Léona Gabriel-Soïme

Léona Gabriel-Soïme (8 June 1891 - 11 August 1971) was a biguine singer from Martinique active in Paris during the interwar years. She married the military doctor Norbert Soïme in 1933.

She was born at Rivière-Pilote. Daughter of a white creole she grew up in Martinique, going to secretarial school in Cayenne, Guyana at age 14, going on to work as a secretary for the Lesseps company during the building of the Panama Canal. After returning for a period to Martinique she moved to Paris in 1920. In France she began singing and recording with the orchestra of clarinettist Alexandre Stellio under the stage name of Mademoiselle Estrella.

Her career as a singer continued until the 1960s. She was the aunt of Henri Salvador and supplied him with his best known tune "Maladie d'amour".

Gabriel returned to Martinique in the 1940s, becoming a radio presenter, a career which lasted over 30 years. She continued recording until the 1960s. She died in Fort-de-France, aged 80.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1891 (Rivière-Pilote), Died August 11, 1971 (Fort-de-France)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1931

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia (U.K.) WL2759 10-in. 2/7/1931 Maladie d'amour Maurice Banguio ; Robert Charlery ; Léona Gabriel-Soïme ; Orchestre de la Boule Blanche Orchestra, with female vocal solo vocalist  
Columbia (U.K.) WL2760 10-in. 2/7/1931 C'est biguine Maurice Banguio ; Robert Charlery ; Léona Gabriel-Soïme ; Orchestre de la Boule Blanche Orchestra, with female vocal solo vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gabriel-Soïme, Léona," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/360468.

Gabriel-Soïme, Léona. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/360468.

"Gabriel-Soïme, Léona." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/360468

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