; ) is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

written by

Wayne Shanklin Wayne Shanklin (June 6, 1916 – June 16, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and producer. His best known compositions were "Jezebel", " Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)", " Primrose Lane", and " The Big Hurt". Music career In the early 19 ...

. A 1977 recording by

the Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

was an international hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Original version

In 1958, the husband and wife team of Art and Dotty Todd were the resident act at the Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles. They were known in their native United States as veterans of the California lounge circuit; the Todds also sang on their own radio show. Art Todd recalls how Wayne Shanklin gave the duo the song "Chanson D'Amour": "Wayne Shanklin stopped us one day and said, 'I've got a great song for you.'" Shanklin produced a demo of Art and Dotty Todd singing "Chanson D'Amour" which was shopped to

Era Records Era Records was an independent American record label located in Hollywood, California. History Era Records was founded by Herb Newman and Lou Bedell in March 1955 as a popular music, pop and rhythm and blues outlet. The label later expanded into ...

, who released the demo track as a single. According to Art Todd: "The airplay was just sensational. This was just at the beginning of rock 'n' roll and the old-time DJs hated rock 'n' roll and they jumped on our song." Art and Dotty Todd's "Chanson D'Amour" was a Top Ten hit and reached #6 in April 1958, and crossed over to the R&B chart and reached #9.

Manhattan Transfer recording

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

recorded "Chanson D'Amour" for their 1976

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...

-produced album ''Coming Out''. The song came to the group's producer, Richard Perry's, attention as a demo on cassette. The group and Richard listened, and immediately decided to record the song. Janis Siegel sang the lead in an

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

style, and it was recorded in one take. Overlooked in the United States on its single release, the Manhattan Transfer's version of "Chanson D'Amour" became a European hit, making the charts in France at the start of 1977 to peak there at #8: the track subsequently became a hit in Germany (#20), the Netherlands (#6), Norway (#1 for two weeks) and Switzerland (#6). In the English-speaking world, "Chanson D'Amour" afforded the Manhattan Transfer a chart-topping hit, reaching #1 in March 1977 in both the UK – for three weeks – and Ireland. It was also a hit in Australia (#9), New Zealand (#14) and South Africa (#14). "Chanson D'Amour" proved to be the Manhattan Transfer's most widespread international success, despite being only moderately successful in the group's native United States, where the track registered on

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

in ''

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 ...

'' at #16.

Personnel

Manhattan Transfer *

Tim Hauser Timothy DuPron Hauser (December 12, 1941 – October 16, 2014) was a singer and founding member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. He won 10 Grammy Awards as a member of The Manhattan Transfer. Early life Hauser was born in Troy, New Y ...

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation ...

– vocals, arranger *

Laurel Massé Laurel Massé (born December 29, 1951) is an American jazz singer and former member of The Manhattan Transfer. Career Massé was born in Holland, Michigan, grew up in Westchester County, New York, and lived in Europe during her teens. Early in s ...

, Alan Paul – vocals Musicians *John Barnes – piano *Steve Paietta – accordion *Ira Newborn, Ben Benay – guitar *Andy Muson – bass * Jim Gordon – drums

Charts

Other versions

The Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. B ...

recorded a version of "Chanson D'Amour" which charted concurrently with the Art and Dotty Todd version, with the Fontane Sisters version peaking at #12 and affording the group their last major hit (the group would have one more entry in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "

Jealous Heart "Jealous Heart" is a classic C&W song written by American country music singer-songwriter Jenny Lou Carson. In the mid 1940s it spent nearly six months on the Country & Western charts. It was subsequently recorded by several pop singers. ...

" at #94). In the UK both the Art and Dotty Todd and Fontane Sisters versions of "Chanson D'Amour" were issued along with domestic covers by

Tony Brent Tony Brent (born Reginald Hogan Bretagne, 26 August 1927 – 19 June 1993) was a British traditional pop singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven Top 20 chart hits in the UK over an almost six-year period, starting in December 1952. Bi ...

and Steve Martin. Also in 1958, Belgian singer

Angèle Durand Angèle Caroline Liliane Josette Marie-José DeGeest (Antwerp 23 October 1925 – Augsburg 22 December 2001) was a Belgian singer and actress. Durand was a popular singer in Germany during the early 1950s.Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001 H ...

recorded a version which rendered the English lyrics into German; this "Chanson D'Amour" became Durand's signature song.

Wendy Van Wanten Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activitie ...

rerecorded this version in 1998. In 1959 a Finnish rendering of "Chanson D'Amour" was recorded by the vocal group Jokerit: this version was rerecorded in 1977 – subsequent to the success of the Manhattan Transfer version – by

Ami Aspelund Ami Aspelund (born Anne-Marie Aspelund on 7 September 1953) is a Finnish singer. She is the younger sister of singer Monica Aspelund. Career Born in Vaasa, Ami Aspelund released her first single in 1973 called "Apinamies", which is a Finnish ...

, and also by Lea Laven, and Silhuetit ( fi) (album ''Jos Mulle Sydämesi Annat''). The song had made an interim Easy Listening chart appearance in 1966, when a remake by

the Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio whose trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contemporary chart (i ...

reached #8. The

Frank Farian Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequent ...

-produced

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

group

La Mama La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (sometimes abbreviated as La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1961 by African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer Ellen Stewart. Located in the East Village neighborho ...

had a 1981 single release with a remake of "Chanson D'Amour". In 1993

The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the ...

recorded their arrangement of "Chanson D'Amour" on their album titled by the same name, ''Chanson D'Amour''.

References

{{authority control 1958 songs 1958 singles 1966 singles 1977 singles The Fontane Sisters songs The Lettermen songs The Manhattan Transfer songs The Muppets songs Song recordings produced by Richard Perry Songs written by Wayne Shanklin Capitol Records singles Atlantic Records singles UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Macaronic songs