"Gondolier" is a song by the French singer

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

, first released on EP in December 1957. It was her second major hit after " Bambino". Reaching No. 1 on both the La Bourse des Chansons chart and the Music Hall chart in France, it was the title song for Dalida's 1958 album ''

Gondolier The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

''. The song also reached No. 1 on the Belgian and Canadian charts.

Description

The song's melody was composed by Peter De Angelis with lyrics by Jean Broussolle. It was released as

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

on February 22, 1957, but it received no promotion because of the prolonged success of "Bambino". As the song did not reach its audience, De Angelis and his colleague Bob Marucci wrote the English language version which gained success in the USA and UK in mid 1957. During an interview in 1958, Dalida said, "I heard on radio

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

singing it in English, and I like it very much so I decided to use the song for my Christmas special show." On the end of 1957, Dalida used "Gondolier" as the title song of a French TV Christmas special, in which she was the main attraction. The song was issued on EP the next day and it gained instant success. It entered the charts at #1 in the first week of January 1958, and eventually spent 53 weeks in the top 20, until the last week of December 1958. It spent 9 weeks as #1 in January and February and again reached #1 for 10 weeks during the summer, earning Dalida her third gold disc. Eventually, it became the most sold record of 1958, so promotions through TV and concert performances made the song a pop standard in France and one of Dalida's signature tracks.

Cover versions

"Gondolier" was covered by many artists. In English, the song has been recorded by several artists under the title ''With all my Heart'', including: :*

Jodie Sands Jodie Sands (born Eleanor DiSipio ) is an American singer of popular music. Biography Eleanor DiSipio was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927/1928, to Rocco (born 1886) and Angelina DiSipio (née Cattefesta, 1891–1966). Her father was ...

recorded the first version in English, released in April or May 1957. It reached #1 in the Belgian chart and was her only major hit in the United States (reaching #15 on the ''

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 advertise ...

'' Pop Singles chart in 1957). :*

released it in June or July 1957 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the United Kingdom> it reached #4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

), which was before she became known in the US. :*

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

in 1958 :*Dawn Robertson in 1977 made a disco remix on

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

. :* Dave King in 1957. :*

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 ...

"Con tutto il cuore" in 1958 *

Eve Boswell Eve Boswell (born Éva Keleti; 11 May 1922 – 14 August 1998, was a Hungarian pop singer. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Eva's family moved to South Africa, where they worked with the Boswell Circus. After a few years in South Afric ...

in 1957. *Judy Scott

Charts

References

Bibliography

* Daniel Lesueur, ''L'argus Dalida: Discographie mondiale et cotations'', Éditions Alternatives, 2004. and .

External links

Dalida official website
"Discography" section {{authority control Dalida songs Petula Clark songs 1957 songs French songs Songs written by Peter De Angelis