Australian Charts:
Rasputin entered the Kent Music Report on 16 October 1978 and was a #1 hit. It was #7 on the Top 100 of 1978.
Album:
The song is on Nightflight to Venus which entered the Kent Music Report album charts on 24 July 1978 and peaked at #7.
Songwriters:
Frank Farian, George Reyam, Fred Jay
Producer:
Frank Farian
Record label of Australian release:
Atlantic
Wikipedia – Boney M:
Boney M was a Euro-Caribbean vocal group created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group’s primary songwriter.
Farian chose the name Boney M after watching the Australian television detective series Boney. He said: “I turned on the TV one day and it was the end of a detective series. I just caught the credits and it said Boney. Nice name, I thought – Boney, Boney, Boney… Boney M. Boney, Boney, Boney M. Nice sound. Simple.”
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boney_M
Songfacts – Rasputin:
Rasputin was a Russian monk who had a vision of the Virgin Mary. As a result he began to wander the country visiting monasteries and religious sects. He preached the best way to get close to God was to sin and then repent. The adulterous monk, (his surname was a derivation of the adjective “rasputny” meaning “loose living”), had remarkable healing abilities. Rasputin adhered himself to the Russian Czar Nicholas and his wife by his healing of the hemophiliac Alexei. He appeared to have the gift of healing their sick son every time he began to hemorrhage. Upset at his increasing influence over the Russian royal family, several Russian nobles poisoned and beat him in the basement of Yusopov Palace then shot him several times. The monk refused to die so finally he was drowned by his enemies in the canals of St Petersburg.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/boney-m/rasputin
Lyrics:
There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
He could preach the bible like a preacher
Full of ecstasy and fire
But he also was the kind of teacher
Women would desire
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 70s
Also on Bang a Gong from the Nightflight to Venus album: Rivers of Babylon
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
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