“Dominique” by The Singing Nun
As you may have guessed, this song tells the story of the titular “Dominique”. Actually the figure at hand is one Saint Dominic (1180-1221), a prominent Catholic priest from the 12th century. According to his legend, he is what you could call an apostolic figure. That is to say that he traveled from place-to-place, living a less-than-comfortable life in the name of spreading his Christian beliefs. And basically, the Singing Nun is idealizing his story, as in celebrating his life. And true to her belief in the example he set, shortly after this song came out, she did go on to officially join a Catholic order called the Dominican Order which was founded by St. Dominic.
Facts about “Dominique”
This song was extremely popular at the time it came out. Its official release date is 24 October 1961. And the label responsible for its release is Philips Records. It went on to not only top the Hot 100 but scored a number one in countries as diverse as the following:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Venezuela
Moreover it was also nominated for three 1964 Grammy Awards. At the end of the day, it took home a trophy in the category of “Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical)”.
Indeed the vocalist, The Singing Nun, was in fact a nun in Belgium at the time. She spoke French, which is the original language this song was issued in.
Historians have noted that part of the reason “Dominique” blew up so much, in the United States at least, is that the nation was dealing with the emotional aftermath of the President Kennedy assassination.
Either way, The Nun proved to be so popular that they even made a movie about her entitled “The Singing Nun”.
Life of The Singing Nun after the success of “Dominique”
After blowing up, The Singing Nun left the convent yet continued to live a religious lifestyle. Basically she was cheated out of the financial success of “Dominique” by the record label and her congregation.
She later resumed her musical career under her birth name, Jeanine Decker. However, she was not successful. This was partially due to the fact that she gave up The Singing Nun moniker (at the behest of her record label) after leaving the convent. Simply put, she was not able to profit from the success of this number-one hit considering that no one knew her name outside of The Singing Nun.
Even after her music career was over, Decker stayed involved in the types of charitable works which defined her religious devotion. But unfortunately her life was marked by serous financial issues. And ultimately she took her own life (as did her lover) in 1985.
