Goodness Gracious Me (song)
Encyclopedia
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, and was a top 5 UK single in 1960. It features Sellers acting the role of an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n doctor, and Loren of his wealthy Italian patient – who fall in love.
The song was conceived and instigated by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, who was the producer at that time of Peter Sellers' comedy recordings. Martin commissioned David Lee and Herbert Kretzmer to write the song. Martin himself produced the recording. Martin envisioned the song as a recording to be incorporated in the soundtrack of the film The Millionairess
The Millionairess
The Millionairess is a 1960 British romantic comedy film set in London, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers...
which was being filmed at that time starring Sellers and Loren. However, the film's producers did not share his enthusiasm for including the song in the film's soundtrack and did not utilize it. The studio was however happy to see the song released as a stand-alone single to promote the film. In becoming a chart hit it succeeded in publicizing the film.
Though the song did not feature in the movie itself, some of the lyrics in the song refer to the film. For example: There's nothing the matter with it / put it away please referring to the scene when Epifania shows Dr. Kabir her tongue thinking she is ill
Hypochondria
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria refers to excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. This debilitating condition is the result of an inaccurate perception of the body’s condition despite the absence of an actual medication condition...
.
The song proved so popular in the United Kingdom that a follow-up song, Bangers and Mash
Bangers and mash
Bangers and mash, also known as sausages and mash, is a traditional English dish made of mashed potatoes and sausages, the latter of which may be one of a variety of flavoured sausage made of pork or beef or a Cumberland sausage....
, was released. Sellers sang and spoke the part of a Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
asking for plain English cooking, Loren singing the part of his Italian wife wanting to serve him Italian food. Both are featured on collections of Seller's comedy recordings.
In the 1990s, the song provided the inspiration for the title and theme tune of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio and TV comedy programme of the same name
Goodness Gracious Me (TV & radio)
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally on BBC Radio 4 and later televised on BBC Two based on four British Indian actors: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia...
.