

Jeanine Deckers was born as the eldest of four children to Lucien and Gabrielle Deckers. During the Second World War , the Deckers family lived in occupied Paris , where their father fought as a member of the Resistance against the occupation.

In 1945 the family returned to Belgium, where they settled in Saint Henri . Deckers went to school there. In 1953 she returned to Paris to attend Mary Art School. Trained as a drawing teacher, she returned to a girls' school in Brussels.

In 1959 she entered the order of the Dominican Sisters and took the name Luc-Gabrielle (parents' first name). One of the few private things in the Fichermont convent near Waterloo was a guitar ; But she only learned to play in the monastery . When Deckers began working with young people, she not only learned to play the instrument, but soon also learned to write and compose simple songs.

Musical success and financial dispute

Deckers wanted to present a song about the founder of the order Dominikus to her monastery and her superior. A composing and singing nun was an absolute novelty at the time. With the permission of the Superior, her composition Dominique was published in 1963 under the pseudonym Sœur Sourire (or in English-speaking countries as The Singing Nun ) and marketed professionally. Within a very short time, the simple song reached the top of the charts worldwide. In the US, the song topped the charts for four weeks. Since Deckers had taken the vow of poverty when entering the monastery, the proceeds that did not go to their Philips record company according to the contract flowed to the order or the monastery.

Their popularity led to the fact that in 1966 a film was produced in Hollywood, the plot of which was inspired by the life of Jeanine Deckers. Debbie Reynolds starred in the film Dominique - The Singing Nun (The Singing Nun) . Because of this film, Decker's final break with her order came about. After a lengthy dispute about the income from her compositions, Deckers resigned from the monastery. Under the name Luc Dominique , she tried to gain a foothold in the music industry as a chansonette after leaving, but this was unsuccessful.

Financial problems and death

Grave of Jeanine Deckers and Annie Pécher in the Wavre cemetery

At the beginning of the seventies, Jeanine Deckers withdrew completely into private life. The rainbow press reported on her admitted pill addiction and her lesbian relationship. Years of legal dispute followed with the Belgian tax office, which demanded high tax back payments. Deckers had not received a receipt for the millions in income when it was transferred to the monastery and order; these later declared that they were not responsible and remained silent. In 1980 Deckers attempted a remake of the hit Dominique to pay off their debts . But this also failed. The home for autistic children founded by Deckers was also closed because of their debts.

On March 30, 1985 Jeanine Deckers committed and her partner Annie Pécher with sleeping pills in her house in Wavre, near Brussels, jointly suicide . The church granted the two women’s last wish for a common grave in the Wavre cemetery.

In 2009, a Belgian-French film biography Sœur Sourire was released with Cécile de France in the lead role, which, however, only vaguely traced her life.

Known songs

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Dominique
  DE 7th 01/01/1964 (28 weeks)
  UK 7th December 11, 1963 (14 weeks)
  US 1 11/9/1963 (13 weeks)
  NO 2 02/1964 (9 weeks)
  • Dominique
  • Tous les chemins (The earth is beautiful)
  • Alleluia (Hallelujah)
  • lily of the valley
  • Fleur de cactus, ma petite sœur (Little sister cactus flower)
  • Entre les étoiles (Under the Stars)

literature

  • Florence Delaporte: Sœur Sourire . Plon, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-259-18412-X .
  • Ingeborg Schober: Pop tragedies: the most spectacular cases from the Beach Boys to Nirvana . Ueberreuter, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-8000-7004-9 .

Web links

Commons : Sœur Sourire  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For more information on the title, see: Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 141
  2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Jeanine Deckers and Annie Pécher
  3. ↑ Chart sources: DE UK US NO
personal data
SURNAME Sœur Sourire
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Deckers, Jeanine (real name); Dominique, Luc (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian nun and chanteuse
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Wavre near Brussels, Belgium
DATE OF DEATH March 30, 1985
Place of death Wavre near Brussels, Belgium