Song Of The Day 3/6/2014: Sœur Sourire, The Singing Nun - "Dominique" (Disco Version)

Errant Disco Decisions: Back before nuns could fly, many of them sang, and ain't nobody ever dropped melodious knowledge like Jeanine Deckers, aka Sœur Sourire, aka The Singing Nun. The story of her life -- which unfortunately took some difficult, ultimately tragic turns -- was set in motion when she topped the American charts in 1963 with the chirpy hit "Dominique." She was the second-to-last artist, before Bobby Vinton, to have a #1 hit before the Beatles started taking over the charts. Who's got time for the ecumenicals when the mop-tops roll into the hamlet?

After Sœur Sourire left her convent -- who let's say had reservations about her eager support of contraception and her lesbian relationship -- times got hard, especially in the fiscal realm. She didn't keep very good records and was hit with a back tax bill. Among other things, to offset her bills she re-recorded "Dominique" in 1982 with a synthesized dance beat. Technically it's post-disco, but could conceivably been cooked up by Giorgio Moroder or the like a few years earlier.

You will note the complete lack of acoustic guitar in the song, yet you'll see Sœur Sourire strum one throughout the video. That's what I call faith.


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