Lalena
Lalena is a folk rock song that was composed and recorded by Donovan in 1968 . In 1969 a cover version of the band Deep Purple appeared .
In June 1968 Donovan played the song on the BBC show Top Gear and in the fall of 1968 during a jam session with Paul McCartney , both recordings exist as bootlegs . The song was officially recorded by Donovan in September 1968 at Olympia Studios in London . Participating musicians were Harold McNair (flute), Danny Thompson (bass), Bobby Orr (drums) and strings of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , the producer was Mickie Most . Initially, the song was released as a single in October 1968 , with Aye My Love as the b-side . She was represented in the Billboard charts for four weeks from October 19, 1968 and reached number 33. Lalena appeared for the first time on LP on Donovan's Greatest Hits in January 1969. The text of the song is about an unspecified woman, whose fate is to live in the night. Donovan said in an interview in 2004 that the title was inspired by actress Lotte Lenya and her role in the Threepenny Opera .
The cover version sung by Rod Evans appeared on the album Deep Purple in June 1969 . On June 24, 1969, Deep Purple played the piece at a BBC radio concert; this version is included as a bonus song on a digitally remastered reissue of the album from 2000. Lalena was later no longer part of the band's live repertoire.
Jane Olivor released another cover version of the song on her 1977 album Chasing Rainbows.
Web links
- Lalena at Donovan Unofficial (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Donovan Sessiongraphy (accessed December 31, 2010)