Venus (Frankie Avalon Song)
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| “Venus” | |
|---|---|
 1959 US single | |
| Single by Frankie Avalon | |
| B-side | “I’m Broke” |
| Released | January 1959 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 2:20 |
| Label | Chancellor |
| Songwriter | Ed Marshall |
| Frankie Avalon singles chronology | |
| “What Little Girl” / “I’ll Wait for You“ (1958)”Venus“ (1959)”Bobby Sox to Stockings” / “A Boy Without a Girl“ (1959) | |
| Audio | |
| “Venus” (1959) on YouTube | |
“Venus” is a song written by Ed Marshall and popularized by Frankie Avalon, whose recording was released in 1959 and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The 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.
Frankie Avalon recordings
1959 version
Songwriter Ed Marshall first offered “Venus” to Al Martino, who liked it but only felt it qualified as an album cut. Marshall then played it on the piano for Frankie Avalon, who recalled, “I listened to it, and the first time it just caught me immediately.” He recorded it three days later with producers Peter De Angelis and Bob Marcucci. In a live telephone interview on American Bandstand a couple of days afterward, Avalon told Dick Clark that it would be a hit. The single was released a week later.
Chart performance
“Venus” debuted on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart in the issue dated February 9, 1959, and reached number one in the March 9 issue, four weeks later. It spent a total of 28 weeks on the chart, five of which were in the top spot. The song also reached number 10 on the magazine’s R&B chart. The magazine ranked it as the number four song for 1959.
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for “Venus” by Frankie Avalon
| Chart (1959) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) | 2 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) | 1 |
| UK New Musical Express | 16 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B Sides | 10 |
Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for “Venus” by Frankie Avalon
| Chart (1959) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
All-time charts
All-time chart performance for “Venus” by Frankie Avalon
| Chart (1958–2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 154 |
1976 version
| “Venus” | |
|---|---|
_by_Frankie_Avalon_1976_US_single.png) US single of Avalon’s 1976 re-recording | |
| Single by Frankie Avalon | |
| Released | 1976 |
| Genre | Pop, disco |
| Length | 3:34 |
| Label | De-Lite, Polydor |
| Songwriter | Ed Marshall |
| Frankie Avalon singles chronology | |
| “Thank You for That Extra Sunrise” (1975)”Venus“ (1976)”Splish Splash“ (1976) | |
| Audio | |
| “Venus” (1976 re-recording; long disco version) on YouTube | |
In 1976, Avalon released a new disco version of “Venus” that was Avalon’s last Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at number 46 there and at number one on the magazine’s Easy Listening chart. Avalon was quoted as saying of the remake: “It was all right, but I still prefer the original.”
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for “Venus” (disco version) by Frankie Avalon
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 78 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) | 17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 (Billboard) | 46 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
Other charting versions
- Dickie Valentine enter the UK singles chart on March 19, 1959, with his recording and got as high as number 20 during his eight weeks there.
- Johnny Mathis reached number 23 on Billboard‘s Easy Listening chart and “bubbled under” the Billboard Hot 100 chart to number 111 in 1968.
- Jamie Redfern peaked at number 9 on the Go-Set Australian charts in 1973.
- Pat Boone – included in the album Ain’t That a Shame (1964).
- In Italy, in 1982, Peppino di Capri publishes the album Juke – Box (Splash, SPL 718) which contains the cover of Venus.
- Barry Manilow released a cover version of the song for his album The Greatest Songs of the Fifties in 2005.
- Venus – Frankie Avalon – Instrumental cover by Dave Monk
- Santo & Johnny “Venus”
- Venus. (Frankie Avalon) Guitar instrumental
- “VENUS” Rigo Tovar Instrumental Version of Frankie Avalon Hit
In popular culture
Avalon’s recording of the song was used multiple times in the Showtime series Dexter, as the favourite song of Arthur Mitchell‘s sister Vera.
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