Éthiopie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Éthiopie” | ||
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| Single by Chanteurs sans Frontières | ||
| B-side | Instrumental | |
| Released | 1986 | |
| Format | 12" maxi | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 5:25 | |
| Label | EMI Pathé Marconi | |
| Writer(s) | Renaud Séchan Franck Langolff |
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| Producer | Franck Langolff Thomas Noton |
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| Certification | Platinum France, 1986 | |
"Éthiopie" is a charity song recorded in 1986 by the collective band known under the name 'Chanteurs sans Frontières'. The song achieved a huge success in France, topping the chart for two months and becoming one of the best-selling singles in that country.
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[edit] Background and writing
Chanteurs sans Frontières was a French association founded in 1985 following the Anglo-Saxon model of the band Band Aid with the same purpose : providing assistance to victims of the famine then raging in Ethiopia. The association was presided by Antoine di Zazzo, the general director of EMI Pathé Marconi, and was led by Dominique Quiliquini (Renaud's wife), Francis Cabrel (treasurer), Franck Langolff (composer of music) and Rony Brauman (president of Médecins sans Frontières. The idea of a single was found by Valérie Lagrange and under the direction of Renaud.[1]
The song was written by Renaud and the music composed by Franck Langolff. It was produced by Franck Langolff and Thomas Noton.
The total donations reached 23,000,000 francs distributed to various associations : Médecins sans Frontières (90%), AICF, Médecins du monde, and Restos du Cœur.
[edit] Track listing
- "Ethiopie" (5:25)
- "Ethiopie" (instrumental) (4:07)
[edit] Artists who participated in the song
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[edit] Charts, certifications and sales
The single went straight to #6 on the French SNEP Singles Chart, on May 18, 1985. It jumped to #1 the following weeks and stayed at the top for eight consecutive weeks. After that, the single almost kept on dropping, but managed to remained for 14 weeks in the top ten and 22 weeks on the chart (Top 50).[2]
Certified Platinum disc by the SNEP in 1985 for a minimum of 500,000 copies sold,[3] the vinyl was quickly sold more than one million copies and yielded over 10 million francs (1 million euros ½), which were donated to Médecins sans Frontières association. It was the best-selling single of 1985 and the third best-selling single of the 1980s in France.
According to Infodisc website, the song is the eighth best-selling single of all time in France, with about 1,724,000 copies sold.[4] To date, this song remained the charity single the more sold in France.
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| Preceded by "We Are the World" by USA for Africa |
French (SNEP) number-one single May 25, 1985 - July 13, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Live Is Life" by Opus |
[edit] References
- ^ Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, p. 43 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
- ^ a b "Éthiopie", in French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ a b French certifications Infodic.fr (Retrieved April 21, 2008)
- ^ Best-sellings singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retireved April 21, 2008)
