L'Intégrale

Presentation:

In 1963, the world discovered an unforgettable song : ‘Dominique’, sung by a most extraordinary artist : a nun ! 40 years later, this song is still in our mind, but most people are not aware of its background and how it had changed life and fate of the person behind it, the « singing nun », Jeanine Deckers. The shy young lady, born 1933 in Brussels, had discovered her passions in life as a young girl. These vocations and devotions were God, music and drawing. On her twenty-fifth birthday, she took her vows in Fichermont, living with Dominican missionaries. She had started writing songs long before having joined the convent. But once there, she was supported and encouraged by her co-sisters, to record her first 45RPM single : Sœur Sourire was born ! Soon, she was known not only amongst people sharing her devotion and belief in God, but had also gained popularity all over the world – and even topped the American charts. The Americans were fascinated by this peculiar person and instantly shoot a movie about her – not altogether authentical, though. It was named ‘The Singing Nun’ and featured Debbie Reynolds. Jeanine Deckers continued to compose and sing many other songs apart from ‘Dominique’. She released several LPs, and at a certain stage in her career, she decided to escape from her monastic and mediatic life. With the Seventies approaching, she began singing more committed, anti-establishment and mystical songs : ‘La Pilule d’Or’ – ‘The Golden Pill’ – caused a real scandal for obvious reasons. Regardless of the critics, Sœur Sourire decided to leave for a big tour throughout the U.S.A. Upon her return – she found herself facing serious problems with the tax authorities. In view of these unexpected problems and threats, Jeanine slowly but surely slipped into addiction to drugs and alcohol. On top of all this, she was held responsible for owing her former convent, Fichermont, a huge amount of money. Although Madame Deckers was trying to fight back and proceeded going to court, she lost these cases in the end. In order to earn her living, she started giving drawing and guitar lessons again. In 1982, she made friend with Gilles Verlant, a famous journalist and producer who suggested recording a new, more contemporary version of ‘Dominique’. Jeanine was excited about this idea and the re-mix became – once again – an impressive success ! This unexpected little triumph encouraged her to even shoot a video clip – her very first promotional film ever. Unfortunately, sales were not as big as expected – and soon the record sales stagnated. The audience seemed to have forgotten her after all these years. Financially ruined, desperate and homeless, Jeanine pleaded for help, but her request was only heard by very few friends. Even those hardly seemed to be affected by her pleas. It was the last straw : on March 29th 1985, with mounting debts on her back and desperation in her mind, Jeanine Deckers committed suicide by swallowing an overdose of sleeping pills.