"I Will Follow Him" is a popular song that was first recorded in 1961 by

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later ...

, as an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...

titled "Chariot". The song achieved its widest success when it was recorded by American singer Little Peggy March with English lyrics in 1963. The

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

was written by

(using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

J.W. Stole) and Paul Mauriat (using the pseudonym Del Roma).Music Registrations
'' Catalog of Copyright Entries'' : Third Series, Volume 19, Part 5, Number 2. U.S. Government Printing Office, July–December 1965. p. 1509.

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

. Accessed February 29, 2016 It was adapted by Arthur Altman. The completely new English lyrics were written by

Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Ready to Take a Chance Again" (both with ...

Instrumental versions

The song was first recorded by

as an instrumental, and was released in 1961 on the European LP ''Amour, Danse, Et Violons. No.17'' and on an EP on the La Voix de son Maître label. Pourcel co-wrote the song with his friend and fellow French bandleader Paul Mauriat. Mauriat later recorded an instrumental version, which he released on his album ''Paul Mauriat Plays the Hits of 1976''. In 1963,

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...

released an instrumental version, re-titled "I Will Follow You", as the lead song on side 1 of his album titled ''Themes for Young Lovers''.Winner of the Billboard DJ Poll Instrumental Album Award for 1963
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', July 18, 1964. p. 5. Accessed February 19, 2016. The album spent 28 weeks on ''

''s chart of Top LPs, reaching No. 32, and earned Percy Faith a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

Petula Clark versions

In 1962, Petula Clark released a French-language version of the song, titled "Chariot" (lyrics by Jacques Plante), which reached No. 1 in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

, No. 2 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and No. 8 in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, and earned Clark a gold record. Her English version (the first recording to be titled "I Will Follow Him") reached No. 4 in Denmark, where it was released by Vogue,Hits of the World
, ''

'', July 13, 1963. p. 30. Accessed February 23, 2016. but failed to chart in the UK and the US, where it was released by Pye and Laurie respectively. Clark also recorded Italian and German versions of the song, with her Italian version, "Sul mio carro", reaching No. 4 in Italy, and her German version, "Cheerio", reaching No. 6 in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Little Peggy March version

On January 22, 1963, Little Peggy March's version of "I Will Follow Him", backed with "Wind Up Doll", conducted by Sammy Lowe, in studio RCA Victor Studio A, New York City on January 7, 1963, after running take 9, was released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

. March's version spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on April 27, 1963 and spending three weeks in this position,Hot 100 – Little Peggy March I Will Follow Him Chart History
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved March 18, 2018. making 15-year-old March the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single.Peggy March's 'Follow' Still The Leader
, ''Billboard.com''. November 9, 2010. Accessed February 19, 2016 Her version also reached No. 1 in Australia,Hits of the World
, ''

'', May 18, 1963. p. 32. Accessed February 23, 2016. Hong Kong,Hits of the World
, ''

'', July 20, 1963. p. 27. Accessed February 23, 2016. Israel,Hits of the World
, ''

'', June 29, 1963. p. 46. Accessed February 26, 2016. South Africa, Uruguay,Hits of the World
, ''

'', October 5, 1963. p. 22. Accessed February 27, 2016. Canada's

CHUM Hit Parade The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 (and, until August 1968, the top 50) songs on Toronto, Ontario radio station CHUM AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station. On Janua ...

, Chart No. 318.

CHUM Chum may refer to: Broadcasting * CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company * CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company * CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station * CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station * CHUM Chart, a C ...

. New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade","Lever Hit Parade" 09-May-1963
''Flavour of New Zealand''. Accessed February 19, 2016. and ''

''s Hot R&B Singles chart.Hot R&B Singles
, ''

'', May 25, 1963. p. 22. Accessed February 19, 2016. The song also reached No. 1 on the '' Cash Box'' Top 100, in a tandem ranking of Little Peggy March, Franck Pourcel, Petula Clark,

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

Betty Curtis Roberta Corti, better known by her stage name Betty Curtis (21 March 1936 – 15 June 2006), was an Italian singer active from 1957 to 2004. Curtis grew up in the Zone 8 of Milan's borough Cagnola. She started singing in night clubs at an early ...

Jackie Kannon Jackie Kannon (July 25, 1926 – February 1, 1974) was a stand-up comedian, club entrepreneur, and publisher. With his printer Alexander Roman, he founded the publisher Kanrom, which published primarily humorous materials, including ''The New York ...

, Joe Sentieri, and

Georgia Gibbs Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s interp ...

' versions, with March's version marked as a bestseller. It was one of the nominees for the 1964

Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by man ...

. In 2011, Peggy March re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Dutch singer José Hoebee (who covered this song and reached the number-one spot in the Netherlands and Belgium in 1982). The release of this new version song, however, was delayed one year later and finally came out on the German edition of March's album ''Always And Forever''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

In Italy three versions of the song were in the charts in 1963 (translated/adapted by Vito Pallavicini and Bruno Pallesi): One recorded by

(highest position: No. 3), another version by Petula Clark ("Sul mio carro"; No. 4) and the Franck Pourcel version (No. 5). The song reached No. 1 in Italy's ''

Musica e dischi ''Musica e dischi'' was the oldest and long-running music industry publication in Italy. '' Billboard'' defined the publication as the "Italian record bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts ...

'', in a tandem ranking of these three versions. Curtis's version was also a top 10 hit in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. In 1963, Italian singer Ennio Sangiusto released a version of the song titled "Chariot (La Tierra)", which reached No. 1 in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Also in 1963, Italian singer Joe Sentieri released a version of the song titled "La Tierra", which reached No. 3 in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. In 1963, Argentine singer Alberto Cortez released a version of the song titled "La Tierra (Chariot)", which reached No. 2 in Spain. Also in 1963, Argentine singer Violeta Rivas released a version titled "La Tierra", which reached No. 1 in Uruguay. Dee Dee Sharp released a version of the song on her 1963 album ''Do the Bird''. Sharp's version reached No. 1 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

recorded a cover for his 1963 album ''For Your Sweet Love'', changing the title and lyrics to "I Will Follow You". In 1982, Dutch singer José Hoebee (former member of the girl band Luv') released a hit cover of the song, which reached No. 1 in

, No. 1 on the Dutch Top 40, and No. 2 on the Dutch Nationale Hitparade. A 2005 remix reached No. 90 on the Dutch

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the ...

in early 2006. In 2011, she re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March. This duet appeared on the German edition of March's album ''Always and Forever''. The Norwegian comedian Lars Mjøen wrote comedic Norwegian lyrics, «Torsken kommer!» (translates to «The cod is coming»). The song was published by the comedy troupe KLM as Brødrene Dal as the B-side of "Gaus, Roms Og Brumund" (

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

2052 206) and on the

LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

''Spektralplate'' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

2382 135) in 1982. A music video remake was released by

Norges Bank Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves. History The history of ...

in 2017 to mark the introduction of the new 200 krone banknote that features a cod on the obverse side. The song is featured at the end of the 1992 film '' Sister Act'', where it was performed by the nuns' chorus for the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

with

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

's character as the lead singer. The song peaked at number 53 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. In 2000, Cynthia Patag, Nanette Inventor, Malou de Guzman, Beverly Salviejo and Pinky Marquez performed the interactive version of the song at the end of the musical episode of ''

Wansapanataym ''Wansapanataym'' ( Filipinization of the English phrase "'' once upon a time''") was a Philippine fantasy anthology television series produced and broadcast by ABS-CBN. It airs every Sunday night. The series was aired from June 22, 1997, to Fe ...

'', "Bata-Okey".

References

External links

Official Peggy March, includes discography
* {{authority control 1963 singles Peggy March songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Spain Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Song recordings produced by Hugo & Luigi Songs with lyrics by Norman Gimbel Songs with music by Arthur Altman RCA Victor singles Petula Clark songs Percy Faith songs Dee Dee Sharp songs 1961 songs