"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 naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

, first released on an EP in December 1957. It was her second major hit after "

Bambino ''Bambino'' is the Italian masculine form for "child". The feminine is ''bambina''. The plural forms are ''bambinos'' in English and ''bambini'' in Italian. These words can refer to: Sports * Babe Ruth (1895–1948), Hall-of-Fame Major League Bas ...

". 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 (, ; , ) 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, in a scul ...

''. 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 a

promotional single A promotional recording, 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 mu ...

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 Marcucci Robert Phillip Marcucci (February 28, 1930 – March 9, 2011) was an American lyricist, talent manager, film producer, and the owner of Chancellor Records and Robert P. Marcucci Productions. He discovered and managed the careers of Fabian and ...

wrote the English language version which gained success in the US and UK in mid-1957. During an interview in 1958, Dalida said, "I heard on radio

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

singing it in English, and I like it very much so I decided to use the song for my Christmas special show." At 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 No. 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 No. 1 in January and February and again reached No. 1 for 10 weeks during the summer, earning Dalida her third gold disc. Eventually, it became the most sold record of 1958; promotions through TV and concert performances made the song a pop standard in France and one of Dalida's signature tracks.

Cover versions

"Gondolier" has been 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 a ...

recorded the first version in English, released in April or May 1957. It reached No. 1 in Belgium and was her only major hit in the United States (reaching No. 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 advertis ...

'' Pop Singles chart in 1957). *

released it in June or July 1957 in Belgium and the United Kingdom (it reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart), which was before she became known in the US. *Judy Scott in 1957. *

Eve Boswell Eve Boswell (born Éva Keleti; 11 May 1922 – 14 August 1998), was a Hungarian born South African 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 ...

in 1957. * Dave King in 1957. *

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

in 1958. *

Betty Curtis Roberta Corti (21 March 1936 – 15 June 2006), better known by her stage name Betty Curtis, 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 a ...

in Italian titled "Con tutto il cuore" in 1958. *Dawn Robertson in 1977 released a

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 ...

version as a

maxi-single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (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. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

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 1957 songs 1957 singles Dalida songs Petula Clark songs French songs Songs written by Peter De Angelis Barclay (record label) singles