Venus (Frankie Avalon Song)
Venus is a pop song by Ed Marshall that became a number one hit on the US Billboard charts in 1959 in the version by Frankie Avalon .
Original version
Philadelphia native Frankie Avalon had been under contract with Chancellor Records since 1957 . In 1958 he was able to place three titles in the top 20 of the Billboard charts. At the end of 1958, the songwriter Ed Marshall Avalon presented the song Venus , which he composed and wrote as a foxtrot . The text is about the request to the goddess Venus to send a girl to fall in love. Marshall mentioned that he had already played his work to Al Martino and that Al Martino was considering recording it as an album track. Avalon immediately contacted his producer, Bob Marcucci , and three days later Venus was recorded in Marcucci's New York studio. Producer Peter De Angelis provided the playback with orchestra and choir .
Publication and Success
The 2:21 minute long title was released by Chancellor in January 1959 together with the B-side I'm Broke as a 45 rpm monovinyl single under catalog number 1031. After Avalon had advertised the record on the television show American Bandstand , Venus first hit the Billboard singles chart at number 99 on February 9, 1959. On March 9, the title had reached the top of this chart, where it stayed for five weeks. In total, Venus was listed on Billboard for 28 weeks. In the Hot Adult Contemporary charts reached Venus also rank 1, and in the rhythm-and-blues charts the title ended up in 10th position.
Frankie Avalon was also successful internationally with Venus . In Great Britain, the record company His Master's Voice released the title under catalog number POP 603. In the spring of 1959 it held its own in the charts for six weeks, where it achieved the best ranking with rank 16. Venus was also published in Belgium (President 375), Denmark (Sonet 8018) and Italy (Chancellor 02012), among others.
Cover versions
In Germany, the Avalon single Venus / I'm Broke was released by the Polydor record company under catalog number 66913. The title Venus was not included in the German hit lists. The same thing happened with the cover version with the German text by Hans Cilly and Peter Lach. It was released by Columbia with B-side Patrizia in June 1959 under number 21190; The interpreter was Chris Howland . The German text of the title of the same name is essentially based on the English original.
In addition to the original version with Frankie Avalon, cover versions with Dickie Valentine (Pye 15192) and Paul Rich (Embassy 330) were released in Great Britain in 1959 . Valentine also made it into the British charts with his version, where he held his own for eight weeks and reached number seven. Venus enjoyed great popularity in France. The version with a French text by Jean Broussolle was recorded by several singers in 1959, including Annie Fratellini , Georges Guétary , Les Compagnons de la Chanson and Luis Mariano . Gloria Lasso had the greatest success in France with a Spanish version, which was at the top of the French charts for five weeks in October and November 1959.
Later releases by Sam Cooke (LP Hits Of The 50's , 1960), Johnny Tillotson (LP You Can Never Stop Me Loving You , 1963), Pat Boone (LP Ain't That a Shame , 1964). One of the most recent cover versions is the recording with Barry Manilow on his LP The Greatest Songs of the Fifties from 2006.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/johnny-preston/21472#/song/frankie-avalon/venus/276925
- ↑ http://www.mp3lyrics.org/f/frankie-avalon/venus/rec
- ↑ http://7inchrecords.com/Discography/FrankieAvalon/frankieavalon.asp?Page=3&groep=
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Chris-Howland-Venus-Patricia/release/2026837
- ↑ http://www.coverinfo.de/start.php4?wert=12&lang=1&suchbegriff=%22Frankie+Avalon%22&sort=2&suchenach=Interpret&tabelle=1&suchebemerkung=&xpert=0&suchoption=xsearch&seite=2
literature
- Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , Billboard Publications New York 1988, p. 50, ISBN 0-8230-7545-1