# Foreign language songs that charted in English speaking countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783 "2018-09-23T14:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/101 "2018-09-27T00:11:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The non-English lyrics in All Night Long are [made-up gibberish](https://nypost.com/2013/09/21/five-surprising-facts-about-richies-classic-all-night-long/), only sounding like real words by accident (_Jambo!_, for one, is a Swahili greeting). I don’t know if it charted, but Sir Elton had _Solar Prestige A Gammon_ with bogus lyrics. Here’s a sample: _Solar prestige a gammon cool kar kyrie kay salmon Hair ring molassis abounding Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin_ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/102 "2018-09-27T00:50:56Z")
_Tiny Bubbles_, Don Ho ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/103 "2018-09-27T08:19:42Z")
_Fade to Grey_ by Visage has some fairly extensive spoken word passages in French. It hit the top 10 all over the world - including the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand - but didn’t chart in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/104 "2018-09-27T09:26:06Z")
This one probably shouldn’t count because it was only a hit in New Zealand and the language is Maori, New Zealand’s indigenous language, but what the hell, here it is anyway: [Poi E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQLUygS0IAQ) by Patea Maori Club ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/105 "2018-09-28T03:14:16Z")
“Chanson d’Amour” by Manhattan Transfer reached #1 in Eire and the UK in the spring of 1977, and #16 in the US on the “Easy Listening” chart. Kaoma’s “Lambada,” sung in Portuguese, was a worldwide hit in the summer of 1989, reaching #46 in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/106 "2018-09-28T03:24:40Z")
Macarena by Los del Rio deserves some mention. [Macarena - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena_(song)) 14 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in 1996. #1 Billboard song for all of 1996 and it won VH1’s contest for biggest one hit wonder in history. > **[Macarena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena_(song))** > > "Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album A mí me gusta, a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bayside Boys became an international hit and inspired a dance craze in the latter half of 1996 and part of 1997. This version topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100 in the US. The song got the group ranked the "No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All ... The damned thing was inescapable back then. In the remix, which was the single that hit all of those records in the US, the woman’s vocal track is in English. The two guys (Los del Rio) singing the chorus are doing so in Spanish. EDIT: And I didn’t realize this thread hit three pages, and EscAlaMike already mentioned in on page 2. Did we already cite this Billboard article listing the—according to them—16 foreign language songs that hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 100? [‘Mi Gente’ & Other Foreign-Language Top 10 Hot 100 Hits | Billboard – Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7997571/mi-gente-despacito-foreign-language-songs-hot-100-top-10) ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/107 "2018-09-28T09:54:41Z")
Some other ideas; Deep Forest “Sweet Lullaby” “Seven Seconds” Youssou N’Dour with Neneh Cherry ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/108 "2018-09-29T17:15:48Z")
I don’t know whether it ever charted, but [Águas De Março (Waters Of March)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF_Ekf6nHj8) by Elis Regina and Tom Jobim is in Portugese. As for Plaisir d’amour, on which Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling in Love is based, it was written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, and was based on a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. It’s been recorded many times, but the best-known version is probably by [Nana Mouskouri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WvXpgLtTwY). I don’t know whether it ever charted. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/109 "2018-09-29T18:16:12Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Macarena by Los del Rio deserves some mention. [Macarena - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena_(song)) 14 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in 1996. #1 Billboard song for all of 1996 and it won VH1’s contest for biggest one hit wonder in history. > > [Macarena - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarena_(song)) > > The damned thing was inescapable back then. In the remix, which was the single that hit all of those records in the US, the woman’s vocal track is in English. The two guys (Los del Rio) singing the chorus are doing so in Spanish. > > EDIT: And I didn’t realize this thread hit three pages, and EscAlaMike already mentioned in on page 2. > > Did we already cite this Billboard article listing the—according to them—16 foreign language songs that hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 100? ['Mi Gente' & Other Foreign-Language Top 10 Hot 100 Hits | Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7997571/mi-gente-despacito-foreign-language-songs-hot-100-top-10) Since that article was published “Fake Love” from BTS also reached number 10. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/110 "2018-09-30T00:31:58Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I don’t know whether it ever charted. If I know a song quite well from hearing it on the radio “back then”, I assume it charted. They used to play and replay the songs from the charts so if it was in constant replay it was probably a “hit”. Way back, they never really played anything else but chart songs. Over and over and over. A popular song could drive you crazy from saturation airplay. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/111 "2018-09-30T02:09:33Z")
“La Bamba” charted twice, once by Ritchie Valens and once by Los Lobos. “Never on Sunday/Ta Pedia tou Pirea” is worth mentioning. The English version charted, of course, but the Greek original version got an Academy Award. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/112 "2018-09-30T02:11:22Z")
> [@blob](#): > > If I know a song quite well from hearing it on the radio “back then”, I assume it charted. . . That’s not how I got to know these songs. I first heard Plaisir d’amour on a Jean Redpath record, and learned about the Mouskouri version from later research. I think I first learned about Waters of March by doing research into bossa nova. A lot of my musical knowledge comes from sources other than radio, so the fact that I remember something isn’t good evidence that it charted. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/113 "2018-09-30T02:19:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Would [“Iko, Iko”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MV62ZcIguw) by the Dixie Cups (and many others–original by James Crawford under the name “Jock-A-Mo”) count? Though nobody seems to be sure if it’s based on one language/creole, a combination of languages/creoles, a telephone game butchering of languages/creoles, etc. I’d read somewhere (I thought Wikipedia, but can’t find that exact cite) that the songwriter, or perhaps Lloyd Price, overheard an argument between an Indian (“Jock-a-mo”) and a Creole (“Fee-na-ney”) and set it to music. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/114 "2018-09-30T02:23:55Z")
I mentioned La Bamba which, of course, was discussed at some length in the original post. D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/115 "2018-09-30T03:05:48Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > That’s not how I got to know these songs. The radio was pretty much my only source of knowing songs when I was a little kid. My neighbour had albums and I knew the songs on those, but we didn’t really have any “modern” music and records didn’t get played. We’d have “singalongs” at family get-togethers, my uncle dessie would play the guitar and sing (and yodel :D) and my Auntie Hazel would play the piano (just about anything, people would say “do this!” and she could) but otherwise it was only the radio… ☹ (“You’re the reason I can’t sleep at night” was one of uncle dessie’s repertoire, isn’t it funny what you remember) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVH8w-qmSQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVH8w-qmSQ)Actually, it’s not a bad song ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/116 "2018-09-30T03:08:11Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I’d read somewhere (I thought Wikipedia, but can’t find that exact cite) that the songwriter, or perhaps Lloyd Price, overheard an argument between an Indian (“Jock-a-mo”) and a Creole (“Fee-na-ney”) and set it to music. More likely that he heard some patois by Mardi Gras Indians and wrote a song around it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/117 "2018-09-30T05:16:14Z")
> [@blob](#): > > If I know a song quite well from hearing it on the radio “back then”, I assume it charted. They used to play and replay the songs from the charts so if it was in constant replay it was probably a “hit”. Way back, they never really played anything else but chart songs. Over and over and over. A popular song could drive you crazy from saturation airplay. The Grateful Dead never had a Top 10 hit prior to 1987, but always got plenty of airplay. In general, though, you’re right and most stations have had very short lists of “heavy rotation” since the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/118 "2018-09-30T06:26:46Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > The Grateful Dead never had a Top 10 hit prior to 1987, but always got plenty of airplay. In general, though, you’re right and most stations have had very short lists of “heavy rotation” since the early 80s. That’s modern compared to when Nana Mouskouri was on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/119 "2018-09-30T07:32:19Z")
Has Enya (or anyone else) ever charted with a song in Gaelic? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783/120 "2018-09-30T12:20:31Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > …Does Louie Louie count as its own foreign language? 🙂 For the 67th time, LOUIE LOUIE IS NOT A ONE-HIT WONDER!! Oops, never mind, wrong thread. :o mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-songs-that-charted-in-english-speaking-countries/821783.md?page=7)