White roses from Athens
White roses from Athens is the title of a hit song that, composed by Manos Hadjidakis and written by Hans Bradtke , became a number one hit in Germany in 1961.
development
On June 26, 1961, the documentary by Wolfgang Müller-Sehn Traumland der Sehnsucht was shown at the 1961 Berlin International Film Festival . The main actress in the film, which was awarded the Silver Bear , was the Greek singer Nana Mouskouri . She sang several songs composed by her compatriot Manos Hadjidakis, including the folk song adaptation San Sfyrixis Tris Fores (German: When you whistle three times ). The German record company Fontana Records had a German version of this title produced, for which the successful author Hans Bradtke wrote the text with the title lineWhite roses from Athens had written. Completely different from the original, Bradtke created a longing song: "White roses from Athens tell you to come back very soon, say goodbye to you". The German text was also sung by Nana Mouskouri, who, although already a star in Greece, was still relatively unknown to the German audience. Fontana produced the track White Roses from Athens on July 4, 1961 in the Hansa recording studio of the Berlin Hotel Esplanade and released it in the same month on the single No. 261 264.
successes
The German music magazine music market took White Rose of Athens for the first time on August 5, 1961 in their hitlist The top 50 on. Two months later, the title had reached the top 10 and was in first place for the first time on October 21 . Nana Mouskouri was able to defend this for ten weeks. After Günter Ehnert's “Hits of the Year” ( hit balance sheet German Chart Singles 1956–1980 ), White Roses from Athens was evaluated as one of the top 50 hits of 1961. The youth magazine Bravo listed the title in its “Musicbox” from November to December In 1961 at number one five times, but only placed it at number twelve in the annual charts. In the hit parades of the German radio stations, White Roses from Athens only made it to the top spot in the hits of the week on the Berlin station RIAS , but otherwise had no chance against Freddy Quinn's La Paloma . The music broadcaster Radio Luxemburg awarded White Roses from Athens the Silver Lion 1961 (2nd place). For his success on the German record market, Mouskouri was awarded a gold record by the record industry for 500,000 copies sold.
Cover versions
In Germany, two German-language cover versions came onto the market immediately after the original version. In October 1961, Odeon released a single with singer Belina . The cheap label Tempo , which specializes in cover versions of successful German titles, also produced a single with White Roses from Athens , sung by Charlotte Marian .
In the USA, the record company Riverside released the German original in 1962 under the English title The White Rose of Athens . The team of authors Norman Newell / Archie Bleyer took on this title line for an English text. The American record company Cadence first produced this text version in February 1962 with the girl group The Chordettes . This version was also released in numerous other countries by various record companies. In the USA there was also an instrumental version under the same title with the David Carroll orchestra. The Newell / Bleyer text version was also launched by Fontana in Great Britain in March 1962 with Nana Mouskouri. This version was also distributed worldwide.
Pierre Delanoë and Frank Gérald wrote a French text that was published by the French Fontana in 1961 under the title Roses blanches de Corfou , also sung by Nana Mouskouri. In the Netherlands, Mieke Telkamp sang the Hadjidakis song in the Dutch language under the title Witte rozen uit Athen .
In Sweden, Ann-Louise Hanson sang the song in Swedish under the title Vita Rosor från Aten . It was a great success - 20 weeks and number 1 on the Swedish radio hit parade "Svensktoppen".
Discography
| Interpreter | title | Catalog no. | publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nana Mouskouri | White roses from Athens | Fontana 261264 | Germany 7/1961 |
| Belina | White roses from Athens | Odeon 21945 | Germany 10/1961 |
| Charlotte Marian | White roses from Athens | Tempo 844 | Germany 1961 |
| Nana Mouskouri | The White Rose Of Athens (original German text) |
Riverside 4513 | USA 2/1962 |
| David Carroll Orchestra | The White Rose Of Athens | Mercury 71917 | 1/1962 |
| The Chordettes | The White Rose Of Athens | Cadence 1417 | USA 2/1962 |
| Nana Mouskouri | The White Rose of Athens | Fontana 383 | UK 3/1962 |
| Geoff Love Orchestra | White Rose of Athens | Columbia 4801 | UK 3/1962 |
| Nana Mouskouri | Roses blanches de Corfou | Fontana 460795 | France 1961 |
| Charlie level | Roses blanches de Corfou | Sapphire 5060 | France 1962 |
| Mieke Telkamp | Witte rozen uit Athens' | Philips 318583 | Netherlands 10/1961 |
literature
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet German chart singles 1956–1980. Taurus Press, 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .
Web links
- www.weisse-rosen-aus-athen.de
- Discography at www.45cat.com
- coverinfo.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Günter Ehnert: Hit balance sheet - German chart singles 1956-1980 . 1st edition. Verlag popular music-literature, Norderstedt 2000, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 420 .
- ^ Günter Ehnert: Hit balance sheet - German chart singles 1956-1980 . 1st edition. Verlag popular music-literature, Norderstedt 2000, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 445 .