"Grande, grande, grande" is a 1972 Italian song, written by David William Moncrief, and composed by Alberto Testa and

Tony Renis Tony Renis (born 13 May 1938), stage name of Elio Cesari, is an Italian singer, composer, music producer and film actor. Life and career Renis was born in Milan. In the mid-1950s he met with Adriano Celentano, and the two started performing an i ...

. It was a No. 1 hit for Mina in Italy and for

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

released as "Never Never Never" in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. The 1973 Shirley Bassey single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.

Mina version

"Grande, grande, grande" was a No. 1 hit on the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

for Mina in 1972, from her No. 1 self-titled album. The single was released in early 1972 and entered the Top 10 the week of 26 February. After a steady climb to No. 2 (behind "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

" by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

) the week of 11 March, the song seemed to have run out of steam after falling 2 places to No. 4 to new hits by Delirium,

Nicola Di Bari Nicola Di Bari (born 29 September 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. He is considered one of the "sacred monsters" of Italian pop music. Life and career Born in Zapponeta, Apulia, Di Bari was the youngest of ten children from a f ...

and

Nada Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places *Nada, Hainan, China *Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States *Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone * Nada, Texas, United S ...

("Imagine" had dropped to No. 5). By 1 April the song had once again climbed to its peak No. 2 position where it remained the whole month of April before finally reaching No. 1 on 29 April. "Grande, grande, grande", arranged by

Pino Presti Giuseppe Prestipino Giarritta (born 23 August 1943), professionally known by his pseudonym Pino Presti, is an Italian bassist, Music arranger, arranger, composer, Conductor (music), conductor and record producer from Milan. He is a dan (rank), ...

, ruled the charts the first three weeks of May until " I giardini di marzo" by her collaborator

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

, and her own hit "

Parole parole "Parole parole" () is a duet song originally performed by Italian singer Mina (Italian singer), Mina and actor Alberto Lupo. It was released in April 1972, by PDU and later was included on Minas's twenty-first studio album ''Cinquemilaquarantatre ...

" knocked it out of the top spot down to No. 3 the week of 27 May. "Grande, grande, grande" remained in the top 10 until the week of 8 July, often trading places with "Parole parole". By the year's end, only "Il Padrino" by Santo and Johnny had enjoyed a longer life on the charts and Mina had to settle for the runner up position for 1972's biggest hit on the Italian singles chart. Mina also recorded the song in English and Spanish.

Personnel

* Mina – vocals *

– arrangement, orchestra conductor, bass *

Dario Baldan Bembo Dario Baldan Bembo (born 15 May 1948) is an Italian composer, singer-songwriter, music arranger and musician, best known for the songs "Aria" and " Amico è". Background Born in Milan, Baldan Bembo started his music career as a keyboardist for, ...

– organ * Andrea Sacchi – electric and acoustic guitar * Massimo Verardi – electric guitar * Bruno De Filippi – harmonica * Gianni Cazzola – drums * Mario Lamberti – congas *

Gianni Bedori Gianni Bedori (25 November 1930 – 21 January 2005), also known as Johnny Sax, was an Italian jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist and composer. Career Born in Mantua, Bedori graduated in clarinet at the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Mart ...

–

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

* Al Korvin,

Oscar Valdambrini Oscar Valdambrini (May 11, 1924, Turin, Italy - December 26, 1997, Rome) was an Italian jazz trumpeter, and flugelhornist.< ...

, Fermo Lini, Giuliano Bernicchi – trumpets * Sergio Almangano, Arturo Prestipino Giarritta – First violinist, first violins

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Shirley Bassey version

had a No. 8 hit in the UK with "Never Never Never", an English version with lyrics by

Norman Newell Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the songwriter, co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians su ...

. It was also No. 1 in Australia, No. 1 in South Africa, No. 3 in Singapore, and her only single to make three US charts: No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 8 on the

Adult Contemporary Chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, and No. 67 on the

R&B Chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

Charts

Other cover versions

Orietta Berti Orietta Berti (born Orietta Galimberti on 1 June 1943) is an Italian pop-folk singer and television personality. Biography Born in Cavriago, Berti began her career in 1962 and had her first success in 1965 with the song "Tu sei quello" (You ...

* Mary Byrne for album ...with Love. *

Lydia Canaan Lydia Canaan ( ar, ليديا كنعان) is a Lebanese singer-songwriter and humanitarian activist. Credited as the first internationally successful Lebanese recording artist,Sinclair, David. "Global Music Pulse", ''Billboard'', New York, De ...

("Never Never Never") *

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has pe ...

Chiara Civello Chiara Civello (born 15 June 1975) is an Italian singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. Career When Civello was seventeen, she sang in a band with Mario Raja, then Roberto Gatto. On a scholarship, she moved to Boston in 1994 to attend the Be ...

covered this song for his album '' Canzoni'' as "Never Never Never" (2014) *

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

with

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

1997 (Released as "

I Hate You Then I Love You "I Hate You Then I Love You" is a song sung as a duet between Celine Dion and Luciano Pavarotti. It was first released as a track on Celine Dion's 1997 album ''Let's Talk About Love''. It was later released in Italy as a promotional single on 7 Se ...

") *

Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...

covered this song in English ("Never Never Never") on his 1976 DynaHouse Album ''20 Magnificent Songs.'' Sergio Franchi * John Holt ("Never Never Never") *

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

with

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ger ...

. Iglesias also sang covers in languages such as Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese and French. *

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born 22 July 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on 22 July 1946 in A ...

Folle, follement heureuse *

David McAlmont David Irving McAlmont (born 2 May 1967) is a British vocalist, essayist and art historian. He came to prominence in the 1990s as a singer, particularly through his collaboration with Bernard Butler. In the 2010s he returned to academia, working ...

covered this song for his album '' Set One: You Go To My Head'' *

Erlend Øye Erlend Øye (born 21 November 1975) is a Norwegian composer, musician, producer, singer and songwriter from Bergen, best known for being one half of the indie folk duo Kings of Convenience, along with Eirik Glambek Bøe. Among other musical pro ...

Pimpinela Joaquín and Lucía Galán, better known as Pimpinela (Spanish for '' pimpernel'') are an Argentine duo famous for singing romantic musical pieces and known for their original singing style. They have sold over 12 million records in Argentina ...

Zizi Possi Maria Izildinha "Zizi" Possi (, born March 28, 1956) is a Brazilian singer from São Paulo, the daughter of Italian immigrants. She sings in Portuguese, English, and Italian languages. In 2007, he sang at the opening of the Military World Games, ...

for the album "Passione". *

Conny Vandenbos Jacoba Adriana Hollestelle (16 January 1937 – 7 April 2002), known professionally as Conny Vandenbos, was a popular Dutch singer. She had her first radio hit in 1966 and continued to make hit recordings throughout the 1970s. She represented the ...

as "Waarom waarom waarom" on her album ''Een vrouw van deze tijd'' (1974) *

Wolter Kroes Wolter Kroes (born in Wormerveer, Netherlands on 24 December 1968) is a Dutch singer. He is best known for his hits ''Ik heb de hele nacht liggen dromen'', ''Niet normaal'' and his hit single ''Viva Hollandia'' that reached #1 in the Dutch Top 4 ...

as "Niemand Anders" on his album ''Niemand Anders'' (2000) *

Dana Winner Dana Winner (born Chantal Ernestine Vanlee on 10 February 1965 in Hasselt) is a Belgian singer. Biography In 1990 she released her first single ''Op het dak van de wereld'', (Dutch: "On the roof of the world"), a cover of The Carpenters' '' To ...

& Frank Galan

References

{{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Songs in Italian Mina (Italian singer) songs Shirley Bassey songs Songs with music by Tony Renis Songs with lyrics by Alberto Testa (lyricist) Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Italy PDU singles United Artists Records singles Songs written by Norman Newell