Shocking Blue – Venus - Bohemia Afterdark

Description

“Venus” is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, released as a single in the Netherlands in the summer of 1969. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the song topped the charts in nine countries.

The song has been covered dozens of times by many artists. In 1986, English girl group Bananarama covered “Venus” for their third studio album, True Confessions, with the single reaching number one in six countries. The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows, and commercials.

Composition and recording

The song was written by Robbie van Leeuwen, Shocking Blue’s guitarist, sitarist, and background vocalist. Van Leeuwen wrote new lyrics set to music based on “The Banjo Song” by Tim Rose and the Big 3, which is in turn lyrically a modification of the 19th century song “Oh! Susanna” by Stephen Foster. Influences from other songs include the opening guitar riff that is similar to The Who‘s “Pinball Wizard“.

The song was recorded on a two-track machine in Soundpush Studio in Blaricum, the Netherlands. Van Leeuwen also produced the song.

In the Shocking Blue original version, the song’s lead vocals were performed by Mariska Veres. The lyrics, however, contained a typo in the line “A goddess on a mountain top”, with “goddess” written as “godness”, which was how Veres, who was at the time not perfectly fluent in English, sang it on the record and on television. Later recordings by other artists corrected the word.

Release and reception

“Venus” was issued in the Netherlands in July 1969 as a single, backed with “Hot Sand”, on the Pink Elephant label, a label specially created for Shocking Blue by Dureco. The song initially peaked at number three on the Dutch Top 40 on 12 July 1969, and remained at that position for a total of five weeks. It also reached No. 1 in Belgium, France, and Germany.

Jerry Ross, who was in Europe in the autumn of 1969 looking for European hits for release in the United States, was offered the song. He signed The Shocking Blue to his newly-created Colossus Records, and chose the record for release in the United States later that year. “Venus” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 7 February 1970, the first song by a Dutch band to reach No. 1 on that chart. On 28 January 1970, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of one million copies in the United States. Its success in the United States prompted further interest in other markets around the world in 1970, and it reached No. 3 again in the Netherlands, as well as the top 10 in the UK. The popularity of the song also spurred interests in other Dutch groups. Worldwide, the single has sold over 5 million copies.

In 1981, it was used to open the “Stars on 45” medley. “Venus” was included as a bonus track on the 1989 CD reissue of Shocking Blue’s second studio album, At Home, originally released in 1969.

Stereogum said, “It’s so clean and propulsive: that strum, that dinky organ riff, the Teutonic sneer in Veres’ voice. Veres snarls hard enough that it ultimately doesn’t matter whether or not she has any idea what she’s singing. The yelp on the hook — ‘She’s got it! Yeah, baby, she’s got it!’ — means nothing, but it sticks in your head all the same. The song works like a hook-delivery machine.”

“Venus”