Venus (2:23)

“Venus” is the name of a song written by Ed Marshall. The most successful and well-known recording of it was done by Frankie Avalon and released in 1959 (see 1959 in music). It became Avalon’s first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it spent five weeks atop the survey; the song also reached #10 on the R&B chart. The song’s lyrics detail a man’s plea to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, to send him a girl to love and one who will love him as well.

In 1976, Avalon released a new disco version of “Venus”. This helped revive the singer’s career, as his success had been waning prior to its release. The re-recording of “Venus” was Avalon’s last Hot 100 hit, peaking at #46. It did, however, reach #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Avalon was quoted describing the remake: “It was all right, but I still prefer the original.”