The Singing Nun (album)

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The Singing Nun
A black-and-white line drawing of women playing and listening to music in a forest
Cover to the initial Belgian release, entitled Sœur Sourire (Smiling Sister), the Singing Nun's stage name in French-speaking markets
Studio album by
The Singing Nun
ReleasedAugust 1963 (1963-08)[1]
RecordedEarly 1962[2]
StudioPhilips Studios, Brussels, Belgium
GenreChristian, folk[3]
Length31:59
LanguageBelgian French
LabelPhilips
The Singing Nun chronology
The Singing Nun
(1963) 		Her Joys, Her Songs
(1964)

The Singing Nun is the debut studio album by Belgian musician and nun The Singing Nun, released by Philips Records in 1963. A surprise hit, the album topped the Billboard 200 and other charts internationally for several weeks and sold millions of copies, particularly on the strength of the single "Dominique". The album was initially intended to be a give-away, recorded for local children who enjoyed music from the local nunnery,[2] but Philips decided to try giving it a widespread release, resulting in a huge commercial and critical success, garnering sales certifications and award nominations.

Reception[edit]

A brief review for retailers in Billboard recommended this album for French-language speakers and folk music fans.[3] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Lindsay Planer writing that "the enormously infectious charm of the tunes" overcomes the novelty act status of The Singing Nun and her "musical gifts are undeniable and phonetically so well written and conveyed that the language barrier becomes reduced to the point of irrelevance".[4] In a review for a 2014 reissue, John Clarke of The Independent highlighted several tracks and wrote that "perhaps like a box of chocolates there’s a bit too much to take at one sitting".[5]

At the 1964 Grammys, this album was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Religious Performance, "Dominique" was nominated for Record of the Year, and the artist was nominated for Best Female Vocalist.[6]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Soeur Sourire

  1. "Dominique" – 2:58
  2. "Sœur Adèle" – 4:29
  3. "Fleur de cactus" – 1:51
  4. "Complainte de Marie-Jacques" – 2:28
  5. "Je voudrais" – 1:55
  6. "Tous les chemins" – 2:41
  7. "Plume de radis" – 2:00
  8. "Mets ton joli jupon" – 1:28
  9. "Résurrection" – 3:50
  10. "Alleluia" – 2:53
  11. "J'ai trouvé le seigneur" – 2:59
  12. "Entre les étoiles" – 3:16

Personnel[edit]

Sales performance and chart history[edit]

Chart performance for The Singing Nun
Year Chart Peak
1963–1964 Billboard 200[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] 1

Sales for this release were initially slow, but rapidly expanded in late 1963.[1] By that time, The Singing Nun was selling 100,000 copies per week for a total of over 670,000 by mid-December[17] and "Dominique" had sold over 600,000 copies by the end of November 1963.[18] The album spent three months without charting, but after entering the Billboard 200 at 139 on November 9,[19] then reaching 54 the following week,[20] eighth place on November 23,[21] and second the following week,[22] the album began a 10-week stay at the top of the charts[2] that was stopped by Meet the Beatles the following February. As of 2018, it is one of only five non-English albums to top the Billboard 200 and the only one to do so for more than one week.[2] It spent a total of 36 weeks on the chart.[23]

The Singing Nun was the first artist to have the top-selling album and a single from that album be the top-selling single in America at the same time (Stevie Wonder's Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius and "Fingertips, Part 2" had topped the charts the previous year, but not at the same time; this is the only other time an artist's album and a single from that album had been number 1.)[17] The album was certified gold, with more than 500,000 sales at the turn of 1964[24] and as of 2006, this release had sold more than 2 million copies.[25] It was nominated for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Best Selling Album of 1963.[26]

This was the second album by a female artist to top the Billboard charts, after Judy Garland's 1961 Judy at Carnegie Hall[27] and as of 2012, it was one of only 11 albums by a female artist to spend 10 or more weeks at number one.[28] No other woman would have both the top album and top single until Mariah Carey in 1990.[29] This was also the first LP record to chart in Belgium, alongside an extended play release of these songs.[30]

This album was pivotal for Philips Records' success in the American market along with the single "Hey Paula",[31] and the label pushed out an English-language recording by Susan Stein[32] with new lyrics from Noël Regney by December 1963[33] and the label also recorded a collection of Gregorian chants at the Dominican Sisters of Fischermont, the Singing Nun's convent.[34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "'Singing Nun' Has Chi Talking". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 46. November 16, 1963. pp. 1, 6. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith (June 2, 2018). "BTS, Selena, The Singing Nun & More: Non-English No. 1 Albums on the Billboard 200 Chart". Chart Beat. Billboard.
  3. ^ a b "Special Merit Picks". Album Reviews. Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 37. September 14, 1963. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ Planer, Lindsay (n.d.). "Soeur Sourire – The Singing Nun". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Clarke, Jon (June 6, 2014). "Jeanine Deckers' The Singing Nun/ Soeur Sourire, album review". Culture > Music > Reviews. The Independent. ISSN 1741-9743. OCLC 185201487. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "Streisand & Soeur Sourire Vie for Top NARAS Award". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 15. April 18, 1964. p. 8. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 49. December 7, 1963. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 50. December 14, 1963. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510.
  9. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 51. December 21, 1963. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 52. December 28, 1963. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510.
  11. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 01. January 4, 1964. p. 20. ISSN 0006-2510.
  12. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 02. January 11, 1964. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 03. January 18, 1964. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510.
  14. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 04. January 25, 1964. p. 56. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 05. February 1, 1964. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 06. February 8, 1964. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510.
  17. ^ a b "Double No. 1 Scored by The Singing Nun". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 50. December 14, 1963. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510.
  18. ^ "Singing Nun Goes On; Dominates Disk Sales". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 48. November 30, 1963. p. 4. ISSN 0006-2510.
  19. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 45. November 9, 1963. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
  20. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 46. November 16, 1963. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
  21. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 47. November 23, 1963. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510.
  22. ^ "Billboard Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 48. November 30, 1963. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
  23. ^ "Top LP's". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 28. July 11, 1964. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
  24. ^ "2 Singles, 27 LP's Certified by RIAA". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 01. January 4, 1964. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510.
  25. ^ Gubin, Éliane (2006). "Jeanne Paule Deckers". Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles (in French). Racine. pp. 146–47. ISBN 978-2-87386-434-7.
  26. ^ "NAMR Members Cast Votes for 1963 Bests". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 07. February 15, 1964. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510.
  27. ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 2, 2011). "Over the Counter: Adele in Elite Company, And 'Mormon' Rules". Billboard Charts. Billboard. Vol. 123, no. 11. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510.
  28. ^ Trust, Gary (February 25, 2012). "Record-Setter". Whitney Houston (1963–2012). Billboard. Vol. 124, no. 01. p. 8. ISSN 0006-2510.
  29. ^ "Chart Beats". Billboard Charts. Billboard. Vol. 122, no. 01. January 9, 2010. p. 45. ISSN 0006-2510.
  30. ^ "Belgium". International News Report. Billboard. Vol. 74, no. 26. July 7, 1962. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510.
  31. ^ "'Cinderela' Firm Philips Celebrates 2d Anniversary". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 05. February 1, 1964. p. 3. ISSN 0006-2510.
  32. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 51. December 21, 1963. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
  33. ^ "Golden Has English Side for the Nun". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 49. December 7, 1963. p. 4. ISSN 0006-2510.
  34. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 40. October 3, 1964. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.

External links[edit]

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