Love is blue - Al Martino

I remembered (correctly) that I already owned a single by Al Martino; it was his version of Volare, which I bought over 12 years ago. While that was a hit for him in 1970, his version of 'Love is blue', which he released in 1968, was less successful. At least: it didn't chart in the Netherlands, but he still managed to reach number 57 in the US Billboard Hot 100 with it. 

The back of this sleeve is a real gallery of stars: it features an advert for singles by the Dave Clark 5, Ray Charles, the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Back in those days, big stars were all over the place, and they would endure for decades. Compare that to nowadays, and you'll be blue in an instant.

My collection: 7" single no. 6632
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Love is blue' / 'I'm carrying the world on my shoulder'

Aprite le finestre - Willy Alberti

I have yet to find a copy of 'Aprite le finestre' by Franca Raimondi. She performed the song during the first ever edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, after having won the Italian national final. The single is, of course, extremely rare, being over 65 years old.

In the meantime, I found this EP by Willy Alberti, featuring his version of the song. The EP, simply titled 'Willy Alberti', features four different Italian songs, and it marks the first time Willy recorded a Eurovision song. This EP is as old as the Italian single, but apparently it's much less sought after. I was quite pleased with the state it's in, it's a beautiful copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6630
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Aprite le finestre', 'La vita e' un paradiso di bugie' / 'Mia cara Carolina', 'Ricordate Marcellino?'

Nel blu dipinto di blu - Willy Alberti

While I am generally not terribly convinced of the merits of Dutch artists, this single by Willy Alberti was curious enough to get my hands on it. Willy, the father of Willeke who entered the Eurovision Song Contest during the Nineties with a terribly oldfashioned song, had an interesting career, singing lots of Italian standards - and his version of 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' was only one of those singles.

Between 1956 and 1960 he recorded a handful of Italian Eurovision Song Contest songs, and this single was just one of them. It is backed with a cheerful version of 'Nanni (Qua gita a li castelli)', a cheerful song composed by Franco Silvestri.

My collection: 7" single no. 6631
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' / 'Nanni (Qua gita li castelli)'

For Vår Jord - Karoline Krüger

Karoline Krüger was born in Bergen (Norway) on 13 February 1970 - exactly 52 years ago today. Her first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called 'Halvsju'. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by winning the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song 'For vår jord' ('For our earth'), while still a student at Langhaugen Skole (1986–89). This qualified her for the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 final, held that year in the Irish capital Dublin, where she finished in fifth place. 

Later that same year she released her debut CD, 'Fasetter'. Krüger is married to another familiar Norwegian singer Sigvart Dagsland, and together they have two daughters, Sophie (born in 1998) and Emma (born in 2002). Krüger continued to release albums until very recently, all of them in Norwegian. The Christmas album 'Jul', released in 2013, was recorded together with her husband. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6629
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 February 2022
Cost: €4,5
Tracks: 'For Vår Jord' / 'Hvorfor er det meg'

Uno per tutte - Emilio Pericoli

I already bought versions of 'Uno per tutte' by Marino Marini, Louis Neefs, Tony Renis and Robertino, but the version at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was performed by Emilio Pericoli. His version was considerably more difficult to get hold of. In the end I got this copy directly from Italy.

Pericoli managed to win the San Remo festival with his version, and then went on to the Eurovision Song Contest, where he ended up in third place. I guess a song like this would be less successful in this day and age, simply because the statement 'Uno [male] per tutte [female]' goes against the current #MeToo climate.

My collection: 7" single no. 6540
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Sull'acqua'

Dopo te (Après toi) - Vicky Leandros

Vicky Leandros recorded 'Après toi', the song with which she represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 - and won, in German as 'Dann kamst du' and in English as 'Come what may'. It's no surprise, then, that there are more international versions of this song. Recently I managed to buy the Italian version: 'Dopo te'.

There are also versions in Spanish, Greek and even Japanese - who knows, if I can find a copy for a reasonable price, those will also appear on this blog sometime. For now, though, this beautiful version in a pretty well preserved sleeve can be shown here now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6627
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Dopo te (Après toi)' / 'Il principe'

Tschau Tschau Bambina - Caterina Valente

One of the big names in entertainment history is Caterina Valente. Bon on 14 January 1931 in Paris (France), she became a singer, guitarist, dancer, and actress. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a European performer, Valente also spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. 

In 1959 she recorded a cover version of Domenico Modugno's 'Piove', also known as 'Ciao ciao bambina'. Caterina's version is in German, hence perhaps the transliteration to 'Tschau Tschau Bambina'. This copy is in perfect shape, which is rare for a 62 year old disc.

My collection: 7" single no. 6625
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Tschau Tschau Bambina' / 'Liebe kommt und Liebe geht'

Bambina (Volare Cantare) - Danny Marino

Danny Marino was born on 29 March 1936 as the son of Italian parents in Tunisia or Italy, at least he spent his youth in Tunisia as Salvatore Mezzasalma. After the age of 16 he went to Paris, where he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. To finance his studies, he played music with a friend in bars and nightclubs. Around the mid-1950s, his Italian dance combo received good engagement offers from Hamburg, which he immediately accepted. In Hamburg he has already performed under his stage name Danny Marino. The people from Heliodor noticed him and signed him. 

In 1958 he released this single, a cover version of Domenico Modugno's 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', otherwise known as 'Volare' (yep, there it is again). I was lucky to find this copy with an original record company sleeve - try as you might, you couldn't find one like this very easily. 

As a pop singer and chansonnier, Danny was relatively popular because of his performances, but there were no chart successes for him. In 1962 he founded a restaurant with his brother Fabio and his wife, which became a well-known and popular meeting point. In the 1970s the success of the bars, there were already several, dwindled and they had to be closed down one by one. He then went to Agadir, Morocco, where he ran an advertising agency. Already severely marked by an illness, he returned to Germany around 2003, where he died in poverty on September 16, 2003 in the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf.

My collection: 7" single no. 6624
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €3,5
Tracks: 'Bambina (Volare Cantare)' / 'Bleib' bei mir, Forestiera' 

Hallelujah (Deutsche Original-Version) - Milk and Honey

When an artist decides to record a song in different languages, this leads to an uncoordinated and often slightly frustration search. So many times I've seen a single I want - but then it's priced so ridiculously that I won't even try to order it. This happened, too, with the German version of 'Halleluja', the song that made Milk and Honey the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979.

I already own the English and French versions, of course, but the German version was harder to come by. Recently I finally succeeded, also because the online dealer also had a few other interesting singles that I wanted to have. (Postage costs would otherwise make this single much too expensive.) It's interesting to think that I would have been searching for this one for 13 years (considering I bought the French version in 2009) but that's not really the case: I only found out about the German version last year.

My collection: 7" single no. 6623
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Hallelujah (Deutsche Original-Version)' / 'Halleluja (Original Hebrew Version)'

Allons, allons les enfants - Colette Deréal

Colette Deréal was born as Colette Denise de Glarélial on 22 September 1927. Her professional career started when she released a handful of EP's in 1959. Her final single releases happened in 1972. In 1961, she represented Monaca at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Allons, allons les enfants'. It is a happy little song, quite in contrast with the other three songs on this EP that sound a lot less accessible. At the close of voting, it finished in 10th place in a field of 16 competitors.

Colette passed away on 12 April 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 6621
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Allons, allons les enfants', 'Lettre a Véronique' / 'Tu me feras danser', 'Tu dors'

 

Non andare piu lontano - Claudio Villa

Claudio Villa was born as Claudio Pica on 1 January 1926. From an early age he showed that he had a strong propensity for singing. He recorded his first album in 1946, and starred in his first film in 1952. His first appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest happened in 1962 with the song 'Addio Addio'. This happened after several appearances on the Italian San Remo festival. 

In 1967 he returned to the Eurovision stage with 'Non andare piu lontano'. This appearance was slightly less successful: whereas he reached 9th place in 1962, this time he only made it to 11th place. The slightly pompous song has not made a big impression on Eurovision fans, although the single remains sought after. But perhaps that is because of the sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6620
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Non andare piu lontano', 'Cuore Zingaro' / 'Non dirmi addio', 'Zapattore'

O vento mudou - Eduardo Nascimento

Eduardo Nascimento was 23 years old when he represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. He came from Angola, at that time a Portuguese colony. There were suspicions that his impressive win at the Portuguese national final, the Festival da Cançao, with ‘O Vento Mudou’ was orchestrated by the Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar. His regime was accused of racism at the time, and so the dictator would have favoured sending Nascimento as the first black male singer to the Contest, just to wipe out such accusations. Nascimento ended up in 12th place in a field of 17 competitors. His song 'O vento mudou' didn't make the history books, but it is a song that ends in a very rousing way. It's definitely worth a listen. 

In 1969, Nascimento retired from the music industry and focused on his other passion: aviation. After training as a commercial airline pilot for TAP Air Portugal, he worked in this business for decades. In 2019 he appeared at the Festival da Canção alongside Cais Sodre Funk Connection, to sing ‘O Vento Mudou’ once more. He passed away, aged 76, at a hospital in Lisbon on 22 November 2019. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6619
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €10
Tracks: 'O vento mudou', 'A lenda do rochedo' / 'Stop please don't cry', 'Um homem só'

Volare - Bobby Rydell

Bobby Rydell was born as Robert Louis Ridarelli on 26 April 1942. After winning a talent show in 1950 he gained a spot on Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club, where he remained for several years. Near the end of the Fifties he signed a contract with Cameo Records and enjoyed a handful of hits. 

In 1960, he recorded a cover version of 'Volare', a song we know as 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', performed by Domenico Modugno at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958.  It was a big hit in the USA, peaking at number 4, whereas it also reached number 22 in the UK singles chart. This EP is a Swedish copy, but I don't know if it was a hit in Sweden. Rydell continued to make music until well into the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 6617
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 75 SEK
Tracks: 'Volare', 'I'd do it again' / 'Little bitty girl', 'What'd I say'

Love is blue (L'amour est bleu) - Ted Heath and his music

Received on the same day as the version by Santo & Johnny, here's another cover version of 'L'amour est bleu'. Ted Heath led what is widely considered Britain's greatest post-war big band, recording more than 100 albums, which sold over 20 million copies. They were the most successful band in Britain during the 1950s.

Their version of 'L'amour est bleu'  was released in 1968 - a year after Vicky Leandros' performance at the Eurovision Song Contest. Ted Heath died the year after that, in 1969. His band remained in existence, surviving his passing until 2000.

My collection: 7" single no. 6616
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 30 SEK
Tracks: 'Love is blue (L'amour est bleu)' / 'Cherokee'

Catherine - Romuald

I predicted this last month, and here it is: 'Catherine' by Romuald. I received the Spanish version exactly a month ago, and this EP features the original verion in French. 

Romuald Figuier represented Luxembourg when he performed this song on the Eurovision stage in Spain, and he finished in 11th place. His song was covered by Daniele Vidal - but regular readers of this blog already know that, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6607
Found: Ebay, received 18 January 2022
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Catherine', 'Seul notre amour n'a pas changé' / 'Meme un enfant', 'Les tambours du vent'

Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej - Malta

'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' was the winner of the Swedish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. The duo Malta, consisting of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp, ran into a problem when they went on to the international Contest: their name was similar to a country - and although Malta did not participate in 1973, they still had to change their name. They became Nova, and their song was translated into English, and became 'You're summer'. 

This single features the original Swedish version, and to add to the excitement the sleeve has been signed by Claes and Göran. I don't have an official confirmation, but the signatures look authentic enough. The B-side 'Här kommer sol' is a Swedish version of - you guessed it - the Beatles' 'Here comes the sun'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6615
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 30 SEK
Tracks: 'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' / 'Här kommer sol'

12th House - Delegation

Buying singles online goes a little bit different than in a real shop. Often you search for songs or artist you already know. In this case, I was searching for singles that were produced by Tony Mansfield - one of my favourite producers - and I came across this interesting little disc.

I knew the song '12th house' as a track by New Musik. It was released as a B-side to their single 'All You Need Is Love'. However, the track was also recorded by a band called Delegation. It turns out their version was actually first released in 1980 - a year before the New Musik version. The track was written - and in the case of Delegation, not produced - by Tony Mansfield. I ordered this single as a matter of interest and I was not disappointed. It's a nice take on a song that I am very familiar with. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6614
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 29 SEK
Tracks: '12th house' / 'Singing'

La belle amour - Paule Desjardins

This EP presents four songs by Paule Desjardins, who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 with 'La belle amour'. It's interesting how little is known about this song. It was composed by Guy Lafarge (5 May 1904 - 17 December 1990) and written by Francis Carco (3 July 1886 - 26 May 1958). 

The song finished in second place, behind Corry Brokken's 'Net als toen', the first time the Netherlands took home the prize. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6618
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 100 SEK
Tracks: 'La chanson de Lima', 'La belle amour' /  'Amour perdu', 'Dis-moi quelque chose de gentil'

Love is blue - Santo & Johnny

Vicky Leandros participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'L'amour est bleu' in 1967. Despite the fact that the song didn't win, a whole load of cover versions of the song exists, including the most famous one - an instrumental version by Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra.

This single also presents an instrumental version, but it has to be said that the sleeve of this single is a lot more attractive than the Paul Mauriat one. The designers opted for a bodypainted model, with all the lettering and design that was so popular around that time. Santo & Johnny were an American duo from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born on 24 October 1937) and Johnny Farina (born on 30 April 1941). They continued to release albums and singles until the end of the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 6612
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Love is blue' / 'Hello goodbye'

April, april - Lill-Babs

Lill-Babs represented Sweden in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'April, april'. It had been performed by Siw Malmkvist and Gunnar Wiklund in the national final, but Lill-Babs was selected to perform the song in Cannes. The song was not particularly successful: it finished in 14th place in a field of 16 competitors. 

Lill-Babs continued her career throughout the following decades. A two-part documentary was broadcast on Swedish TV4 in 2017 called 'Lill-Bas, Leva livet' ('Lill-Babs, to live life'), which presented her life and career. She died on 3 April 2018 after suffering from cancer and heart failure.

My collection: 7" single no. 6613
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 100 SEK
Tracks: 'April april', 'Hem hem till lilla järvsö' / 'Gummi-boll', 'Fröken Blyg'