Dog & butterfly - Heart

It's quite unusual to find two perfect American 7" singles by the band Heart in between rows of German singles by German artists, but that's exactly what happened this month. Those singles by Heart were also quite unusual: both of them were never hits over here in Europe.

The first one is 'Dog & butterfly', the title track of the band's fourth studio album, released in 1978. Ann Wilson said she was inspired when she looked out a window and saw a dog relentlessly chasing a butterfly. She saw the song as an inspiration when things get tough to "keep going after it." Although it enjoyed only moderate chart success - it reached number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 51 in Canada only - the song has remained a setlist staple for Heart consistently through the years. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6998
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Dog & butterfly' / 'Mistral wind'

Jive talkin' - Bee Gees

Back in 2011 I put a lot of effort into finding old Bee Gees singles. They all ended up on this blog, but one famous song still eluded me: 'Jive talkin'', a song younger viewers might know from Boogie Box High, who covered this song in the Nineties (it was rumoured that George Michael lent his voice to that version).

The original version was a hit for the Bee Gees. They reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 23 in the Dutch Top 40. 

The original studio version was included on the soundtrack of 'Saturday Night Fever', as it was used in a scene that was cut from the final film. Later pressings of the album used the live version of 'Jive Talkin''; from the Bee Gees 1977 album, 'Here at last... Bee Gees... Live', due to contractual distribution changes. The CD version restores the use of the studio version. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6996
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Jive talkin'' / 'Wind of change'

The free electric band - Albert Hammond

Sometimes I buy a single of a song that has already been called a classic numerous times. Often I never bought it before because it was played on the radio so often, back when I still owned a radio (during the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties). 

Albert Hammond's 'The free electric band' is one of those songs. Heard this a lot back then, but not for over twentyfive years. It's a good song but I was getting a bit sick of it. The song reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 19 in the UK singles chart - his only hit in the UK!

My collection: 7" single no. 6994
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'The free electric band' / 'You taught me to sing the blues'

La canzone Italiana 41 - Claudio Villa

'La canzone Italiana' is, apparently, a series of 50 EP's presenting Italian songs, all released in 1970 - the year of my birth, incidentally. Some of them are interesting because they contain Italian Eurovision entries, although not all of them are included in the original versions.

This EP is a good example. All four songs are performed by Claudio Villa, who is an accomplished singer, but it was not him who performed 'Corde della mia chitarra' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957; it was Nunzio Gallo. Still, I wanted this one because it's really hard to find Gallo's version on a 7" single. A cover version is better than nothing, I suppose!

My collection: 7" single no. 6991
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 May 2023
Tracks: 'Luna rossa', 'Addio, sogni di gloria!' / 'Serenata celeste', 'Corde della mia chitarra'

Old man fiddle - Pihasoittajat

Finland has regularly stunned Eurovision audiences with eccentric entries. This year's 'Cha cha cha' is reasonably modern, but I wonder if Pihasoittajat wasn't totally out of step when they performed this in 1975. 

'Od man fiddle' is the English version of 'Viulu-ukko', the song they won the Finnish national final with. Thanks to the relaxed language rules that year they could at least perform in English, and so they didn't totally bewilder the juries. 'Old man fiddle' reached seventh place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6982
Found: Discogs.com, received 2 May 2023
Tracks: 'Old man fiddle' / 'Summer call'

Viviremos todo de nuevo - Al Bano & Romina Power

Having bought a Spanish single of 'We'll live it all again' before, I was extra cautious before buying this one. Like the other one, it features the Spanish title 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' but this time it adds the notice 'cantan en español', which made me more certain that this is actually the Spanish version of the duo's Eurovision entry from 1976.

Still, like the original version this song is only partly in Spanish: some parts are still in English. For a while during the 1970's it was allowed to sing in different languages than the country's own, just like in more recent times. Despite this, the Italian duo didn't manage to get higher than 7th place.

My collection: 7" single no. 6960
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' / 'Na, na, na'

Waterloo (German version) - Abba

It's always great to find an Abba single I don't have yet, and this is a special one: the German version of 'Waterloo'. Yes, the Swedes actually recorded their winning Eurovision song in German and released it in Germany. The single isn't especially rare, but it is still hard to find. I finally got myself a copy at the stand of a Eurovision singles seller, and it's a great find.

Obviously I've already got the English and Swedish versions, as well as a beautiful picture disc (and cover versions by Dr. and the Medics, the Gerd Michaelis Chor, Lecia & Lucienne and a certain Swedish Group!) but this single was one I'd been searching for some time already. Now I only want the French version, but I'd rather not pay 100 euros for it...

My collection: 7" single no. 6959
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Waterloo (Deutsche originalaufnahme)' / 'Watch out'

Hey nana - Charles Dumolin

In 1979, Belgium was represented by Micha Marah, who performed a handful of songs during a national final. Contrary to what she expected, the song she liked least, 'Hey nana', won the vote. She was in total shock. She hated the song with its naïve and childish lyrics in which the singer suggests marriage to her lover and paints a picture of domestic bliss. As it turned out, the song ended up in a shared last place at the Eurovision Song Contest, together with Austria's Christina Simon and her 'Heute in Jerusalem'. 

Micha never recorded the song. In the end, composer Charles Dumolin recorded the song himself and released it as a single. I wonder if it reached the charts... but probably not.

My collection: 7" single no. 6957
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Hey nana' / 'Queen Cherbourg'

 

I will survive / Never can say goodbye - Gloria Gaynor

Although Gloria Gaynor had her biggest successes in the Seventies, her two best known songs were released on this single in 1987.

'Never can say goodbye' was originally recorded by the Jackson 5 in 1971, but Gloria released her version in 1974 to similar success, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40.

'I will survive' is the song that Gloria is most remembered for. It topped the UK singles chart in 1978, and reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6943
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'I will survive' / 'Never can say goodbye'

I'll be there - The Jackson 5

The first single from the Jackson 5's third album was 'I'll be there', a track that has since become part of that huge Motown legacy. In his autobiography 'Moon walk', Michael Jackson noted that this song solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. 

Jackson turned 12 one day after the song was released.  The single sold 4.2 million copies in the USA, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. It was the group's final number 1 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. The song was famously butchered by Mariah Carey during her MTV Unplugged session in 1992.

My collection: 7" single no. 6941
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'I'll be there' / 'One more chance'

Da' ya' think I'm sexy - Rod Stewart

These days Rod Stewart has become a bit more jaded, singing songs from the American Songbook and so on, but back in the Seventies, he became this racy, sex-obsessed maniac. Or so it seems. This single illustrates this best, with the big hit 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' plus the B-side 'Dirty weekend', which delivers exactly what it promises: two songs about sex and being sexy.

The song was released as the first single from Stewart's 1978 album 'Blondes Have More Fun'. It reached number one in the UK and the USA, as well as Canada and Australia. Royalties from the song were donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Stewart performed the song at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979.

My collection: 7" single no. 6940
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' / 'Dirty weekend'

Ma Baker / Baby do you wanna bump - Boney M

This 'original double hit' single comes from 1982 and features two of the earliest hits of the group Boney M. What's interesting about this release is that the version of 'Baby do you wanna bump' brings together the two parts that appear on the original single as one track. 

The record label Hansa also continues their tradition of putting the wrong track times on the label. 'Ma Baker' is said to last 4 minutes and 10 seconds (and actually lasts for 4 minutes and 33 seconds) and 'Baby do you wanna bump' is listed as 6 minutes and 10 seconds, but in reality adds 43 more seconds. Basically you get more - which is always good, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6931
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Ma Baker' / 'Baby do you wanna bump'

Hot blooded - Foreigner

I think it's hard to resist coloured vinyl singles if there's even a remote chance that I'll like the track. And this single by Foreigner is a good example of my policy. I didn't even know 'Hot blooded' very well but when I spotted this single in an almost-red colour, I decided I had to have it. (It does actually look red in this picture but if I hold up the disc against the light it turns pink-purpleish.) 

Lead singer Lou Gramm said: "We used to work at Mick's apartment and he would just keep playing one guitar riff after another. Just playing whatever came into his mind. When he started playing that riff, I remember saying, “Wait! Stop! What’s that?” Mick said it was just another riff. So, I started singing along to it. We eventually got the idea of what the chorus would be and then started working on the verse lyrics. Once they were put together it naturally led to the “Hot Blooded” verbal line. I remember we were jumping off the walls when we cracked the title of the song." 

My collection: 7" single no. 6934
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Hot blooded' / 'Tramontane'

L-Imhabba - Helen & Joseph

When Malta started participating in the Eurovision Song Contest in the early 1970's, they insisted on performing in Maltese. This didn't necessarily prove to be a success formula, as these first two entries ended up in last place. Helen & Joseph's 'L-Imhabba' ('Love') was Malta's second unsuccessful attempt after 'Marija L-Maltija'. 

In an effort to make the difficult Maltese language a little more accessible to all the viewers, a word in Italian, Spanish, German and English was included in the chorus: “L-imhabba hi bacio, beso, Küsse / Haz li 'l qalbek tmiss u li jsejhulha "kiss" / L-imhabba hi bewsa helwa zokkor / Li jimbuttawha x-xottejn waqt li jinghalqu l-ghajnejn”. You can see it doesn't really help.

My collection: 7" single no. 6921
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 March 2023
Tracks: 'L-Imhabba' / 'Gonna be a fun day'

A-ba-ni-bi - Grupo Música

The Portuguese Grupo Música released their last single in 1978, featuring covers of 'A-ba-ni-bi', the Israeli winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest that year, originally performed by Izhar Cohen, and 'Det blir alltid värre framåt natten', the Swedish entry originally performed by Björn Skifs. 

Grupo Música remains as anonymous as the sleeve of this single looks, and after 1978 no futher singles were released. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6920
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 March 2023
Tracks: 'A-ba-ni-bi' / 'Quando a noite vem'

A ave e a infancia - Grupo Música

Grupo Música is another one of those anonymous acts who were busy recording covers of Eurovision songs. This single is their first release, I think, featuring the winning song of the 1977 edition, 'L'oiseau et l'enfant'. In Portuguese that becomes 'A ave e a infancia'. The B-side is a cover of 'Mathema Solfege', the Greek song which ended up in fifth place that year. 

According to Discogs, António Sala is the only identified member of Grupo Música. It's always a bit of a mystery who else was involved in this recording, although producer Correia Martins at least gets a mention on the back sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6919
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 March 2023
Tracks: 'A ave e a infancia' / 'Licao de Solfejo'

Guarda os teus beijos para mim - Acetato

There's some more Portuguese covers of Eurovision songs in the batch of singles I received recently. This one was released in 1976 and features the number 1 and 2 of that year's competition: 'Save your kisses for me' (UK) and '1, 2, 3' (France). In Portuguese, that would be 'Guarda os teus beijos para mim' and 'Um dois tres'. 

The tracks were recorded by Acetato, an anonymous act who released nothing else, just this one single. As a result, the names of the four members of Acetato, pictured on the back sleeve, remain unknown.

My collection: 7" single no. 6918
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 March 2023
Tracks: 'Guarda os teus beijos para mim' / 'Um dois tres'

Djingis Khan - Vikingarna

The song 'Dschinghis Khan' by the band of the same name was a big success in 1979. So much so, that several acts recorded cover versions of the song. This blog already featured versions by 5 Carat and Marco Polo, and here's another one: by the Swedish act Vikingarna.

Vikingarna were formed in 1958 in Arvika as Ji-Coo and the Vikings, a rock-and-roll and skiffle group. By the 1973, the band had changed both line-up and style several times, and settled on the new Swedish sound: dansband. The band released their first album that same year and their second the year after, before securing a record deal with Mariann Records in 1975. In 1975 they released "Kramgoa Låtar 1", the first album in a series of more than twenty records. After that, the band released a new album on a yearly basis, whilst touring between recording sessions. In 1992, after the release of "Kramgoa Låtar 20", the band went on hiatus, but returned in 1995 for new albums. In December 2003, they announced their retirement, and played their final concert on July 7, 2004 in Arvika to a record audience. By then, the band had sold more than 11 million records. 

Their version of 'Dschinghis Khan' is very much comparable to the original version even if it is sung in a lower key, but the real surprise is the B-side: a beautiful orchestral version of John Denver's classic 'Annie's song'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6913
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 March 2023
Tracks: 'Djingis Khan' / 'Annie's song (instrumental)'

Wir glauben an Morgen - Karina

I bought the 7" single 'En un mundo nuevo' 13 years ago, the Spanish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1971. The song was quite successful, ending up in second place.

I didn't know back then that Karina also recorded her song in English, French, German and Italian. It's not easy to find all these versions, but the German version is now mine. I didn't notice this before, but the song seems oddly inspired by Marty Wilde's 'Abergavenny' - just listen to the last part of this song. And that doesn't seem far-fetched; Karina actually recorded a version of that song as 'La fiesta' in 1968.

My collection: 7" single no. 6907
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 March 2023
Tracks: 'Wir glauben an Morgen' / 'En un mundo nuevo'

So long - Abba

Do I really need more Abba singles? Well, no, not really, but some covers are just too beautiful to resist. This copy of 'So long' was made in France and they gave it a colourful sleeve that was much more stylish than the boring German one.

I remember that, as a child, I thought this song was pure hardrock. Not much later I got into the 'disco-rock' of Kiss, and a few years later again I discovered that hardrock was actually quite a bit harder. And louder. But 'So long' is, to me at least, still Abba's big hardrock moment.

My collection: 7" single no. 6892
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 4 March 2023
Tracks: 'So long' / 'I've been waiting for you'