Elle était si jolie - Rika Zaraï

Rika Zaraï was 25 years old when she recorded this EP. It features four tracks and it included a version of the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, 'Elle était si jolie'. 

The beautiful colour picture sleeve of this EP is intact, but unfortunately the disc comes with its flaws. Fortunately 'Elle était si jolie' can be played on this, otherwise I would have been very disappointed.

My collection: 7" single no. 7439
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Tournez manèges', 'Elle était si jolie' / 'Demain c'est dimanche', 'Pourquoi je t'aime'

Que bueno, que bueno - Los Sirex

Los Sírex is a Spanish rock band founded in 1959 in Barcelona and active until 1972. In 1977 they got together again and were active until 2012. It was initially formed by three members: Guillermo Rodríguez Holgado, Antonio Miers and Manuel Madruga (Manolo), then briefly joined by the vocalist Santi Carulla in 1960. By the end of 1960, the band consisted of Antoni Miquel Cerveró ("Leslie" or "L'Anxoveta") as lead vocalist, Lluís Gomis (Lluís Gomis de Prunera, 1944-2012) on the drums, Josep Fontseré Portolés (Pepe or Pep, Barcelona, 1945) on the rhythm guitar, Guillermo Rodríguez Holgado on the bass and Manolo Madruga on the lead guitar. They named the band after a component of eyeglasses: Guillermo worked at his father's glasses factory, where they used a filament called Sírex to adjust the lenses to the frames of the glasses.

In 1965 they recorded a version of that year's Spanish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest: 'Que bueno, que bueno', originally performed by Conchita Bautista. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7438
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Que bueno, que bueno' / 'Chao chao (Downtown)'

Bara sexton år - Gitte

With 'Lille dukke' I thought I had the oldest Eurovision cover version by Gitte Haenning, but she was already active in 1961, at the age of fifteen. This EP features four tracks, and the last one is a version of 'Allons, allons, les enfants', the entry of Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest that year.

Gitte recorded the song with Swedish lyrics by Bo Eneby: 'Bara sexton år' ('Only sixteen years'). It's a charming piece of music, adding something that wasn't there in the original version.

My collection: 7" single no. 7435
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Varje stjärna i det blå', 'Borta bra, hemma bäst' / 'Gör vad du vill', 'Bara sexton år'

Lille dukke - Gitte Haenning

Throughout her career Gitte Haenning has been associated with the Eurovision Song Contest. She appeared on the Eurovision stage once, with 'Junger Tag', but she also recorded her share of covers of Eurovision songs. One of those cover versions appeared on this blog before: 'La, la, la' from 1968. 

This single predates that cover version by three years. 'Lille dukke' is a version of 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', with Danish lyrics by Thøger Olesen.

My collection: 7" single no. 7434
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Lille dukke' / 'Hvorfor tænke på i morgen'

Non, à jamais sans toi - Patricia Carli

'Non, à jamais sans toi' was the Swiss entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. The song was performed by the Greek singer Yovanna, but the song was never released as a single. (It did appear on a 'greatest hits' album by Yovanna many years later.)

Rosetta Ardito (born 12 March 1938), known by her stage name Patricia Carli, is an Italian and Belgian origin French singer, songwriter, lyricist and composer. She grew up in Belgium, where her parents had emigrated for work. After studying music and singing, she began performing in public and in a few years she became well known in Belgium and in France.

In 1965 she recorded 'Non, à jamais sans toi', hoping to cash in on the success of the song on the Eurovision stage. During last week's record fair I actually scored two copies of the single. First I found a two track single in the offiical 'Bel Air' record company sleeve. After a walk through the record fair I returned to the same seller, and as it turned out, he also had a four track EP with a picture sleeve! Luckily, both singles weren't very expensive, so I decided to buy that one as well. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7409, no. 7432
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Ce que tu es pour moi' / 'Non (a jamais sans toi' (no. 7409); 'Non (a jamais sans toi)', 'Ce que tu es pour moi' / 'Oublie que je t'aime', 'Pagliacci (Comme des pantins)' (no. 7432)

Poupée de cire, poupée de son - Janie Jurka

Janie Jurka released about a dozen singles between 1964 and 1967, but she remained mostly unknown - at least, it's not possible to find any information about the singer.

In 1965 she released this EP, featuring a cover version of the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest: France Gall's 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', as well as a cover of the French entry, 'N'avoue jamais'. The EP caught my eye because of the sleeve, which portrays the singer in a slightly sexy pose, not unlike the logo of this website! 

My collection: 7" single no. 7429
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', 'Mon amie la rose' / 'N'avoue jamais', 'Mais tu l'aimes'

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'

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'

Fernando en Filippo - Milly Scott

Although I already own a single of Milly Scott's 'Fernando en Filippo' (for 15 years, in fact!) I recently discovered that there are two different studio versions of the song. The other one is known as the 'slow' version, and this one is known as the 'quick' version. 

Comparing the two, it is certain that this version is quicker than the other one, and the instrumentation is different too. Quite why there are two versions, I don't know. But I guess the quicker version was recorded to make it more appealing. Or the slow one. I don't know.

My collection: 7" single no. 7408
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Fernando en Filippo' / 'Graag of niet'

Io si, tu no - France Gall

France Gall represented Luxembourg with 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965, and won. She went on to record the song in various languages. So far, I've been able to find the Japanese and German versions, and now there's the Italian version too.

This one comes in a  generic record company sleeve, but on the plus side: it's a promotional single. It's always a surprise to hear an artist sing in another language, and I think France does it well. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7407
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Io si, tu no' / 'Se agli amici dirai'

Weit, da wo der Strom beginnt - Robert Cogoi

I already have two singles of Robert Cogoi's 'Près de ma rivière': a regular 7" single and an EP. Both come with a picture sleeve featuring the same photograph of the singer. But he also recorded his song in German, and of course: that single also shows the singer in the same pose.

'Weit, da wo der Strom beginnt' is curiously hidden away on the B-side of this single; the A-side is actually 'Nur noch einmal nach Haus'. Sometimes record companies want to profit from a moment of fame (hence the red lettering on the sleeve) but they put unknown songs on the A-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 7405
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Nur noch einmal nach Haus' / 'Weit, da wo der Strom beginnt'

Aurinko laskee länteen - Viktor Klimenko

Viktor Savvich Klimenko (born 24 November 1942) is a singer who made himself known as the 'Singing Cossack'. He was born in Karelia, to a Russian Kuban Cossack father, Savva Klimenko, and a Russian mother, Olga Glotova. A few years after his birth, his family moved to Finland. There, he became a musician and appeared in several films, mostly appearing as himself. The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was his first appearance outside of Finland; his song didn't earn any points in the competition.

It's a shame, because it is really a beautiful song. Of course the language is a bit impenetrable, but that shouldn't have kept the juries from actually listening. Maybe you can't blame them to go for the most catchy tune, but sometimes more effort is rewarded. 

This single comes in a transparent Philips sleeve, which is a rare thing to behold.

My colllection: 7" single no. 7404
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Aurinko laskee länteen' / 'Lapin taikarummut'

L'amore va - Françoise Hardy

French star Françoise Hardy represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'L'amour s'en va' in 1963. Although she didn't win the contest, the song still became a bit of a standard. She also recorded the song in German as 'Die Liebe geht' and in Italian - which is the version I bought last weekend. 

'L'amore va' comes in an entirely different sleeve and I bought it from the same dealer from whom I bought the German version a year ago. That's why I love record fairs: sometimes you find people you can count on, and they always come up with the best goods.

My collection: 7" single no. 7402
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'L'amore va' / 'Il tuo migliore amico'

Alla andra får varann – Östen Warnerbring

In 1960 Siw Malmkvist represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Alla andra får varann'. The song was written by John Watson, a schoolmaster who had published a handful of songs up until that point. However, Siw never recorded the song in the studio.

During the Swedish national final for Eurovision, Östen Warnerbring also performed this song. And he did get into the studio to record the song. It's that single which I found online recently. It's a nice acquisition, especially since the song is very nice.

My collection: 7" single no. 7399
Found: Discogs.com, received 7 November 2024
Tracks: 'Alla andra får varann' / 'Vårens första flicka'

Elle était si jolie - Roland Barth

In 1963 Alain Barriere represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Elle était si jolie'. Back then it wasn't unusual that Eurovision songs got several cover versions even in the same year, and often on singles that were available for a reduced price.

This single presents a version by Roland Barth, an unknown singer whose version was released on several different EP's on the Tiercé Panorama label in 1963. Three versions are listed on Discogs, all of them featuring a photograph of a glamorous lady. Perhaps that was the way to get people to buy these discs.

My collection: 7" single no. 7380
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 October 2024
Tracks: 'Elle était si jolie' (Roland Barth) / 'Slow, always' (James Award)

Homburg - Procol Harum

Procol Harum is primarily known for their biggest hit, 'A whiter shade of pale', but of course they recorded more interesting tracks than that one. I mentioned 'Grand Hotel' on this blog many years ago, and more recently I bought 'Homburg', which is actually the follow-up to 'A whiter shade of pale'. The titular Homburg refers to the Homburg hat, manufactured in Bad Homburg in Germany.

The lyrics of the song contains the same surreal, dream-like imagery and feelings of resignation and futility as in the debut single. The theme is not as clearly Bach-like as in 'A whiter shade of pale'; nevertheless, the single was, on its release, criticised for being too similar to its predecessor. The single reached number 6 in the UK singles chart and topped the Dutch Top 40.

I found the single in a generic white sleeve, but I can't really complain for the 50 eurocents it cost me.

My collection: 7" single no. 7360
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'Homburg' / 'Good Captain Clack'

So ist die liebe, mon ami (N'avoue jamais) - Corry Brokken

Having won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957, Corry Brokken would continue to be connected to the event for many years. She did, of course, compete again in 1958, but she also recorded her fair share of cover versions of Eurovision songs. 

In 1965 she recorded 'Als je maar nooit bekent', a Dutch version of 'N'avoue jamais', the French Eurovision entry of 1965. She also recorded the song in German. That version was titled 'So ist die Liebe, mon ami'. The German lyrics were written by Carl Ulrich Blecher.

My collection: 7" single no. 7350
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 September 2024
Tracks: 'So ist die Liebe, mon ami' / 'Venedig in Grau'