Jeanette

Hailing from England yet widely embraced as a Spanish pop figure, Jeanette rose to prominence across the 1970s and 1980s through an extended run of successful singles, above all the memorable track “Porque Te Vas.” Janette Anne Dimech entered the world on October 10, 1951, in London, England, although her childhood unfolded in the United States. At twelve she relocated to Barcelona alongside her mother, whose Spanish roots prompted her to master the language. During the 1960s her attention turned toward American folk sounds exemplified by Bob Dylan and the Byrds, prompting her to start composing her own material. Between 1967 and 1968 she released a run of largely overlooked singles—“Cállate, Niña,” “Amanecer,” and “Me Olvidarás”—with the group Pic-Nic, along with the 1968 album Pic-Nic. Following the band’s dissolution, she launched a solo path in the early 1970s and achieved her breakthrough in 1971 via “Soy Rebelde,” penned by Manuel Alejandro, whose songwriting partnership with her would later yield further successes, most notably the 1981 album Corazón de Poeta. The record label inadvertently rendered her name as Jeanette rather than Janette on the “Soy Rebelde” release; the error hardened into her permanent stage identity once the song achieved massive popularity. Additional singles followed throughout the decade, among them “Estoy Triste” (1972), “Palabras, Promesas” (1973), “Porque Te Vas” (1974), “Hoy Nos Hemos Dicho Adiós” (1975), “Todo Es Nuevo” (1977), “No Digas Buenas Noches” (1978), and “Voy a Tener un Niño” (1978). A handful of albums also appeared: Palabras, Promesas (1973), Porque Te Vas (1976), and Todo Es Nuevo (1977). The standout “Porque Te Vas” attained global reach after its placement in the prize-winning film Cría Cuervos (1976), inspiring numerous cover versions in subsequent years. In 1981 she reunited with Manuel Alejandro, the composer behind “Soy Rebelde,” to shape multiple tracks on Corazón de Poeta, among them the charting singles “Corazón de Poeta” and “Frente a Frente.” She sustained activity through the balance of the 1980s with the albums Reluz (1983), Ojos en el Sol (1984), and Loca por la Musica (1989) plus assorted singles. Although the 1990s signaled the close of her commercial peak, she retained personal popularity as her earlier recordings were repeatedly reissued in greatest-hits packages.