Nanette Joan Workman (born 20 November 1945,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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) is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Ormstown,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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, during much of her career. She holds

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

of both the United States and Canada. She was raised by musician parents in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, where she began her first performances. Although raised as an English speaker, she mainly performs in French. She has recorded with well-known musicians in the U.S., Canada, UK and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and has been recognized in Mississippi by being elected to that state's Musicians Hall of Fame and having a

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

house named after her at the state university."Nanette Workman"
''The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada''. Workman's Biography, Discography, and Bibliography

Biography

Childhood

Workman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 20 November 1945, to musician parents. Her mother, Beatryce Kreisman, was in the chorus of '' Naughty Marietta'' with the New York City Opera Company, and her father, Ernest Workman, played trumpet in

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

's orchestra. She grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. As a child she studied piano and began her career at 11, appearing in the local

WLBT WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNet ...

television series ''Mr. Magic'' (later ''Junior Time'') until she was given her own weekly show, ''Teen Tempos''. She graduated from

Provine High School John W. Provine High School is a public high school located in Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi ...

and attended the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 48,730 in 2020, making it the 5th m ...

, leaving college at 18 for Broadway.

Career

After understudying the lead of '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', she played the role of Rosemary in 1964 and later played the lead in summer stock. In 1966, Workman met Tony Roman and recorded her first French single, " Et Maintenant", for him in Canada, where the song remained on the charts for fifteen weeks after becoming number one. Over the next two years she became a Canadian recording and TV star, finally hosting '. In 1969, Workman moved to England where she appeared weekly on

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. He first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writer-perf ...

's comedy series '' Not Only... But Also''. Mistakenly credited as Nanette Newman, Workman sang backing vocals on "

You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...

" and " Country Honk" (the acoustic precursor to " Honky Tonk Women"), tracks from

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' 1969 album ''

Let It Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 28 November 1969 by London Records in the United States and on 5 December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. Released during the ba ...

'' (she's credited as Nanette Newman, and some have confused her with the British actress married to director Bryan Forbes). She also worked with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. In addition, she appeared in one of the

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

episodes of ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...

'' (appearing as Nanette), performing "Everybody's Singing Like Now" on the 24 February 1971 edition. Workman toured France in 1973 as an opening act for

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

. She made three albums with Yves Martin touring Africa,

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

and Europe before returning to Quebec in 1974 where she recorded several more French albums. ''Lady Marmalade'', ''Danser Danser'', ''Donne Donne'' and especially ''Call Girl'' (by

Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon (born March 2, 1942) is a French Canadians, French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. His work includes the musicals Starmania (musical), ''Starmania'' and Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brot ...

) placed first on the hit parades. Returning to France in 1978, she starred in the Rock Opera '' Starmania'' as Sadia. In 1979, she sang backing vocals in the

Mahogany Rush Mahogany Rush was a Canadian rock band led by guitarist Frank Marino. Formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1969, the band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing venues as large as California Jam II. The band is perhaps best known for Marin ...

song "Sister Change" (''Tales of an Unexpected'' album). In 1980, she made an album ''Chaude'' in collaboration with her brother Billy Workman and

and toured Quebec with the show ''Du gramophone au laser'' which recounted the history of the Québécois ''

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

''. In 1990, she returned to Paris to become La Diva in Plamondon-Berger's second rock opera, ''La Légende de Jimmy'', based on the life of

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

. In April 2000, Workman was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. ''Roots N Blues'', another album in English, was released in May 2001. In 2001, she also appeared in a

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

television series, ''Rivière-des-Jérémie'', and was the hostess for thirteen episodes of ''Generation 70''. In 2007, she was recognized by the State of Mississippi when Governor

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previously ser ...

honored her at the opening of The Nanette Workman French (Francophone) House on the

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

campus. The house accommodates American and French-speaking students from around the world as an upper-classman residence.

Personal life

She has one son, Jesse (born ).

Awards and recognition

* 2000: Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame

Entertainment industry works

The following is a list of her major entertainment industry works:Mississippi Musicians: Nanette Workman
Biography of Nanette Workman, Mississippi musician who was raised in Jackson but is now a Canadian singing star

Discography

* 1967 ''Nanette'' * 1967 ''Je me rétracte'' * 1967 ''Fleurs d'amour, fleurs d'amitié'' (with Tony Roman) * 1968 ''Nanette'' (compilation) * 1970 ''Nanette'' (first solo English-language album) * 1976 ''Lady Marmalade'' * 1976 ''Nanette Workman'' (French album) * 1976 ''Nanette Workman'' (LP with English versions of earlier songs) * 1977 ''Grits and Cornbread'' * 1977 ''Nanette Workman'' (French album) * 1978 '' Starmania'' (with other artists, soundtrack to musical) * 1979 ''Disque d'or'' * 1979 ''Les Titres d'or de Nanette Workman'' * 1980 ''Chaude'' (concept album made with

) * 1983 ''Nanette Workman'' * 1989 ''Changement d'adresse'' * 1991: ''Collection souvenir'' (CD) * 1992 ''La légende de Jimmy'' (with other artists: musical soundtrack) * 1993 ''Les Plus Belles Chansons De Starmania'' (1978 concept cast highlights) * 1994 ''Rock & Romance'' 1994 (new versions of her hits from the 1970s and 1980s) * 1996 ''Une à une'' * 1998 ''Best of Nanette Workman'' * 1998 ''Québec'' * 1999 ''Love Taker'' with

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

* 2001 ''Roots 'n' Blues'' * 2003 ''Vanilla Blues Cafe'' * 2003 ''Honky Tonk Woman'' (compilation) * 2005 ''Mississippi Rolling Stone'' * 2007 ''Danser Danser'' (compilation) * 2012 ''Just Gettin' Started'' No. 42 CAN

Soundtrack appearances

* 1984 '' American Dreamer'' (performer: "Dreamer") * 2004 '' The Five of Us (Elles étaient cinq)'' ("Lady Marmalade")

Film

* 1975 ''Mustang'' as Barbara * 1982 '' Scandale'' as Nanette Workman * 1984 ''Evil Judgement'' as April * 1985 '' Night Magic'' as Pinky (voice) * 1997 ''

J'en suis! ''Heads or Tails'' () is a 1997 Quebec comedy film directed by Claude Fournier (filmmaker), Claude Fournier and starring Roy Dupuis and Patrick Huard.Bill Brownstein, "Lusty cheers for J'en Suis!". ''Montreal Gazette'', March 15, 1997. Synopsis I ...

'' as Sandy Klein * 1999 ''Ladies Room'' as Ricki * 2006 '' Bon Cop, Bad Cop'' as a Ballet Teacher * 2009 ''

Suzie Suzie or Susie is a feminine given name, and is a short form (hypocorism) of Suzanne (given name), Suzanne, Susannah (given name), Susannah or Susan (given name), Susan. Notable people with this given name include: People * Suzannah Suzie Bates ( ...

'' as Dealer * 2011 '' La Run''

Television series

* 1968 '' Fleurs d'amour, fleurs d'amitié'', as Host * 1970 '' Not Only... But Also'' as herself * 1979 ''Collaroshow'' (TV) episode dated 6 October 1979 as herself * 2001 ''Rivière-des-Jérémie'' as Sarah Blacksmith * 2003 ''L'auberge du chien noir'' (TV) one TV episode "Qui perd gagne", as herself

Television films

* 1969 '' Je T'aimerai Toujours'' * 1986 ''

C.A.T. Squad ''C.A.T. Squad'' (also titled ''Stalking Danger'') is a 1986 television film starring Joseph Cortese, Jack Youngblood, Steve James, Bradley Whitford, and Barry Corbin. It is directed by William Friedkin and written by Gerald Petievich, who ...

'' aka Stalking Danger * 1997 ''Platinum'' as herself At The Cocktail * 2003 ''Nightwaves'' as Sally Winters

Writings

* 1999 Workman, Nanette: ''Nanette''. Montreal (biographical with photographs)

References

External links

Nanette Workman official website
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MySpace: Nanette WorkmanDisques Mérite profile
(in French) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, Nanette Living people 1945 births Musicians from Brooklyn Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Singers from Quebec American women singers Canadian women singers French-language singers of Canada French-language singers of the United States Naturalized citizens of Canada American people of Jewish descent Canadian people of Jewish descent University of Southern Mississippi alumni Actresses from Jackson, Mississippi 21st-century American women Big Tree Records artists