Laleña
Encyclopedia
Laléna is the title of a composition by Donovan
for whom it was a Top 40 single in the autumn of 1968 reaching #33 on the Hot 100
in Billboard
.
In 2004 Donovan would reveal that the song was entitled for the actress Lotte Lenya
and that the song's lyric, addressed to a societally marginalized woman, was Donovan's reaction to Lenya's character in the film version of The Threepenny Opera
: "she's a streetwalker, but in the history of the world, in all nations, women have taken on various roles from priestess to whore to mother to maiden to wife. This guise of sexual power is very prominent, and therein I saw the plight of the character. Women have roles thrust upon them and make the best they can out of them, so I'm describing the character Lotte Lenya is playing, and a few other women I've seen during my life, but it's a composite character of women who are outcasts on the edge of society."
"Laléna" was recorded in a September 1968 session at Olympic Studios
produced by Mickie Most
, session personnel being Harold McNair
on flute, Bobby Orr
on drums, Danny Thompson
on bass with the Royal Philharmonic strings; John Cameron was the arranger. Donovan was not working toward an album when he recorded "Laléna", having completed the tracks which would comprise his The Hurdy Gurdy Man
album in April 1968; that album and the single "Laléna" both were issued in the US in October 1968 (Donovan was at this time unable to have product released in the UK due to a contractual dispute). The single was also a hit in France reaching #22.
"Laléna" made its first album appearance in 1969 on Donovan's Greatest Hits and was a bonus track on the 2005 CD
release of The Hurdy Gurdy Man.
In 1978 a bootleg emerged which featured Donovan performing "Laléna" in a studio with Paul McCartney
on acoustic guitar: this tape was likely made November 1968 at EMI Studios London where McCartney was producing tracks for Mary Hopkin
's Postcard, an album on which Donovan played guitar.
The song has also been recorded by Deep Purple
on their 1969 Deep Purple
album, by Helena Vondráčková (in Czech) on her 1970 album Ostrov Heleny Vondráčkové and by Jane Olivor
on her 1977 album Chasing Rainbows.
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
for whom it was a Top 40 single in the autumn of 1968 reaching #33 on the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
.
In 2004 Donovan would reveal that the song was entitled for the actress Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
and that the song's lyric, addressed to a societally marginalized woman, was Donovan's reaction to Lenya's character in the film version of The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera (1931 film)
The Threepenny Opera is a 1931 German musical film directed by G. W. Pabst. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal's Nero-Film for Tonbild-Syndikat AG , Berlin and Warner Bros. Pictures GmbH, Berlin. The film is loosely based on the 1928 musical theatre success The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht...
: "she's a streetwalker, but in the history of the world, in all nations, women have taken on various roles from priestess to whore to mother to maiden to wife. This guise of sexual power is very prominent, and therein I saw the plight of the character. Women have roles thrust upon them and make the best they can out of them, so I'm describing the character Lotte Lenya is playing, and a few other women I've seen during my life, but it's a composite character of women who are outcasts on the edge of society."
"Laléna" was recorded in a September 1968 session at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
produced by Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
, session personnel being Harold McNair
Harold McNair
Harold McNair was a renowned saxophonist and flautist.-Background:...
on flute, Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr (drummer)
Bobby Orr is a jazz drummer and session musician.In the 1950s and 1960s, he was a fixture on the London jazz scene, principally as a founder member of Joe Harriott's quintet...
on drums, Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
on bass with the Royal Philharmonic strings; John Cameron was the arranger. Donovan was not working toward an album when he recorded "Laléna", having completed the tracks which would comprise his The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album and seventh album overall from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in October 1968 , but was not released in the UK because of a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow...
album in April 1968; that album and the single "Laléna" both were issued in the US in October 1968 (Donovan was at this time unable to have product released in the UK due to a contractual dispute). The single was also a hit in France reaching #22.
"Laléna" made its first album appearance in 1969 on Donovan's Greatest Hits and was a bonus track on the 2005 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
release of The Hurdy Gurdy Man.
In 1978 a bootleg emerged which featured Donovan performing "Laléna" in a studio with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
on acoustic guitar: this tape was likely made November 1968 at EMI Studios London where McCartney was producing tracks for Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
's Postcard, an album on which Donovan played guitar.
The song has also been recorded by Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
on their 1969 Deep Purple
Deep Purple (album)
Deep Purple, also referred to as Deep Purple III, is the third studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1969 on Harvest Records in the UK and on Tetragrammaton in the US...
album, by Helena Vondráčková (in Czech) on her 1970 album Ostrov Heleny Vondráčkové and by Jane Olivor
Jane Olivor
Jane Olivor is an American cabaret singer. She was initially compared, often favorably, to Barbra Streisand and Édith Piaf.-Background:...
on her 1977 album Chasing Rainbows.
- A televised performance of Donovan's "Laléna" included with Season 3, Episode 8 (Original Air Date: 12/08/1968) on the DVD: "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour – Best of Season 3":2 other Donovan tunes: "Happiness Runs", "I Love My Shirt".
External links
- Lalena (Single) - Donovan Unofficial Site
- http://www.sabotage.demon.co.uk/donovan/disco/singles.htm Donovan discography