Jeanette in 1972

The Spanish voice of romance

When Jeanette met her future band-mates, they were hanging out in the cellar of a pharmacy, playing in a group called Brenner's Folk. She brought along her guitar, and played the boys of Brenner's Folk a selection of her recent compositions. They found common ground in their love of folk music, and went on to record a demo at the Radio Youth Of Barcelona Studio, which they presented to a Spanish record label called Hispavox. Seeing as Brenner's Folk had a new female member, they decided to give the group a new name. They chose Pic-Nic.

Jeanette calls Pic-Nic guitarist and songwriter, Toti Soler her musical hero. "We were both really inspired by American music," Jeanette said. "Thanks to Toti I was able to compose songs with more class and better taste." Toti helped Jeanette re-work her song, "Callate Nina," and in 1967, "Callate Nina" became the first hit for Jeanette and Pic-Nic. An LP of both originals and covers (of artists like Janis Ian and Peter, Paul, & Mary) was also released, but Pic-Nic called it quits soon after. Toti Soler continues to work in the field of music, while the others have explored different pastures. As for Jeanette, it seemed like she too had given up on music, opting instead to move to Austria with her new husband. Rumor has it that Jeanette was offered a screen-test by filmmaker, Roman Polanski, but she turned down the director, and was off to Austria to settle down and give birth to her first child.

It was in 1970 when a phone call came through from Spain. It was Hispavox on the line, and they wanted Jeanette. Apparently Hispavox saw the potential for Jeanette as a solo artist, and they were calling to get her back to Spain. Jeanette was not too thrilled by the prospect of leaving her happy family life in Austria, but someone was certainly able to convince her. By the summer of '70 she was back in Barcelona, in the studio ready to record a song she was not particularly fond of.

"To tell you the truth, I did not like 'Soy Rebelde," Jeanette said of her first solo single. "My style of music was folk music- the music I made with Pic-Nic- but Hispavox wanted me to sing this romantic music that I could not relate to." Songwriter Manuel Alejandro originally wrote "Soy Rebelde" for a Mexican singer named Sola, but it was Jeanette's version that charted, and gave the 21-year-old her second shot at a career in music. Hiring a slew of extremely capable songwriters was a wise first step for Hispavox, but without that voice, that angelic whisper- that which Manuel Alejandro calls "the tiniest voice I have ever heard," "Soy Rebelde" would've been just another song by some Mexican singer named Sola. "Soy Rebelde" was Jeanette's first and biggest hit, and at that moment occurred the transformation of Jeanette Dimech, tomboy and unwilling front woman, to just Jeanette, the Spanish voice of romance.

Jeanette has a voice that is forever sixteen- effortless and untrained, made of the same sweetness and appeal that turned millions onto Priscilla Paris' purrs and Karen Carpenter's warm and natural pipes. Songwriters Manuel Alejandro and JosŽ Luis Perales knew precisely the kind of music Jeanette's silky voice called for- romantic ballads like "Frente A Frente" and "Soy Rebelde," ABBA-esque pop anthems like "Cuando Estoy Con El" and one particular galloping pop number called "Porque Te Vas." It was 1974 when Hispavox suggested "Porque Te Vas" (Why Are You Leaving) for Jeanette to record. No one would have guessed that an upbeat pop song layered in big beats, horns, and wah-wah guitars would mesh with Jeanette's delicate voice, but the result was stunning. "Porque Te Vas" faired poorly during the weeks after its release, but the song was revived two years later when director Carlos Saura chose it as the title track for the film Cr’a Cuervo. The film won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film festival, garnering quite a bit of attention for the soundtrack. "Porque Te Vas" was a hit in France, and soon caused a small ripple effect that reached as far as Japan.

Jeanette released numerous solo albums throughout the '70s and '80s. Amidst '80s disco fever and the beginning of new wave came Corazon De Poeta, the definitive Jeanette album that couldn't have been more wrong for the times. Music fans weren't buying breezy romantic pop, and so Jeanette's hits dried up after "Porque Te Vas." Quite a shame since Corazon De Poeta is the highlight of Jeanette's offerings- the album where all the elements come together to achieve the perfect flow. Jeanette was born to sing title track, "Corazon De Poeta," my personal favorite among the many Jeanette gems. RCA International re-released Corazon De Poeta on CD, but the horrendously cheap packaging and large "budget price" sticker on the cover would hardly convince anyone, that this is indeed one of the great pop albums.

Not much is known about Jeanette's recent whereabouts, although she did pen the liner notes for a compilation of her music in 1996. A number of Jeanette CD compilations have surfaced over the years, but they remain buried in the budget bins. The Spanish voice of romance is still hushed, obscure, and waiting to be rediscovered. Let the revival begin.