"Maladie d'Amour" (French: Love Sickness) is a popular folk tune of the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

recorded for the first time in 1931 by

Léona Gabriel Léona Gabriel-Soïme (8 June 1891 - 11 August 1971) was a biguine singer from Martinique active in Paris during the interwar years. She married the military doctor Norbert Soïme in 1933. She was born at Rivière-Pilote. Daughter of a white cre ...

but popularised in the arrangement by

Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...

published in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. The published lyrics of

Marc Lanjean Jean Alciede Marie Marcland (Limoges, 1903 - 26 February 1964) was a French composer of film music. He also wrote popular tunes under the name Marc Lanjean. Discography *''Musique Aux 4 Vents'' with Roger RogerBillboard - 22 Dec 1962 - Page 18 GR ...

begin: "Maladie d’amour,/ Maladie des amoureux / Si tu n’aimes que moi / Reste tout près de moi". However Salvador himself often sang the song in French Creole with the lyrics "Maladi damour, Maladi dé zamoureu, Chacha si’w enmen-mwen, Wa maché dèyè-mwen", a tribute to a ''chacha'', meaning an older woman sweet on a younger man. The song became a standard among French singers, being sung among others by

Jean Sablon Jean Sablon (Nogent-sur-Marne 25 March 1906 – Cannes 24 February 1994) was a French singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was one of the first French singers to immerse himself in jazz. The man behind several songs by big French and Amer ...

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Lif ...

, Élisabeth Jérôme (fr), La Compagnie créole (fr),

Manu Dibango Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango (12 December 1933 – 24 March 2020) was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father w ...

, David Martial (fr) and Jacob Desvarieux (fr).

English version

The song is better known in English-speaking countries by the English version with lyrics by Leo Johns to an adapted French title "Melodie d'Amour" (French: "Melody of Love") by

The Ames Brothers ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

which was first released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

as catalog number 47-7046 in 1957. The new English lyrics by Leo Johns begin "Melodie d'amour, take this song to my lover. Shoo shoo little bird, go and find my love." This song featured an electric harpsichord, in a rhumba rhythm. The Ames brothers version first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 7, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #5; on the Best Seller chart, at #12; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached #12. In Canada it reached #5 on the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

Other versions

Other vocal versions appeared from

Edmundo Ros Edmundo Ros OBE, FRAM (7 December 1910 – 21 October 2011), born Edmund William Ross, was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orche ...

who sung the version in English with his orchestra, and the single appeared on the Variety magazine charts in 1957.

The Ray Conniff Singers Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

released a version of "Melodie D'Amour" (1964). Instrumental versions appeared from The Moontrekkers "Night Of The Vampire" / "Melodie D'Amore" Parlophone - UK - R 4814 and

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

and his Orchestra "Calcutta" (Nicolette) / "Melodie D'amour" - London - UK - HLD 9261 1961

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

adapted the first line of the lyrics and title to "Cha Cha Cha De Amor" on Capitol (1962). Martin's "Cha Cha Cha D'Amour" was arranged from the Johns and Salvador version into a cha cha by arranger

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...

. In Europe

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 ...

sang a version to a German text by Glando.

Jason Kouchak Jason Kouchak is a French pianist, composer and singer-songwriter. Early life Jason Mariano Kouchak was born in Lyon, France. He was educated at Westminster School and studied classical piano at the Royal College of Music and the University of E ...

recorded the song on his 2008 ''Comme d’Habitude'' album. The Dutch singer Linda Petterson Bratt (born 1958) covered the song as "Weet Je Wat Ik Wil" in 1977 to words and arrangement by Lanjean and N. Hiltrop. Jazz pianist

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

included the song in his 2015 album '' Take This''.

Use in popular culture

In 1962, Maladie d'amour was played by Nina van Pallandt and Frederik van Pallandt in The Sold Grandfather directed by

Hans Albin Hans Albin (27 July 1905 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor, film producer and film director.Goble p.9 Selected filmography * '' Homecoming to Happiness'' (1933) * ''Three Bluejackets and a Blonde'' (1933) * '' The Champion of Pontresina '' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maladie d'amour (song) 1949 songs 1957 singles Ames Brothers songs RCA Victor singles Henri Salvador songs