From the beginning of her career in 1935, beyond her death in 1963, and right up to the present day, Piaf has been recognized as a unique global icon. And she remains France’s most famous singing star across the world. Recital 1961 explores the content, context, and significance of the 1960 concert and the ensuing album, in relation to Piaf’s career, her life, and her celebrity. What was so special about the performance and why did the ecstatic audiences, that night and at subsequent performances in 1961, find it so moving? It discusses the enraptured reception of concert, album and song and, at a deeper level, their place in the invention of the public Piaf we know today - asking why, a century after her birth and half a century after her death, we still remember her, listen to her, and commemorate her in films, musicals, documentaries and tribute acts around the world.