"L'amour est bleu" (French pronunciation: [lamuʁ ɛ blø]; "Love Is Blue") is a song recorded by Greek singer Vicky Leandros with music composed by André Popp and French lyrics written by Pierre Cour. It represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 held in Vienna, placing fourth.
| "L'amour est bleu" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Vicky Leandros | |
| Language | French |
| B-side | "Le Soleil A Quitté Ma Maison" |
| Released | 1967 |
| Length | 2:59 |
| Composer(s) | André Popp |
| Lyricist(s) | Pierre Cour |
| Eurovision Song Contest 1967 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | |
| As | Vicky |
| Language | |
| Composer(s) | |
| Lyricist(s) | |
| Conductor | Claude Denjean |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 4th |
| Final points | 17 |
| Entry chronology | |
| ◄ "Ce soir je t'attendais" (1966) | |
| "Nous vivrons d'amour" (1968) ► | |
It has since been recorded by many other musicians, most notably French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat, whose familiar instrumental version –recorded in late 1967– became the first number-one hit by a French lead artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
Background
editConception
edit"L'amour est bleu" was composed by André Popp with French lyrics by Pierre Cour. It describes the pleasure and pain of love in terms of colours (blue and grey) and elements (water and wind). The lyrics of the English version ("Blue, blue, my world is blue …") focus on colours only (blue, grey, red, green, and black), using them to describe components of lost love.[1]
Eurovision
editThe Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) internally selected "L'amour est bleu" as its entry for the 12th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and a Greek-born 17-year-old Vicky Leandros as its performer as Vicky.[2]
In addition to the French-language original version, she recorded the song in English –as "Colours of Love" with lyrics by Bryan Blackburn–,[3] German –as "Blau wie das Meer" with lyrics by Klaus Munro–, Italian –as "L'amore è blu"–, and Dutch –as "Liefde is zacht"–,[1] that were release in nineteen countries.[4][5]
On 8 April 1967, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Großer Festsaal der Wiener Hofburg in Vienna hosted by Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Vicky performed "L'amour est bleu" as the second song of the evening. Claude Denjean conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the entry.[6]
At the close of voting, It had received 17 points, placing it fourth in a field of seventeen, behind "Il doit faire beau là-bas" (France), "If I Could Choose" (Ireland) and the winning song, "Puppet on a String" (United Kingdom).[7] It was succeeded as Luxembourgian representative at the 1968 contest by "Nous vivrons d'amour" by Chris Baldo & Sophie Garel.
Aftermath
editVicky Leandros went on to win Eurovision five years later with the song "Après toi", again representing Luxembourg.
"L'amour est bleu" achieved greater success through cover versions of the song by other artists. Some forty years after its original release, "L'amour est bleu", along with Domenico Modugno's "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (better known as "Volare") and Mocedades' "Eres tú", still counts as one of very few non-winning Eurovision entries ever to become a worldwide hit. The song has since become a favourite of Contest fans, most notably appearing as part of a medley introducing the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, one of only three non-winning songs to be involved (the others being "Dschinghis Khan" and "Nel blu dipinto di blu").
Chart history
editThe song was a modest hit in Europe, and had some success in Japan and Canada (No. 40).[8]
Weekly charts
edit| Chart (1967–68) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] | 18 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] | 45 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] | 40 |
| Japan[12] | 15 |
| West Germany (GfK)[13] | 27 |
Legacy
editPaul Mauriat version
edit| "Love Is Blue (L'amour est bleu)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Paul Mauriat | ||||
| from the album Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat – Volume 5 | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | January 1968[14] | |||
| Recorded | Late 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:31 | |||
| Label | Philips | |||
| Songwriter(s) | André Popp, Pierre Cour | |||
| Paul Mauriat singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
According to Paul Mauriat, who conducted/recorded an orchestral "easy listening" version of "Love Is Blue", he chose the song because it was published by his label, Philips Records even though he was not fond of the song. A DJ in Minneapolis played the recording and asked the audience to respond, and was inundated with phone calls about the song, and interest in the song then quickly spread around the country.[18]
The song became a number-one hit in the USA for five weeks in February and March 1968, the first recording by a French artist to top the Billboard Hot 100. (It remained the only French song to top the chart until 2017, when Daft Punk was a featured artist on Canadian artist The Weeknd's number-one hit "Starboy".) Mauriat's version became a gold record, and its five-week run at the top is the second longest of any instrumental of the Hot 100 era, after "Theme from A Summer Place". The song also spent 11 weeks atop Billboard's Easy Listening survey, and held the longest-lasting title honours on this chart for 25 years. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 2 song for 1968.[19] It is the best-known version of the song in the United States. The Mauriat recording also reached No. 2 in Canada[20] (No. 12 Year End),[21] and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.[22] The Mauriat album containing "Love Is Blue", Blooming Hits, also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LP's and Tapes chart for five weeks. The song sold fewer than 30,000 units in France, but 2 million singles and 800,000 LPs were sold in the US.[18]
In popular culture
edit- Mauriat's version was featured repeatedly in an episode of Chris Carter's television series Millennium titled "A Room with No View", which originally aired on 24 April 1998 on the Fox Network. During the episode, the omnipresent melody is used by a kidnapper to brainwash a group of youths.[23]
- His version is also briefly heard in The Simpsons episodes "There's No Disgrace Like Home" and "The Blue and the Gray."
- It was played over the closing credits of Mad Men's sixth-season episode "The Flood", set in April 1968.[24]
- The harpsichord riff from Mauriat's version was also sampled by the English electronica duo J Walk in their song "French Letter", as part of their 2002 album A Night on the Rocks.
- Mauriat's version is used as the theme music for American music producer Rick Rubin's podcast Tetragrammaton.
Chart history
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia[25] | 1 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26] | 19 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27] | 45 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[28] | 2 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[29] | 16 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[30] | 4 |
| Japan[31] | 18 |
| Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[32] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] | 15 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[34] | 4 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[35] | 6 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[36] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[37] | 12 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[38] | 1 |
| West Germany (GfK)[39] | 31 |
All-time charts
edit| Chart (1958-2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[40] | 174 |
Other covers
edit- Three other recordings of the song charted on Billboard Hot 100 together with Paul Mauriat's version at the same time in 1968. Al Martino's "Love is Blue" peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, and was the title song of one of his 1968 albums.[41] Claudine Longet's "Love Is Blue (L'amour est bleu)" peaked at No. 71,[42] while Manny Kellem's version reached No. 100.[5]
- Jeff Beck recorded a rock interpretation of Mauriat's version in 1968. It reached No. 20 in Ireland,[29] and No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.[43]
- The Dells recorded a soul medley, "I Can Sing a Rainbow/Love Is Blue", which reached No. 22 in the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 in the Billboard R&B Singles charts in the US, No. 10 in the Dutch chart,[44] No. 18 in Ireland,[29] and No. 16 in the UK charts, in 1969.[45][46]
References
edit- ^ a b ""L'amour est bleu" - lyrics". The Diggiloo Thrush.
- ^ "National Selections: 1967". Eurovisionworld.
- ^ "Bryan Blackburn - Obituary". The Stage.
- ^ "Phillips releases Eurovision tune". Billboard. 20 May 1967. p. 54.
- ^ a b Bronson, Fred (20 January 1996). "Mauriat in America: A Surprise Single Prove Instrumental to His Success". Billboard. p. P3.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1967". Eurovision Song Contest. 8 April 1967. ORF / EBU.
- ^ Barclay, Simon (2012). The Complete & Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. p. 42. ISBN 9781471756696.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 9, 1968" (PDF).
- ^ "Vicky – L'amour est bleu" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Vicky – L'amour est bleu" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100177." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 6 January 1968. p. 39.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Vicky – L'amour est bleu" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 48 – Track 7" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (30 October 2018). "The Number Ones: Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Blue"". Stereogum. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
...[easy listening] changed the same way the rest of pop music did. And there's a world of difference between "Calcutta" and Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Blue"...
- ^ Molanphy, Chris (15 September 2023). "Insert Lyrics Here Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Lanza, Joesph (10 November 2020). "Love and "The Internal Muzak Denial Move". Easy-Listening Acid Trip - An Elevator Ride Through '60s Psychedelic Pop. Port Townsend: Feral House. p. 122.
- ^ a b Legrand, Emmanuel (20 January 1996). "Paul Mauriat: The Interview". Billboard. pp. P3–5.
- ^ "Number One Song of the Year: 1946–2015". Bob Borst's Home of Pop Culture. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 2, 1968" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM Top 100 of 1968 - January 6, 1969" (PDF).
- ^ "Love is blue (L'amour est bleu) | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat – A Room With No View – Millennium Episode Music". millennium-thisiswhoweare.net. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
- ^ "Mad Men Music – S6E5: "The Flood" - TuneFind". TuneFind.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 17. 27 April 1968. p. 53.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra – L'amour est bleu" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra – L'amour est bleu" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100175." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ a b c "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love is Blue". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 28. 13 July 1968. p. 75.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 20. 18 May 1968. p. 54.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 1 June 1968. p. 56.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra – L'amour est bleu" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Flavour of New Zealand: Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra NZ Listner charts". Flavourofnz.co.nz.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra – L'amour est bleu". VG-lista.
- ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 80, no. 18. 4 May 1968. p. 53.
- ^ "Paul Mauriat: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 23 February 1968.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra – L'amour est bleu" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ Steve Huey. "Al Martino". AllMusic.
- ^ Claudine Longet: Awards, AllMusic
- ^ Jeff Beck: Singles, Official Charts Company
- ^ "The Dells - I Can Sing A Rainbow / Love is Blue". Dutch Charts.
- ^ The Dells: Awards, AllMusic
- ^ Dells: Singles, Official Charts Company
External links
edit- "L'amour est bleu" at Discogs (list of releases)