"Soul Coaxing"
Single by Raymond Lefèvre
from the album Soul Coaxing
B-side"If I Were a Carpenter" (U.S.)
"A Man and a Woman" (UK)
ReleasedFebruary 1968 (U.S.)
Label4 Corners Records (U.S.)
Riviera Records (UK)
Songwriter(s)Michel Polnareff
Raymond Lefèvre singles chronology
"The Day the Rains Came"
(1958)
"Soul Coaxing"
(1968)

"Soul Coaxing" or "Âme câline" , written in 1967 by French singer/songwriter Michel Polnareff,[1] provided Raymond Lefèvre and His Orchestra with a 1968 instrumental hit.

Chart performance

Released in the States in January 1968, "Soul Coaxing" peaked at No. 4 on the Easy Listening chart and at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100,[2] in April, near the end of its 12-week run - though it reached the Top Ten in Boston, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Columbus and other markets. "Soul Coaxing" debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 during the five-week run at No. 1 of the instrumental smash hit "Love Is Blue (L'Amour Est Bleu)" by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra. As with Lefèvre, Mauriat was a well-known orchestral leader in his native France.

In Britain the single was issued on the Major Minor label and in May 1968 stalled at No. 46 in the singles chart,[3] though it served as a theme tune for certain radio stations including Chiltern Radio Supergold, Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg.

Other recordings

  • Polnareff released his original vocal version ("Âme câline") across Europe in 1967.
  • In 1968, American singer Peggy March (formerly Little Peggy March) released an English-language version titled "If You Loved Me", but it failed to chart.
  • Other instrumental versions were recorded by Norrie Paramor, Franck Pourcel and Sounds Orchestral.
  • In 1977, pioneering disco-era British-Indian musician and producer Biddu Appaiah (recording as the Biddu Orchestra) released a disco version of "Soul Coaxing".

Use in other media

References

  1. "Performance: Âme câline by Michel Polnareff | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 143.
  3. "RAYMOND LEFEVRE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
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