Gondolier (song)

Gondolier is the eighth EP by French vocalist Dalida. It is named after the title song "Gondolier" that was her second major hit after Bambino. This EP was released on Christmas 1957, soon after her second album Miguel. Reaching No. 1 on both the La Bourse des Chansons chart and the Music Hall chart in France, it was the title song for Dalida's 1958 album Gondolier.[1] The song also reached No. 1 on the Belgian and Canadian charts.[2]

Gondolier
EP by
Dalida
ReleasedDecember 1957
RecordedFebruary 22, 1957
GenreVocal, exotica, traditional pop, easy listening
Length11:12
LabelBarclay Records
ProducerEddie Barclay
Dalida chronology
Pour garder
(1957)		 Gondolier
(1957)		 Dans le bleu du ciel bleu
(1958)

The EP contains four songs; A-side "Gondolier" and "Le jour où la pluie viendra", B-side "J'écoute chanter la brise" and "Pardon".[3]

Description

The melody of song was composed by Pete De Angelis and lyrics by Jean Broussolle.[4] It was released as promo single on February 22, 1957,[5] but it received no promotion due to prolonged success of Bambino.[5]

As the song did not met its audience, De Angelis and his colleague Bob Marucci[6] wrote the English language version which gained success in USA and UK in mid 1957.[7] During an interview in 1958, Dalida said: "I heard on radio Petula Clark singing it in English, and I like it very much so I decided to use the song for my Christmas special show".

On the end of 1957, Dalida used Gondolier as the title song of a French TV Christmas special, in which she appeared as main attraction. The song was issued on EP the next day and it gained instant success.[5] On charts, it debuted at #1 in first week of January 1958, and eventually spent future 53 weeks in the Top 20, until last week of December 1958.[8] It spend 9 weeks as #1 in January and February, again reached first spot for 10 weeks during summer, earning Dalida her third gold disc.[9]

Eventually it became the most sold record of 1958,[8] so promotions through TV and concert performances made the song an pop standard in France and one of signature tracks of Dalida.[10]

Cover versions

"Gondolier" was covered by many other artists, among them:

In English, the song has been recorded by several artists under the title With all my heart, among them:

Chart performances
Chart Peak
position
France (Bourse des chansons)[16] 1
France (Music Hall Charts)[17] 1
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 1
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 1
Canada (Quebec Charts)[19] 1

References
  1. "Dalida Accompagnée Par Raymond Lefèvre Et Son Orchestre* – Gondolier". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. "Gondolier 1958 Charts, #1 July August - Charts - Pinterest". Pinterest.com.
  3. "Dalida Accompagnée Par Raymond Lefèvre Et Son Orchestre* – Gondolier". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. "Dalida site Officiel - Gondolier". Dalida.com.
  5. "Dalida site Officiel - 1956 - 1961". Dalida.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  6. "Peter DeAngelis - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  7. "Peter DeAngelis - Philadelphia Music Alliance". Philadelphia Music Alliance.
  8. "Flashback Top 50 : qui était n°1 en juin 1958 ?". Chartsinfrance.net.
  9. "Dalida site Officiel - Récompenses / Événements". Dalida.com.
  10. Lanctôt, Jacques. "Dalida, l'histoire de sa vie". Journaldemontreal.com.
  11. "European Record Charts". Petula Clark.net. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  12. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  13. "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  14. "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  15. "Discography for Festival Records - OZ - original numbering system - part 2". Globaldogproductions.info.
  16. "Charts "Bourse des chansons" from journal "Le figaro", 1958". Pinterest.com.
  17. "Charts from journal "Music Hall", 1958". Pinterest.com.
  18. Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Dalida - Gondolier". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  19. "Canada Charts" (PDF). Bibnum2.banq.qc.ca.

Bibliography
  • L'argus Dalida: Discographie mondiale et cotations, by Daniel Lesueur, Éditions Alternatives, 2004. ISBN 2-86227-428-3 and ISBN 978-2-86227-428-7. (in French)
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