Era (song)

For the song by Opeth, see Sorceress (Opeth album).
"Era"
Single by Wess and Dori Ghezzi
from the album Wess & Dori
LanguageItalian
Released1975
Genrepop
LabelDurium
Songwriter(s)
Wess and Dori Ghezzi singles chronology
"Un corpo e un'anima"
(1974) 		"Era"
(1975) 		"È l'amore che muore"
(1975)
Music video
"Era" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 1975 entry
Country
Artist(s)
As
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Pier Natale Massara
Finals performance
Final result
3rd
Final points
115
Entry chronology
◄ "Sì" (1974)
"We'll Live It All Again" (1976) ►

"Era" (English translation: "It Was") was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, composed by British-Italian singer-songwriter Shel Shapiro (born David Norman Shapiro, formerly of The Rokes and Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys) and Andrea Lo Vecchio, and performed in Italian by American-born singer Wesley Johnson, known as Wess, and Italian Dori Ghezzi.

Background

Starting with "Voglio stare con te", an Italian version of Brotherhood of Man's hit "United We Stand", in the 1970s Wess and Dori Ghezzi enjoyed a number of hits, notably "Tu nella mia vita" and "Con chi stai con chi sei".[1] They were chosen to represent Italy at Eurovision following their victory at Canzonissima with the song "Un corpo e un'anima".[2][3]

At Eurovision

The song was performed nineteenth on the night, following Sweden's Lars Berghagen with "Jennie, Jennie"). At the close of voting, it had received 115 points, placing it 3rd in a field of 19.

It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1976 contest by Al Bano & Romina Power with "We'll Live It All Again".

Other versions

The duo also recorded the song in English ("Fallin'"), French ("Qui vivra verra") and Spanish ("Era").[4]

Among the artists who covered the song, Bessy Argyraki and Robert Williams recorded a Greek version titled "Μόνο".[5]

Charts

Classement (1975) Meilleure
position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[6] 12
Norway (VG-lista)[7] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 6

References

  1. ^ Deregibus, Enrico (2006). Dizionario completo della canzone italiana (in Italian). Giunti. p. 216. ISBN 978-88-09-04602-3.
  2. ^ "Dori Ghezzi con Wess all'Eurofestival". La Stampa. No. 17. 24 January 1975. p. 9.
  3. ^ Anselmi, Eddy (2009). Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics. pp. 265, 942. ISBN 8863462291.
  4. ^ Rateyourmusic.com, Wess & Dori Ghezzi discography entry
  5. ^ "Era by Wess e Dori Ghezzi". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Se stiamo insieme".
  7. ^ "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era". VG-lista. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Wess & Dori Ghezzi" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 May 2022.