Ik sta te blozen - Annie

'Ik sta te blozen' ('I'm blushing') is one of the least gloomy songs recorded by Annie, perhaps this is why the record company went for this song. It's the story of a woman who is blushing when she receives a bunch of red roses, which is quite innocent when you compare it to the ominous songs Annie sings on other single releases.

Both songs on this single were taken from Annie's album Liedjes van liefde en leven (Songs of love and life), an undisputed cult classic. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7334
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Ik sta te blozen' / 'De strandjutter'

Volare - Alan Dale

Alan Dale was born in Brooklyn, New York on 9 July 1925. He began his career at age 9 when his comedian father was running short on his program and called on Aldo to sing. Though Aldo fainted immediately upon completing his song, he was good enough that he became a regular on his father's program. 

Considered to have one of the top pop voices, Alan Dale had a career that spanned three decades and 16 record labels. He was a crooner who later flirted with rock 'n' roll. His version of 'Volare' was released in 1958, almost immediately after Domenico Modugno sang it at the Eurovision Song Contest.

My collection: 7" single no. 7336
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Volare' / 'Weeping willow in the wind'

Merci Cherie - Johnny White

Sometimes record company strategies can be mystifying. Why would 'Merci Cherie', a song from 1966, become a hit in 1992? Still, they gave Johnny Winter the chance to record this old song in two languages (Dutch and French) and went with it. 

Johnny White was Johnny Wittevrouw, the Belgian singer (born 13 June 1946) who had a career  in the Seventies, until success eluded him and he went AWOL for most of the Eighties. He came back in 1989 and released singles until 2006. After White suffered a heart attack he was admitted to the hospital for laparoscopy, but this proved fatal as he would never wake up after his anesthesia. He passed away on 13 January 2014.

My collection:  7" single no. 7335
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Merci Cherie (Dutch)' / 'Merci Cherie (French)'

San Remo Hits - Various

The 'Populaire Platen Kring' ('Popular Records Circle') was a Dutch phenomenon from the early Sixties. The labels do not bear dates. It is completely unknown how often a new edition appeared on the market. What is known is that most items contain imitated songs, a bit like the later English Top of the Pops albums.

This edition features hits from the San Remo festival - and indeed the Eurovision Song Contest. Of particular interest for me was the version of 'Addio Addio', performed by one Jean Couroyer and 'Romantica' by Togliani. Modugno himself appears with 'Nel blu dipinto di blu'.

My collection: 7" single no. 7333
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Quando quando quando' (Jean Couroyer), 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' (Modugno), 'Gondoli' Gondola'' (Jean Couroyer), 'Le mille bolle blu' (Renatino) / 'Addio addio' (Jean Couroyer), '24 milla baci' (Rondinella), 'Tango Italiano' (Jean Couroyer), 'Romantica' (Togliani)

The woman in me - Heart

'The woman in me' was a hit for Donna Summer. Heart probably thought they could also have a hit with the song (or were they pushed by their record company?) and so they recorded the song on their 1993 album Desire walks on. The single was released on CD-single only - plus a 7" single for jukeboxes only. It represents the last ever 7" single by Heart, because subsequent releases were never released on this format again.

As for 'The woman in me', it wasn't a big hit for the band. It reached number 13 in Canada after just missing the US Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 7" single no. 7332
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'The woman in me' / 'Risin' suspicion'

Eres tu - Young family

Although this EP doesn't really have a title, I bought it especially for the cover version of 'Eres tu', the Spanish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. 

This EP was released in 1974 and was an initiative of the German Youth Red Cross. Young Family is a group formed by the Youth Red Cross in Nettersheim, not far from Aachen. They recorded four songs for this EP, which besides 'Eres tu' also contains the big hit 'Non, non rien n'a changé', a European hit for the French group Les Poppys around that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 7331
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Non, non rien n'a changé', 'Soolaimon' / 'Eres tu', 'Rock my soul'

Addio, addio (Good-bye) - Lou Monte

In 1962, Claudio Villa represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Addio, addio', a song composed by Domenico Modugno and lyrics by Franco Migliacci. The Italian American singer Louis Scaglione, better known as Lou Monte, was quick to jump on the bandwagon: his version of the song, translated into English by Carl Sigman, was released in May 1962.

Lou Monte (2 April 1917 – 12 June 1989) was an Italian American singer best known for a number of best-selling, Italian-themed novelty records which he recorded for both RCA Victor and Reprise Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s, most famously 'Lazy Mary' (1958) and the 1962/63 million-selling US single 'Pepino the Italian Mouse', plus the seasonal track 'Dominick the Donkey'.

My collection: 7" single no. 7330
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Addio, addio (Good-bye)' / 'Please mr. Columbus (Turn the ship around)'