Here are 18 of Edith Piaf's finest hits and classic tracks. The emotional honesty of her singing, her passion and commitment to her art, and most of all her utterly distinctive voice would propel her to international stardom after WWII, but this collection features the songs and the performances that won her forever the hearts of her own people. Enjoy the sound of the authentic early Piaf, France's "Little Sparrow".

An un-chronological look at the life of the Little Sparrow, ?dith Piaf (1915-1963). Her mother is an alcoholic street singer, her father a circus performer, her paternal grandmother a madam. During childhood she lives with each of them. At 20, she s a street singer discovered by a club owner who s soon murdered, coached by a musician who brings her to concert halls, and then quickly famous. Constant companions are alcohol and heartache. The tragedies of her love affair with Marcel Cerdan and the death of her only child belie the words of one of her signature songs, Non, je ne regrette rien. The back and forth nature of the narrative suggests the patterns of memory and association.