Donna (10cc song)

Last updated

"Donna"
Donna (10cc song).jpg
Single by 10cc
from the album 10cc
B-side "Hot Sun Rock"
Released23 September 1972
Genre
Length2:53
Label UK Records
Songwriter(s) Lol Creme
Kevin Godley
10cc singles chronology
"Donna"
(1972)
"Johnny Don't Do It"
(1972)

"Donna" is the first single by British art pop band 10cc. Released in 1972, it peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. [1] The song was written by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley.

Contents

Overview

"Donna", a parody of doo-wop songs [2] (see also "Donna" by Ritchie Valens), was originally written as a potential B-side to the song "Waterfall". The song features sharp contrasts between falsetto in the chorus (Creme) and deep monotone vocals (Godley) in the verse. The melody line is similar to the Beatles song "Oh! Darling". [3] [4]

Band member Eric Stewart has said: "We knew it had something. We only knew of one person who was mad enough to release it, and that was Jonathan King." [2] The song was subsequently released on King's UK Records label. The band had considered releasing it under the name of "Doctor Father Part Two", resurrecting a band name they had used for their 1970 song "Umbopo". Band manager Harvey Lisberg said there was "a vague sort of plan at that time to keep on bringing out records under different names until they got a hit". [2]

Upon release of the single in the U.S., Record World said that "This Frank Zappa-ish production is currently a top record in England and is silly enough to make it here." [5]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1972)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] 53
Ireland (IRMA) [7] 2
France (SNEP) [8] 7
UK Singles (OCC) [9] 2
Chart (1973)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [10] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [11] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)Rank
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [12] 26
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13] 20
UK [14] 26

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10cc</span> British art rock band

10cc are a British rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured two songwriting teams. Stewart and Gouldman were predominantly pop songwriters, who created most of the band's accessible songs. Godley and Creme were the predominantly experimental half of 10cc, featuring art and cinematically inspired writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godley & Creme</span> English rock duo

Godley & Creme were an English rock duo formally established in Manchester in 1977 by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. In 1979, they directed their first music video with the single "An Englishman in New York". After this, they became involved in the production of videos for artists such as Ultravox, the Police, Yes, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Wang Chung, as well as directing the groundbreaking video for their 1985 single "Cry". The duo split at the end of the 1980s. Both have since been involved in music videos, TV commercials, and sporadic music projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Money, Money, Money</span> 1976 single by ABBA

"Money, Money, Money" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus with Anni-Frid Lyngstad singing lead vocals. It was released on 1 November 1976, as the second single from their fourth album, Arrival (1976). The B-side, "Crazy World", was recorded in 1974 during the sessions for the album ABBA. The song is sung from the viewpoint of a woman who, despite hard work, can barely keep her finances in surplus, and therefore desires a well-off man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Not in Love</span> 1975 song by British band 10cc

"I'm Not in Love" is a song by British group 10cc, written by band members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. It is known for its innovative and distinctive backing track, composed mostly of the band's multitracked vocals. Released in the UK in May 1975 as the second single from the band's third album, The Original Soundtrack, it became the second of the group's three number-one singles in the UK between 1973 and 1978, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. "I'm Not in Love" became the band's breakthrough hit outside the United Kingdom, topping the charts in Canada and the Republic of Ireland as well as peaking within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.

<i>How Dare You!</i> (album) 1976 studio album by 10cc

How Dare You! is the fourth album by British band 10cc. Released in 1976, it included UK hit singles "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and "Art for Art's Sake". The album was the band's third to have cover artwork by the Hipgnosis creative team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fade to Grey (Visage song)</span> 1980 single by Visage

"Fade to Grey" is a song by British new wave band Visage, released in November 1980 as the second single from their debut album, Visage (1980), on Polydor Records.

<i>Deceptive Bends</i> 1977 studio album by 10cc

Deceptive Bends is the fifth studio album by rock band 10cc, released in 1977.

<i>Look Hear?</i> 1980 studio album by 10cc

Look Hear? is the seventh studio album by 10cc, released in 1980.

<i>Windows in the Jungle</i> 1983 studio album by 10cc

Windows in the Jungle is the ninth studio album by British rock band 10cc, released in October 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreadlock Holiday</span> 1978 single by 10cc

"Dreadlock Holiday" is a reggae song by 10cc. Written by Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman, it was the lead single from the band's 1978 album, Bloody Tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cry (Godley & Creme song)</span> 1985 single by Godley & Creme

"Cry" is a song released by the English music duo Godley & Creme on 11 March 1985. It was included on the duo's album The History Mix Volume 1.

<i>The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer</i> 2003 greatest hits album by Donna Summer

The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer is a compilation album by American singer Donna Summer released by Universal Music on September 30, 2003. It features most of Summer's best known songs from the 1970s disco era, during which she became the most successful female of that genre, plus some of her hits from the 1980s, during which time she experimented with different genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)</span> 1982 single by Donna Summer

"Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" is a Grammy-nominated single from Donna Summer's self-titled 1982 studio album. The single was her 12th top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">'74–'75</span> 1993 single by the Connells

"'74–'75" is a song by American band the Connells from their fifth studio album, Ring (1993). The acoustic ballad was released as the album's third single in 1993, but it did not chart in the United States. It would later become a European hit for the band in 1995, reaching the top 10 in a total of 11 European countries and peaking at No. 1 in Norway and Sweden. It also charted in the top 20 of the United Kingdom. Since the Connells never had another hit, they are widely seen as a one-hit wonder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wall Street Shuffle</span> 1974 single by 10cc

"The Wall Street Shuffle" is a single by the British pop/rock band 10cc, released in 1974 on the UK Records label, from the band's 1974 album Sheet Music. It was the most successful single to be released from the album, reaching No. 10 on the UK chart.

<i>Greatest Hits 1972–1978</i> 1979 greatest hits album by 10cc

Greatest Hits 1972–1978 is a compilation album by the English rock band 10cc

"Life Is a Minestrone" is a 1975 song by 10cc released as a lead single from their third album, The Original Soundtrack.

<i>Little Fictions</i> 2017 studio album by English rock band Elbow

Little Fictions is the seventh studio album by English rock band Elbow, released on 3 February 2017 on Polydor Records and Concord Records. Produced by pianist and keyboardist Craig Potter, the album is the band's first without founding drummer Richard Jupp, who had departed from the band the previous year.

"Feel the Love (Oomachasaooma)" is a song by 10cc released as a second single from the album Windows in the Jungle in 1983. On several releases and editions the song is labeled as "Oomachasaooma (Feel the Love)".

"Silly Love" is a song recorded by an English rock band 10cc released as the third and final single from the album Sheet Music through UK Records in 1974.

References

  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 552/3. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 3 George Tremlett (1976). The 10cc Story. Futura. ISBN   0-8600-7378-5.
  3. Newton, Liam (16 November 2020). "A word in your ear". YouTube .{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Gouldman, Graham. "10cc Radio Interview 1992". www.the10ccfanclub.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  5. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 11 November 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 307. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Donna". Irish Singles Chart.
  8. "Song artist 303 - 10cc" . Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  10. "10cc – Donna" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. "10cc – Donna" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  12. "Jaaroverzichten 1973" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  13. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1973" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  14. admin (29 March 2021). "Year-End Chart 1972 – UK". YourMusicCharts. Retrieved 5 July 2023.