Never on Sunday (song)

"Never on Sunday", also known by its original Greek title "Ta Pediá tou Pireá" ("Τα Παιδιά του Πειραιά", The Children of Piraeus), is a popular song written by Manos Hatzidakis[1] and first sung by Melina Mercouri in the film of same name, directed by Jules Dassin and starring Mercouri.[1] The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1960, a first for a foreign-language picture.[3] The film score to the movie was first released on October 1, 1960 by United Artists Records.[2] The song has since been recorded by numerous artists, and has gained various degrees of success throughout the world.

This article is about the song. For the 1960 film, see Never on Sunday. For other uses, see Never on Sunday (disambiguation).
"Never on Sunday"
2002 remastered single
Single by Melina Mercouri[1]
from the album Never on Sunday
ReleasedOctober 1, 1960[2]
Recorded1960
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)Manos Hatzidakis
Producer(s)Jack Lewis

Background

"Never on Sunday" was written by Manos Hadjidakis as "Ta Pedia tou Pirea" (The Children of Piraeus). His original Greek lyrics, along with the foreign translations in German, French, Italian and Spanish do not mention "Never on Sunday" (as found in the English lyrics), but rather tell the story of the main female character of the film, Illya (Mercouri). Illya is a jolly woman who sings of her joyful life in her port town of Piraeus ("If I search the world over/I'll find no other port/Which has the magic/Of my Port Piraeus"). Although she earns her money as a prostitute, she longs to meet a man someday who is just as full of joie de vivre as she is herself.

In 1960, the song was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, a first for a foreign-language picture since the Academy began to recognize achievements in this category in 1934.[3]

Recordings

The song has been recorded in a number of languages since its release:

Other appearances

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 135. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Never On Sunday : Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Enhanced)". Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  3. Levy, Emanuel (2003-01-14). All about Oscar: the history and politics of the Academy Awards. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-8264-1452-6. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  4. Trust, Gary (March 9, 2010). "Oscar Winners On The Hot 100 - Chart Beat". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  5. Inc., Nielsen Business Media (1961-05-29). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 13. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  6. "Never On Sunday (1961, #13 Billboard chart hit)". Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 333. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2006-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Martin Fuchs (2001-11-06). "No Fun Records Diskografie Teil 1". Highdive.de. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  10. "Hartford Stage Adds 1960s Twist To 'Comedy Of Errors'". Courant.com. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
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