Tom Pillibi - Jean Leccia

Jean Hubert Leccia (19 February 1938 – 10 January 2023), known in the United States as Jean Lexia, was a French composer, conductor, singer, and pianist. Leccia was active in various musical genres, such as pop, jazz, ballet, electronic, and classical. He collaborated with many artists, including Charles Aznavour, Édith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and Line Renaud. He was also the composer of several film scores and television series, such as the soap opera Les Saintes Chéries. 

This EP features his version of 'Tom Pillibi'. It's yet another cover version of the winning song from the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960. There's also a cover version of 'Ce soir la', the entry from Monaco that same year.

My collection: 7" single no. 7416
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Partir un matin', 'Tom Pillibi' / 'L'amour qui fait chanter', 'Ce soir la'

Se piangi, se ridi - Les Christy Minstrels

Seven boys and two girls formed the Christy Minstrels. They were a very productive group, having released many albums and EP's during their career. 

An interesting one (for me at least) is this one, featuring a cover version of 'Se piangi, se ridi', the song with which Bobby Solo won the San Remo festival in 1965. Quite why the Minstrels called themselves the winners of San Remo on the sleeve of this EP is beyond me - probably there were multiple winners or they are referring to the song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7415
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Se piangi, se ridi', 'La colline sono in fiore' / 'Mighty Mississippi', 'Casey Jones'

Where do I begin - Shirley Bassey

Love Story is a 1970 American romantic drama film written by Erich Segal, who was also the author of the best-selling 1970 eponymous novel. The film is considered one of the most romantic by the American Film Institute (number 9 on the list) and is one of the highest-grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation.

The main song in the film, '(Where do I begin?) Love Story' was a major success, particularly the vocal rendition recorded by Andy Williams. Shirley Bassey was quick to record her own version of the song. That version reached number 34 in the UK singles chart. The version by Williams peaked at number 4.

My collection: 7" single no. 7414
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Where do I begin' / 'For the love of him'

Tom Pillibi - André Popp

André Charles Jean Popp (19 February 1924 – 10 May 2014) was a French composer, arranger and screenwriter. During the 1950s, Popp created unique space-age instrumental recordings and by the early 1960s had built a strong reputation in the music recording industry, becoming a sought-after arranger. When the Sixties arrived he had to adapt to new trends. 

He worked almost exclusively with female singers during this period, preferably the Lolita types, such as Chantal Goya, but also with Françoise Hardy. In 1960 he composed 'Tom Pillibi' for Jacqueline Boyer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest with it. He felt the need to record the composition himself. Together with his own orchestra he recorded four tracks for this EP. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7413
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Tom Pillibi', 'La belle au bois' / 'Tique taque', 'San Marino'

Der Troubadour - Lenny Kuhr

Not only did I buy 'El Trovador' last week, I also found the German version of 'De troubadour'. Lenny recorded both versions after her Eurovision win in 1969. There's are also English, French and Italian versions of the song, but those are even harder to find than these two. 

Fortunately all versions can be found online, on this page. I'll keep looking for those missing versions on 7" vinyl in the meantime...

My collection: 7" single no. 7412
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Der Troubadour' / 'Mais non, monsieur'

El Trovador - Lenny Kuhr

Lenny Kuhr made the Netherlands proud when she was one of the four winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 with her song 'De troubadour'. It was quite astonishing that a young girl with a guitar and a song in Dutch could get that far. It was the last time that the Netherlands would win in Dutch, by the way.

In order to appeal to the international audiences Lenny recorded the song in several languages. And since the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Spain that year it seemed logical to make a Spanish version. 'El Trovador' is a charming version of a wellknown song.

My collection: 7" single no. 7411
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'El Trovador' / 'Oh no señor'

Það sem enginn sér - Daniel

Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson (born 26 August 1969) is an Icelandic singer. He has been part of the local and international music scene since he started his career with the Icelandic pop group Nýdönsk in 1987. In 1989, he participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 for Iceland with the song 'Það sem enginn sér'. He finished in 22nd place, scoring no points.

The single has become a bit of a rarity. Online it isn't sold at all (at the moment), and at the record fair last week I could only buy the single for a bit of an inflated price. Still, it's worth it, because the song appears on this disc both in Icelandic and English.

My collection: 7" single no. 7410
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Það sem enginn sér' / 'No one knows'