Why (Frankie Avalon song)
Why is the title of a pop song written by Peter De Angelis (music) and Bob Marcucci lyrics . The song became a number one hit with Frankie Avalon in the USA (1959) and with Anthony Newley in Great Britain (1960).
Frankie Avalon
The American singer Frankie Avalon rose to the elite of the American pop music scene in 1959 with his number one hit Venus and two other top 10 successes. With the same production team (De Angelis / Marcucci) as with Venus , Avalon recorded the track Why , which had also been written by the two producers, for the Chancellor record company in November 1959 . The text of Why is about the answer to why someone loves someone: “I will never let you go, why? Because I love you. I will always love you why Because you love me. ”At the beginning of November 1959, Chancellor released the single entitled Why (back side Swingin 'on a Rainbow ) under catalog number 1045 in American record stores. It was Avalon's tenth single on Chancellor since 1957.
On November 23, 1959, Why appeared in the Hot 100 of the US music magazine Billbord . There the title started at number 95, reached the top 10 three weeks later and was in first place for one week on December 28, 1959. While Why was listed on Billboard for a total of 16 weeks, the competition magazine Cashbox led the title for 17 weeks in their hit list, in which it took first place three times. Frankie Avalon's new hit title was released in other countries around the world. In the UK, Why was released by the His Master's Voice record company in January 1960, but only came 20th in the music magazine's top 30. Avalon was rated better in the charts of Norway (3rd) and Canada (5th). In Germany, Why was published by Heliodor , but did not hit the charts.
Anthony Newley
Also in January 1960, Decca released a cover version of Why with British singer Anthony Newley in Great Britain . The arranger was John Gregory, who later worked a lot with Dave Dee . Newley had already had two top 10 successes in 1959 with I've Waited So Long (3rd) and Personality (6th). He had his first number one hit with Why . As early as January 16, 1960, the British music magazine New Musical Express listed Anthony Newley's Why version in its top 30 hit evaluation. After a week, the title was in second place and was able to maintain itself at the top from February 5 to 26. In total, Why was in the top 30 for 15 weeks. Decca also published Why in other countries, including Germany. There the cover version was unsuccessful.
More cover versions
Despite the great success of Why in English-speaking countries, there was only the French songwriter Jean Broussolle, who wrote a translation into another language for the song. He gave it the headline “Bras dessus, bras dessous” and it became a simple love song. The French version was interpreted on record by, among others, Dalida , Dominique and the Kessler twins (Kessler Sisters) . After more than ten years, Donny Osmond recorded Why again on a single in 1972 , reaching number three in the UK and number 13 in the US.
Discography
| Performers | title | Label | released |
| Frankie Avalon | Why | Chancellor 1045 | USA 11/1959 |
| Frankie Avalon | Why | Heliodor 453066 | Germany 12/1959 |
| Frankie Avalon | Why | HMV 688 | Great Britain 1/1960 |
| Anthony Newley | Why | Decca 11194 | Great Britain 1/1960 |
| Anthony Newley | Why | Decca 25027 | Germany 1960 |
| Dalida | Bras dessus, bras dessous (French) | Barclay EP 70345 | France 1960 |
| Dominique | Bras dessus, bras dessous (French) | Vega EP 2096 | France 1960 |
| Kessler Sisters | Bras dessus, bras dessous (French) | Polydor EP 21750 | France 1960 |
| Donny Osmond | Why | MGM 14424 | USA 8/1972 |
literature
- Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , Billboard Publications New York 1988, p. 62, ISBN 0-8230-7545-1
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Guide US Chart Singles 1950–1963 , Taurus Press 1992, ISBN 3-922542-47-6 .
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Records British Chart Singles 1950-1965 Taurus Press 1995, ISBN 3-922542-32-8 .