Makes me wonder why Lesley recorded the German version in Germany. Maybe touring?"

Jim replied...

That's probably it. Paul Anka did some Italian versions in Rome, and French versions in Paris, and he was not the only one - just one of the earliest.

Remember, in Europe, in the late 50's early 60's, most American hits were covered by local artists.

The big names (Elvis, Orbison, Holly) rarely got covered, but Bobby Vee, Frankie Avalon, and other emerging acts, were occasionally edged out by English-language cover versions in the UK, and of course, far more frequently by local language versions in France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Naturally the US labels were pretty annoyed about this, but their local outlets pointed out how difficult it was to get airplay on an English language original, when a competent local-language version was available, so when US stars toured Europe's capitals, they would frequently record, or re-record, their biggest hits for the local distributor.

Do you have a recording date on the German session? I am curious simply because her English-language version did come out in Germany anyway.

• RE: 2nd Largest Hit - Lesley Gore - Goodbye Tony - John 09/08/2008 14:40:21 EDT (1)