Joëlle Mogensen

Joëlle Choupay-Mogensen (February 3, 1953 – May 15, 1982) was a singer of French songs. Between 1972 and 1979, she was the lead vocals of Il était une fois releasing 8 albums.

Born in Long Island, New York, Joëlle was the daughter of a French/Vietnamese/American mother and a Danish father who was serving with UNICEF at the United Nations in New York City. The family eventually returned to Copenhagen in the early part of the 1960s where she attended a private religious school. She spoke six languages and was a member of the volleyball team. She began singing at a young age and as a fan of Bob Dylan, developed a folk song repertoire, appearing on American and Danish television variety shows, playing a guitar and singing.

In 1969 she went to live in the south of France with her mother and sisters where she met guitarist Serge Koolenn. Mogensen studied music at a school in Marseille and began her career singing folk music in cafés and small clubs. By 1971, she and Koolenn had begun a relationship and together recorded a 45rpm.

After meeting Richard Dewitte, they soon organized a musical ensemble of five males with Joëlle as lead singer. Naming the group "Il était une fois" (literally meaning "Once upon a time" in English). The band continued between 1972 and 1979 produced eight albums.

The band was very popular and appeared frequently on French television variety shows with other performers of the time such as Johnny Hallyday and fellow American-born French singer, Joe Dassin…