Diana (song)
Diana is a pop song composed and published by 15-year-old Paul Anka in 1957 , which has become a million seller worldwide . With this piece Anka's career began.
History of origin
It is said that at the age of 15, Paul Anka fell in love with an 18-year-old girl named Diana Ayoub, who worked as a babysitter for his younger siblings in his family. Since she felt nothing for him, he is said to have tried to impress with the help of a self-composed song entitled Diana . The result was a simple love song with the admission of love for an older girl ( I'm so young / and you're so old ). In a 2005 interview, Anka admitted that the song was inspired by a girl in his church whom he barely knew.
While searching for a record company, Anka came into contact with fellow Canadian people, the Les Clover Boys, who had some success in the French-Canadian province of Quebec with French versions of current US hits. They put him in contact with producer and orchestra director Don Costa , who worked for ABC-Paramount Records, in New York City . In May 1957 Anka was given the opportunity to play four of his compositions, including Diana, at the producer's . He was surprised by the market-ready composition of an almost 15-year-old boy. A week later, Anka's father was flown in so that he could sign the record deal for his underage son. To improve Anka's vocal skills, Costa let him take a few more singing lessons. Anka wrote the song in a very short time, but in the time available he had no lyrics for some notes, so he filled these passages with “uh-oh” at the end of the bridge . Don Costa produced the single in Columbia Recording Studio on May 20, 1957 together with his orchestra and Paul Anka, the melody of which is based on a calypso .
Publication and Success
Diana / Don't Gamble With Love ( ABC-Paramount # 9831) was released in June 1957 and hit the US pop hit parade on July 15, 1957. On August 7, 1957, Anka presented the song in the US-wide TV pop music show American Bandstand , which helped ensure that the title reached first place in the US pop charts for a week on September 9, 1957 . In Great Britain the success was even greater. From August 30, 1957, Diana occupied the top position there for nine weeks. This record at the top of the British charts remained until October 1975, when Queen released the single Bohemian Rhapsody and also took first place for nine weeks. Anka started his European tour on December 7th.
Right off the bat, a total of nine million copies were sold, including 1.24 million in Great Britain alone, over ten million copies by 1961. Anka became the first teenager to sell a million. This makes the title one of the ten best-selling singles of all time. Anka received a BMI award for Diana .
Cover versions
There are a total of at least 95 cover versions of Diana . The Les Clover Boys picked Diana up first and released it on Quality Records # 205 in Canada in early 1958 with French lyrics by Guy Belanger. It was followed in particular by Frankie Avalon (February 1958) and Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (July 1958). Diana was recorded over 300 times in 16 countries between 1957 and 1963, including the very quickly written German version by Conny Froboess , which made it onto the German charts in January 1958 and made it to second place there ( Electrola # 20216) . The German text came from Electrola producer Nils Nobach (under his frequently used pseudonym Peter Ström) with the Südfunk-Orchester under the direction of Erwin Lehn . Peter Kraus released his German version in March 1958 ( Polydor Records # 23645), but missed the hit parade.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Anka / David Dalton, My Way: An Autobiography , 2013, o. P.
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 104
- ↑ EveryHit about Diana