Venus (Frankie Avalon song)
Encyclopedia
"Venus" is the name of a song written by Ed Marshall and Peter DeAngelis. The most successful and well-known recording of it was done by Frankie Avalon
and released in 1959 (see 1959 in music
). It became Avalon's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, where it spent five weeks atop the survey. The song also reached number ten on the R&B chart
. The song's lyrics detail a man's plea to Venus
, the Roman
goddess of love and beauty, to send him a girl to love and one who will love him as well.
The song was covered in the United Kingdom by Dickie Valentine who spent a week at number 20 in the Singles Chart in May 1959, the week before Frankie Avalon reached the Top 20 with his original version.
In 1976, Avalon released a new disco
version of "Venus". This helped revive the singer's career, as his success had been waning prior to its release. The re-recording of "Venus" was Avalon's last Hot 100 hit, peaking at number 46. It did reach number one on the easy listening chart. Avalon was quoted describing the remake: "It was all right, but I still prefer the original."
Johnny Mathis
released a cover version of the song in 1968, where it "bubbled under
" the Hot 100 chart at #111 in 1968. Barry Manilow
covered
the song in 2006 on his album The Greatest Songs of the Fifties
.
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
and released in 1959 (see 1959 in music
1959 in music
-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
). It became Avalon's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, where it spent five weeks atop the survey. The song also reached number ten on the R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
. The song's lyrics detail a man's plea to Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
, the Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
goddess of love and beauty, to send him a girl to love and one who will love him as well.
The song was covered in the United Kingdom by Dickie Valentine who spent a week at number 20 in the Singles Chart in May 1959, the week before Frankie Avalon reached the Top 20 with his original version.
In 1976, Avalon released a new disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version of "Venus". This helped revive the singer's career, as his success had been waning prior to its release. The re-recording of "Venus" was Avalon's last Hot 100 hit, peaking at number 46. It did reach number one on the easy listening chart. Avalon was quoted describing the remake: "It was all right, but I still prefer the original."
Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
released a cover version of the song in 1968, where it "bubbled under
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
" the Hot 100 chart at #111 in 1968. Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song in 2006 on his album The Greatest Songs of the Fifties
The Greatest Songs of the Fifties
The Greatest Songs of the Fifties is an album by veteran American singer Barry Manilow, released in the United States on January 31, 2006. A significant album for Barry Manilow, it finds the Brooklyn-born crooner taking on songs that were popular in his youth...
.
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1959 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)