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Dominique

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the song. For other uses, see Dominique (disambiguation).

"Dominique"
Single by Sœur Sourire
from the album The Singing Nun
B-side"Entre Les Étoiles"
ReleasedOctober 1963
Recorded1963
StudioPhilips Studios, Brussels
GenreFolk
Length2:53
LabelPhilips
Songwriter(s)Jeanine Deckers

"Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by Belgian singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order, of which she was a member (as Sister Luc-Gabrielle).[1] The English-version lyrics of the song were written by Noël Regney.[2] In addition to French and English, Deckers recorded versions in Dutch, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

It was a top selling record in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964.

Commercial performance

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"Dominique" reached the Top 10 in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964, topping the chart in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It reached the Top 5 in Norway, Denmark, Ireland and South Africa, with the song making it into the lower reaches of the Top 10 in the Netherlands, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. The song reached and stayed at No. 1 on Top 40 radio station WABC in New York City for the four weeks of 19 November through 10 December.[3] On WLS Chicago, the song was No. 1 for the three weeks 15–29 November 1963.[4] On both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and "Easy Listening chart", "Dominique" was No. 1 for the four weeks 7–28 December 1963.

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical) in 1964.[5] It was also a nominee for Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and Sœur Sourire was a nominee for Best Female Vocal Performance.[5] It was the second foreign language song to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1963, the first being "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. For the next ten years or so, although there were a number of hits with most of the vocals in a language other than English (e.g., The Sandpipers' "Guantanamera", René y René's "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero", etc.), no other purely foreign language song reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 until the Spanish language hit "Eres tú (Touch The Wind)" in 1974.[6] "Dominique" outsold Elvis Presley during its stay on the Billboard Hot 100; it was the second to last No. 1 hit before the British Invasion.

The song

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"Dominique" became a worldwide hit in 1963 and was the first, and only, Belgian number-one hit single in the American Billboard charts.

It is remembered chiefly for its refrain, which goes:

Domi-nique -nique -nique s'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant.
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu.

A literal English translation is:

Domi-nic -nic -nic went about simply,
a poor singing traveller.
On every road, in every place,
he talks only of the Good Lord,
he talks only of the Good Lord.

The lyrics of the chorus of Regney's English-language translation are:

Domi-nique -nique -nique, o'er the land he plods along,
And sings a little song.
Never asking for reward,
He just talks about the Lord,
He just talks about the Lord.

Chart history

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Cover versions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dominique, by the "Singing Nun", Lyrics and Music. National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved on 25 January 2009
  2. ^ Noel Regney, 80; Wrote Favorite Christmas Tune, Hit Song for Singing Nun By Dennis Mclellan. 30 November 2002 for The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 25 January 2009.
  3. ^ Musicradio77.com/Surveys/1963 10 December 1963
  4. ^ "Silver Dollar Survey". WLS. 15 November 1963. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Grammy Award Nominees 1964 – Grammy Award Winners 1964". Awardsandshows.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1990). The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (12 January 1974 through 4 May 1974). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-076-8.
  7. ^ a b Billboard Magazine, May, 1964. Billboard. 9 May 1964. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  8. ^ Billboard – Google Livres. 14 December 1963. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 62.
  10. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 62.
  11. ^ "Chart #351 – Monday, December 2, 1963".
  12. ^ Billboard Magazine, February, 1964. Billboard. 29 February 1964. p. 44. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  13. ^ Steffen Hung (21 February 2015). "Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  14. ^ "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. 22 January 2001. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "The Singing Nun". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 235. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Billboard Magazine, February 1, 1964". Billboard. 1 February 1964.
  17. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 14 March 1964. p. 46.
  18. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 63.
  19. ^ "flavour of new zealand – Home". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  20. ^ Steffen Hung. "Sœur Sourire – Dominique". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Bästa låtar 1963". S0416.tripod.com. 14 December 1963. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  22. ^ Billboard Magazine, May 2, 1964. Billboard. 2 May 1964. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  23. ^ Billboard Magazine, June 6, 1964. Billboard. 6 June 1964. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  24. ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyHit.com. 16 March 2000. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  25. ^ "The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire) Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard.com. 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  26. ^ a b Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, 28 December 1963
  27. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1964". Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  29. ^ Sandler & Young CD Collection Archived 2008-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 25 January 2009
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