Shocking Blue - Venus (1969)

Venus is a 1969 song by the Dutch band Shocking Blue which the group took to number one in nine countries in 1970. In 1986, the British girl group Bananarama returned the song to number one in seven countries.

The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows and commercials, and covered dozens of times by artists around the world.

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Released in late 1969 as a single from the album At Home, Shocking Blue's single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 7 February 1970. RIAA certification came on 28 January 1970 for selling over one million copies in the U.S., garnering a gold record. Worldwide, the single sold over 7.5 million copies.

The song's lead vocals are performed by Mariska Veres. The song's music and lyrics are written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the band's guitarist, sitarist and background vocalist, who also produced, along with record producer Jerry Ross. Van Leeuwen originally miswrote the line "...the goddess on the mountain top..." as "...the godness on the mountain top...". This was corrected in later versions. Whoever played the Hohner electric piano on the release was not credited.

Van Leeuwen was inspired by "The Banjo Song", a composition by Tim Rose that set Stephen Collins Foster's lyrics to "Oh! Susanna" to a completely new melody.

"Venus" was remixed and re-released by dance producers The BHF (Bisiach Hornbostel Ferrucci) Team in May 1990, scoring the group a Top 10 hit in the UK and Australia 21 years after the release of the original. The remix featured a hip house rhythm and samples. An instrumental version was also released independently under the producer's alias "Don Pablo's Animals". The instrumental version (credited only to Don Pablos Animals – without referencing Shocking Blue) became the highest charting version of the song. The single began with a sample from James Brown's 1988 hit "The Payback Mix (Part One)". This release of "Venus" peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 in Australia in 1990.