Diane (song)

For the Hüsker Dü song and Therapy? single, see Diane (Hüsker Dü song).

Diane is a song by Erno Rapee and Lew Pollack originally written as a theme song for the 1927 classic silent movie Seventh Heaven. In 1928, The Nat Shilkret Orchestra had a hit with the song. The song appears (without lyrics) on the 1961 Miles Davis Quintet album Steamin', originally recorded in 1956.

Mario Lanza sang this song on radio, and his recording has been released in a compilation album from 1996, "Be My Love." Sergio Franchi recorded this song on his 1963 RCA Victor Red Seal album Women in My Life.^[1]

The song was a popular single by Irish band The Bachelors released in 25 January 1964 on the Decca label (Decca F11799) and produced by Shel Talmy.^[2] It reached Number 1 in the UK's Record Retailer chart (though not in the Pick of the Pops chart used by the BBC or the NME chart used by Radio Luxembourg). In the US, "Diane" was The Bachelors most successful single, peaking at number ten on the Top 40 charts in 1964.^[3]

Jim Reeves also covered the song in the 1950s and so did The Mudballs in the 1990s, in the 2000s active as The Cardinals. Their recording has never been released officially though. Billy May and Vic Damone both covered the much-recorded standard.

The song title is sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'My Diane' or confused with The Beach Boys song My Diane, which is a different song.

Preceded by "Needles and Pins" by The Searchers

UK number one single "Diane" by The Bachelors 20 February 1964 (1 week)

Succeeded by "Anyone Who Had a Heart" by Cilla Black

References

1. ^ http://www.discog.com/ Artist
2. ^ http://www.thebachelors.co.uk/discography.htm The Bachelors discography
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 40.