Nella Martinetti (21 January 1946 – 29 July 2011) was a Swiss singer-songwriter, affectionately nicknamed "Bella Nella".
She was born in
Brissago
Brissago () is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Brissago lies on the western shore of Lake Maggiore and includes the Brissago Islands.
History
An ax and ceramic pieces from the Neolithic era as we ...
,
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
,
Switzerland. In 1986, she became the first winner of the
Grand Prix der Volksmusik with the song "Bella Musica", which she composed. In 1987, along with
Atilla Şereftuğ, Martinetti approached a then unknown young Canadian singer
Céline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
, asking her to represent
Switzerland in the
1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "
Ne partez pas sans moi
"Ne partez pas sans moi" (; "Don't Leave Without Me") is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song was written by Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti. It is best known as the Swiss winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contes ...
."
Martinetti entered into a
civil union with her longtime partner Marianne Schneebeli in 2009.
Martinetti died in
Männedorf
Männedorf (High Alemannic: ''Mänidoorf'') is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Like in all other villages along the lake of Zürich, archeological findings indicate settlements in the ...
,
Canton of Zürich, Switzerland aged 65, in 2011, from
pancreatic cancer.
References
External links
Martinetti's Yahoo.com music page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinetti, Nella
1946 births
2011 deaths
20th-century Swiss women singers
Swiss singer-songwriters
Eurovision Song Contest winners
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Deaths from cancer in Switzerland
People from Brissago
Swiss-Italian people
Women songwriters
Swiss folk singers
LGBT musicians from Switzerland