LIV MAESSEN
The Love Moth
(Mario Panzeri - Gianni Argenio - Corrado Conti - Daniele Pace + Buddy Kaye)
Australia 1969
#8 Melbourne

Original English version?

Charted in January 1970. Single on Polydor, an English rewrite of an Italian song, La Pioggia (see below).

This was the first charting single by Liv Maessen, a deep-voiced Melbourne-based singer who won a 1970 Logie Award (Australia's equivalent of the Emmys) for Best New Talent.

I cannot find any other versions of this song as The Love Moth. SecondhandSongs tells us that the American songwriter Buddy Kaye wrote the English lyrics.

See also, at this site, the origins of Knock Knock Who's There and Snowbird.

FRANCE GALL
La Lluvia
(Mario Panzeri - Gianni Argenio - Corrado Conti - Daniele Pace [+Spanish lyricist?])
France

Spanish-language version of La Poggia. The Spanish title has the same meaning as the Italian original: "The Rain".
FRANCE GALL
L'orage (La Pioggia)
(Mario Panzeri - Gianni Argenio - Corrado Conti - Daniele Pace [+French lyricist?])
France 1969

French-language version ("The Storm"), a single by French ye-ye star France Gall of a 1969 San Remo Music Festival entrant. Following San Remo practice, this would have been released on the same day as Gigliola Cinquetti's Italian single (see below).

The two singers had each sung La Pioggia in Italian at the San Remo Music Festival, 30 January-1 February 1969. France Gall's single also charted in Europe.

References: 1. Discussion and details at SwissCharts.com. 2. France Gall entry at fr.Wikipedia.
Further reading: 1. France Gall biography at All Music Guide. 2. France Gall biography at Teppaz and co.
GIGLIOLA CINQUETTI
La Pioggia
(Mario Panzeri - Gianni Argenio - Corrado Conti - Daniele Pace)
Italy 1969
Original version

La Pioggia ("The Rain") is the song that became The Love Moth. This was a hit in Italy: #20 for the year, according to OldieHitParade.de.

La Pioggia was an entry in the 1969 San Remo Music Festival (30 January-1 February 1969).

Gigliola Cinquetti and France Gall each sang La Pioggia in Italian at the Festival, but each released a version in her own language.

San Remo practice was to air a new song twice, first by an Italian artist and later again the same day by an international artist for the European TV audience. The records would be released simultaneously after that, on the following Monday.

Thanks to Roberto Lanterna, by email from Italia, for San Remo insights.
References: 1. APRA database 2. ASCAP Title Search, Title Code #460126425: La Pioggia, aka Love Moth 3. End-of-year Italian charts at OldieHitParade.de. 4. Release details at SwissCharts.com 5. Song details at FestivalDiSanRemo.com.
Further reading: Gigliola Cinquetti biography at All Music Guide.

View: Gigliola Cinquetti sings La Pioggia, 1969: YouTube Link.
 

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