"I Will Follow Him" 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 ...

that was first recorded in 1961 by

Franck Pourcel Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music. Biography Early life Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later ...

, as an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

entitled "Chariot". The song achieved its widest success when it was recorded by American singer Little Peggy March with English lyrics on January 7, 1963. The

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

was written by

(using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

J.W. Stole) and Paul Mauriat (using the pseudonym Del Roma).Music Registrations
'' Catalog of Copyright Entries'' : Third Series, Volume 19, Part 5, Number 2.

U.S. Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...

, July–December 1965. p. 1509. Archive.org. Accessed February 29, 2016 It was adapted by Arthur Altman. The completely new English lyrics were written by

Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (with composer Cha ...

Instrumental versions

The song was first recorded by

as an instrumental, and was released in 1961 on the European LP ''Amour, Danse, Et Violons. No.17'' and on an EP on the La Voix de son Maître label. Pourcel co-wrote the song with his friend and fellow French bandleader Paul Mauriat. Mauriat later recorded an instrumental version, which he released on his album ''Paul Mauriat Plays the Hits of 1976''. In 1963,

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizin ...

released an instrumental version, re-titled "I Will Follow You", as the lead song on side 1 of his album entitled ''Themes for Young Lovers''.Winner of the Billboard DJ Poll Instrumental Album Award for 1963
, ''

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 ...

'', July 18, 1964. p. 5. Accessed February 19, 2016. The album spent 28 weeks on ''

''s chart of Top LPs, reaching No. 32, and earned Percy Faith a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Petula Clark versions

In 1962,

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 ...

released a

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

version of the song, entitled "Chariot" (lyrics by Jacques Plante), which reached No. 1 in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, No. 2 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and No. 8 in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, and earned Clark a gold record. Her English version (the first recording to be entitled "I Will Follow Him") reached No. 4 in Denmark, where it was released by Vogue,Hits of the World
, ''

'', July 13, 1963. p. 30. Accessed February 23, 2016. but failed to chart in the UK and the US, where it was released by Pye and Laurie respectively. Clark also recorded Italian and German versions of the song, with her Italian version, "Sul mio carro", reaching No. 4 in Italy, and her German version, "Cheerio", reaching No. 6 in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Little Peggy March version

On January 22, 1963, Little Peggy March's version of "I Will Follow Him", backed with "Wind Up Doll", conducted by Sammy Lowe, in RCA Victor Studio A, New York City on January 7, 1963, after running take 9, was 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 ...

. March's version spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on April 27, 1963 and spending three weeks in this position,Hot 100 – Little Peggy March I Will Follow Him Chart History
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved March 18, 2018. making 15-year-old March the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single.Peggy March's 'Follow' Still The Leader
, ''Billboard.com''. November 9, 2010. Accessed February 19, 2016 Her version also reached No. 1 in Australia,Hits of the World
, ''

'', May 18, 1963. p. 32. Accessed February 23, 2016. Hong Kong,Hits of the World
, ''

'', July 20, 1963. p. 27. Accessed February 23, 2016. Israel,Hits of the World
, ''

'', June 29, 1963. p. 46. Accessed February 26, 2016. South Africa, Uruguay,Hits of the World
, ''

'', October 5, 1963. p. 22. Accessed February 27, 2016. Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, Chart No. 318. CHUM. New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade","Lever Hit Parade" 09-May-1963
, ''Flavour of New Zealand''. Accessed February 19, 2016. and ''

''s Hot R&B Singles chart.Hot R&B Singles
, ''

'', May 25, 1963. p. 22. Accessed February 19, 2016. The song also reached No. 1 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100, in a tandem ranking of Little Peggy March, Franck Pourcel, Petula Clark,

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

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 ...

, Jackie Kannon, Joe Sentieri, and Georgia Gibbs' versions, with March's version marked as a bestseller. It was one of the nominees for the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording. In 2011, Peggy March re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Dutch singer José Hoebee (who covered this song and reached the number-one spot in the Netherlands and Belgium in 1982). However, it took another year for the release of this new version song, which was eventually released on the German version of March's album ''Always and Forever''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

In Italy three versions of the song were in the charts in 1963 (translated/adapted by Vito Pallavicini and Bruno Pallesi): One recorded by

(highest position: No. 3), another version by Petula Clark ("Sul mio carro"; No. 4) and the Franck Pourcel version (No. 5). The song reached No. 1 in Italy's ''

Musica e dischi () was the oldest and longest-running music industry publication in Italy. In 1961, ''Billboard'' defined the publication as the "Italian record bible". History It was founded in October 1945 in Milan, Italy, on the initiative of the journalis ...

'', in a tandem ranking of these three versions. Curtis's version was also a top 10 hit in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In 1963, Italian singer Ennio Sangiusto released a version of the song "Chariot (La Tierra)", which reached No. 1 in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Also in 1963, Italian singer Joe Sentieri released a version of the song "La Tierra", which reached No. 3 in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In 1963, Argentine singer Alberto Cortez released a version of the song "La Tierra (Chariot)", which reached No. 2 in Spain. Also in 1963, Argentine singer Violeta Rivas released a version entitled "La Tierra", which reached No. 1 in Uruguay. Dee Dee Sharp released a version of the song on her 1963 album ''Do the Bird''. Sharp's version reached No. 1 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Rick Nelson recorded a cover for his 1963 album For Your Sweet Love, changing the title and lyrics to "I Will Follow You". Japanese

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band Les Rallizes Dénudés interpolates the song's melody in their song 暗殺者の夜 (Night of the Assassin). In 1982, Dutch singer José Hoebee (former member of the girl band

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe ( Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Cana ...

) released a hit cover of the song, which reached No. 1 in

, No. 1 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

, and No. 2 on the Dutch Nationale Hitparade. A 2005 remix reached No. 90 on the Dutch

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

in early 2006. In 2011, she re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March. This duet appeared on the German edition of March's album ''Always and Forever''. The Norwegian comedian Lars Mjøen wrote comedic Norwegian lyrics, «Torsken kommer!» (translates to «The cod is coming»). The song was published by the comedy troupe KLM as Brødrene Dal as the B-side of "Gaus, Roms Og Brumund" ( PolyGram 2052 206) and on the

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

''Spektralplate'' (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

2382 135) in 1982. A music video remake was released by

Norges Bank Norges Bank (, , ) is the central bank of Norway. It is responsible for managing the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, as well as the bank's own foreign exchange reserves. History The histor ...

in 2017 to mark the introduction of the new 200 krone banknote that features a cod on the obverse side. The song is featured at the end of the 1992 film '' Sister Act'', where it was performed by the nuns' chorus for the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

with

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

's character as the lead singer. The song peaked at number 53 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. In 2000, Cynthia Patag, Nanette Inventor,

Malou de Guzman Malou de Guzman (born July 18, 1957) is a Filipina stage, television and film actress. Personal life De Guzman has a daughter Luchie, with former actor Ross Rival. She graduated from the University of the Philippines-Diliman with a degree in ...

, Beverly Salviejo and Pinky Marquez performed the interactive version of the song at the end of the musical episode of ''

Wansapanataym ''Wansapanataym'' ( Filipinization of the English phrase "'' once upon a time''"), also known as ''Wansapanataym Presents'', is a Philippine television drama fantasy anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN. It aired from June 22, 1997 to February ...

'', "Bata-Okey".

References

External links

Official Peggy March, includes discography
* {{authority control 1963 singles Peggy March songs Paul Mauriat Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Spain Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Song recordings produced by Hugo & Luigi Songs with lyrics by Norman Gimbel Songs with music by Arthur Altman RCA Victor singles Petula Clark songs Percy Faith songs Dee Dee Sharp songs 1961 songs