Australian singles chart:
Venus entered the Kent charts on 21 March 1959 and peaked at #1. The song was #9 on the Top 100 of 1959.
Songwriter:
Ed Marshall
Producer:
Bob Marcucci
Record label of Australian release:
HMV
Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show, ABC America, 14 March 1959:
BONUS SONG BELOW – a disco version released by Frankie in 1976
Songfacts:
Venus, written by Ed Marshall, is about a man who prays to the goddess Venus to send him a woman who is basically her human equivalent. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Al Martino was offered this song before Avalon, but he turned it down.
Avalon’s recording career started when Chancellor Records president Bob Marcucci signed him up after he saw Avalon sitting on a street curb. He became a teen idol, and went on to fame starring in beach movies with Annette Funicello.
Venus was the second of ten singles by Avalon to chart in Australia, and the only one to reach #1. It was also the first of two American #1 singles by Avalon, who was a former trumpeter. The other was Why, which peaked at #17 in Australia in 1960.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/frankie-avalon/venus
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS SONG
A disco version of Frankie Avalon singing Venus was released in 1976. It didn’t chart in Australia.
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