"Grande, grande, grande"
Single by Mina
from the album Mina
LanguageItalian
B-side"Non ho parlato mai"
ReleasedJanuary 1972 (1972-01)
Recorded1971
GenrePop
Length3:57
LabelPDU
Songwriter(s)
Mina singles chronology
"Uomo"
(1971)		 "Grande, grande, grande"
(1972)		 "Parole parole"
(1972)

"Grande, grande, grande" is a 1972 Italian song, written by David William Moncrief, and composed by Alberto Testa and Tony Renis. It was a No. 1 hit for Mina in Italy and for Shirley Bassey released as "Never Never Never" in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. The 1973 Shirley Bassey single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.[1]

Mina version

"Grande, grande, grande" was a No. 1 hit on the Italian Singles Chart for Mina in 1972, from her No. 1 self-titled album. The single was released in early 1972 and entered the Top 10 the week of 26 February.[2]

... it was thanks to the work of a young bass guitar player, Pino Presti, who offered a more modern musical arrangement, that finally made Mina agree to performing it.[3][4]

After a steady climb to No. 2 (behind "Imagine" by John Lennon) the week of 11 March, the song seemed to have run out of steam after falling 2 places to No. 4 to new hits by Delirium, Nicola Di Bari and Nada ("Imagine" had dropped to No. 5). By 1 April the song had once again climbed to its peak No. 2 position where it remained the whole month of April before finally reaching No. 1 on 29 April. "Grande, grande, grande", arranged by Pino Presti,[5] ruled the charts the first three weeks of May until "I giardini di marzo" by her collaborator Lucio Battisti, and her own hit "Parole parole" knocked it out of the top spot down to No. 3 the week of 27 May. "Grande, grande, grande" remained in the top 10 until the week of 8 July, often trading places with "Parole parole". By the year's end, only "Il Padrino" by Santo and Johnny had enjoyed a longer life on the charts and Mina had to settle for the runner up position for 1972's biggest hit on the Italian singles chart.

Mina also recorded the song in English and Spanish.

Personnel

Original label (1972)
  • Mina – vocals
  • Pino Presti – arrangement, orchestra conductor, bass
  • Dario Baldan Bembo – organ
  • Andrea Sacchi – electric and acoustic guitar
  • Massimo Verardi – electric guitar
  • Bruno De Filippi – harmonica
  • Gianni Cazzola – drums
  • Mario Lamberti – congas
  • Gianni Bedori – flute
  • Al Korvin, Oscar Valdambrini, Fermo Lini, Giuliano Bernicchi – trumpets
  • Sergio Almangano, Arturo Prestipino Giarritta – first violins

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Grande, grande, grande"
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[6] 1

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Grande, grande, grande"
Chart (1972) Position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 2

Certifications and sales

Certifications for "Grande, grande, grande"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[8]
Sales from 2009 		Gold 50,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Shirley Bassey version

"Never Never Never"
Cover art for Dutch release
Single by Shirley Bassey
from the album Never Never Never
B-side"Day By Day"
ReleasedFebruary 1973 (1973-02)
GenrePop
Length3:35
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Noel Rogers
Shirley Bassey singles chronology
"Jezahel"
(1973)		 "Never Never Never"
(1973)		 "Make the World a Little Younge"
(1973)

Shirley Bassey had a No. 8 hit in the UK with "Never Never Never", an English version with lyrics by Norman Newell. It was also No. 1 in Australia, No. 1 in South Africa, No. 3 in Singapore, and her only single to make three US charts: No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and No. 67 on the R&B Chart.

Charts

Chart performance for "Never Never Never"
Chart (1973) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 29
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 13
Singapore (Rediffusion)[14] 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[14] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 8
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[16] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 48
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[18] 67
West Germany (Official German Charts)[19] 48

Other cover versions

References

  1. ↑ The Go Set Chart Book, Australia's First National Charts page 12, ISBN 978-1-387-71246-5.
  2. ↑ Hit Parade Italia
  3. ↑ Grande, Grande, Grande (Never, Never, Never) by Mina
  4. ↑ Hit Parade Italia Grande grande grande
  5. ↑ Mina Mazzini, sito ufficiale Mina Grande grande grande
  6. ↑ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 9781093264906.
  7. ↑ "Italy's Top 50 Singles 1972" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. 34, no. 28. 30 December 1972. p. 9 (141). ISSN 0008-7289. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Mina – Grande, grande, grande" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 28. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Shirley Bassey – Never, Never, Never" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Shirley Bassey". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Shirley Bassey" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Shirley Bassey – Never, Never, Never" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 24. 16 March 1973. p. 83. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  16. ↑ "Shirley Bassey Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  17. ↑ "Shirley Bassey Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "Shirley Bassey Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  19. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Shirley Bassey – Never, Never, Never" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  20. ↑ "Explore Releases on Discogs". Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2012-08-05. Sergio Franchi
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