| Gondolier | |
| Cover: | Gondolier EP by recording artist Dalida.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Caption: | Cover of EP |
| Artist: | Dalida |
| Recorded: | December 9, 1957 |
| Studio: | Hoche |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 2:55 |
| Label: | Barclay |
| Composer: | Pete DeAngelis |
| Lyricist: | Jean Broussolle |
"Gondolier" is a song by the French singer Dalida, first released on EP in December 1957. It was her second major hit after "Bambino". Reaching No. 1 on both the La Bourse des Chansons chart and the Music Hall chart in France, it was the title song for Dalida's 1958 album Gondolier.[1] The song also reached No. 1 on the Belgian and Canadian charts.[2]
The song's melody was composed by Peter De Angelis with lyrics by Jean Broussolle.[3] It was released as promotional single on February 22, 1957,[4] but it received no promotion because of the prolonged success of "Bambino".[4]
As the song did not reach its audience, De Angelis and his colleague Bob Marcucci[5] wrote the English language version which gained success in the US and UK in mid 1957.[6] During an interview in 1958, Dalida said, "I heard on radio Petula Clark singing it in English, and I like it very much so I decided to use the song for my Christmas special show."
On the end of 1957, Dalida used "Gondolier" as the title song of a French TV Christmas special, in which she was the main attraction. The song was issued on EP the next day and it gained instant success.[4] It entered the charts at #1 in the first week of January 1958, and eventually spent 53 weeks in the top 20, until the last week of December 1958.[7] It spent 9 weeks as #1 in January and February and again reached #1 for 10 weeks during the summer, earning Dalida her third gold disc.[8]
Eventually, it became the most sold record of 1958,[7] so promotions through TV and concert performances made the song a pop standard in France and one of Dalida's signature tracks.[9]
"Gondolier" was covered by many artists.
In English, the song has been recorded by several artists under the title With all my Heart, including:
| Chart | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 1 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) | 1 | |
| Canada[16] | 1 | |
| France (Bourse des chansons)[17] | 1 | |
| France (Music Hall Charts)[18] | 1 |