Yvette Horner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yvette Horner
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Yvette Horner in 1960.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Yvette Marie Eugénie Hornère |
| Also known as | Vévette |
| Born | 22 September 1922 Tarbes (France) |
| Died | 11 June 2018 (aged 95) Courbevoie (France) |
| Genres | bal-musette |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1940–2011 |
| Labels |
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Yvette Horner (née Hornère; 22 September 1922 – 11 June 2018) was a famous French accordion player, pianist, and composer. She was well-known for performing with the Tour de France bicycle race in the 1950s and 1960s.
Yvette Horner had a very long career, lasting 70 years! During this time, she performed over two thousand concerts. She also released about 150 records, selling an amazing 30 million copies. She won the Accordion World Cup in 1948. In 1950, she won the Grand Prix du Disque for her album Le Jardin secret d'Yvette Horner. This album featured classical music played on both piano and accordion.
Contents
Yvette Horner's Life Story
Early Years and Music
Yvette Hornère, who later changed her last name to Horner, spent some of her childhood in Rabastens-de-Bigorre. Her father, Louis Hornère, worked with properties. Yvette was an only child.
Her mother really wanted her to play music. Her first teacher, Marguerite Lacoste, taught her how to play the piano. Yvette studied music at conservatories in Tarbes and Toulouse. At just 11 years old, she won a top prize for piano.
Her mother then encouraged her to switch to the accordion. She told Yvette that there were no female accordion players, so she could make a living doing it. Even though she became famous for the accordion, Yvette always loved her first instrument, the piano. She played it on TV shows many times. Yvette started her career at the "Théâtre Impérial" in Tarbes, which belonged to her grandmother.
Before moving to Paris, she played in casinos in the Pyrenees mountains. In Paris, she studied with a teacher named Robert Bréard.
First Music Awards
In 1938, Yvette Horner took part in the first accordion world championships in Paris. She came in second place.
Her first big concert was in Paris in 1947. In 1948, she made history by becoming the first woman to win the Accordion World Cup. She also won the Grand Prix International d'Accordion de Paris in 1953.
Her Amazing Career
In 1950, Yvette won the Grand Prix du Disque award for her album Le Jardin secret d'Yvette Horner. This album showed her talent playing classical pieces on both piano and accordion.
A big moment in her career came in 1952. The Calor company, which sponsored the Tour de France bike race, invited her to join the event. This helped make her very famous! She would play music on a stage at the end of each race stage. Yvette did this for eleven years, from 1952 to 1963. She would wear a sombrero and sit on the roof of a car, playing her accordion. She was also known as the "queen" of the Six Days of Paris cycling event in 1954.
In the 1980s, Yvette changed her look. She dyed her hair red and started wearing very fancy stage outfits. The famous fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier created some of these, like her "Eiffel Tower Dress." He thought she was a great inspiration.
In 1989, she performed at the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The next year, she starred in a show at the Casino de Paris. In the 1990s, she worked with other musicians and even with the famous choreographer Maurice Béjart. She helped with his ballet, Nutcracker, in 1999.
In 2005, Yvette Horner wrote her own life story in a book called Le Biscuit dans la poche. She also worked on a documentary about her life in 2006. Her album Double d'Or came out in 2007. In 2009, she went on a tour called La plus grande guinguette du monde.
In 2011, the singer Julien Doré asked her to play on his album Bichon. Yvette also gave her last concert that same year. Her final album, Hors Norme, was released in 2012. It featured other artists like Lio and Richard Galliano. The album cover was designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Her Final Years
Yvette Horner passed away on June 11, 2018, when she was 95 years old. Her agent said she had lived a full life and was not sick.
She was buried in the Saint-Jean cemetery in Tarbes. Nine months after her death, a bronze statue of Yvette Horner was placed on her grave. She had asked a sculptor to create this statue in 1994. It shows Yvette holding an accordion, being lifted by applauding hands. It was a tribute to her fans, family, and everyone who helped her become famous.
Yvette's Personal Life
Yvette Horner married René Droesch, a football player, in 1936. René stopped his football career to become her manager. He helped her with many things so she could focus on her music. Yvette was sad that she and René did not have children. René passed away in 1986.
In 2005, Yvette sold her house in Nogent-sur-Marne, where she had lived for about 50 years. She sold many of her personal items, including her collection of Jean Paul Gaultier dresses, to help raise money for medical research. After selling her house, she lived in a home for elderly people in Paris.
Yvette Horner's Music Style
Yvette Horner was known for playing many different types of music. She could play classical music, but also popular styles. She worked with a classical pianist, a jazz trumpeter, and even a country music harmonica player. She recorded a country-inspired album in Nashville. In 1994, she appeared on a TV show with the singer Boy George. In 1990, she even released a dance music song called Play Yvette.
Tributes to Yvette Horner
Yvette Horner is an honorary citizen of Tarbes and Nogent-sur-Marne. A walking path along the Marne river was named the Yvette-Horner-Île-de-Beauté boardwalk in 2007. The main hall of the Théâtre des Nouveautés in Tarbes is also named in her honor.
In 2008, a musical show about her life, La Madone des dancings, les mille vies d'Yvette Horner, was performed at a festival. It was based on a radio series about her.
Awards and Honors
Decorations
Yvette Horner received several important awards from the French government:
- She was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor in 2011. This is a very high honor in France. She had previously been an officer (1996) and a chevalier (1986).
- She was also made a Commander of the National Order of Merit in 2002.
Prizes
- Accordion World Cup (1948)
- Grand Prix of the Charles-Cros Academy (1950)
- Grand Prix International d'Accordion de Paris (1953)
Her Autobiography
- Horner, Yvette (2005) (in fr). Le Biscuit dans la poche. Éditions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-05567-1.
