View source for Laléna

{{Infobox song
| name       = Laléna
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Donovan]]
| album      =
| B-side     = Aye My Love
| released   = October 1968
| recorded   = September 1968
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
| length     =
| label      = [[Epic Records]]
| writer     = [[Donovan]]
| producer   = [[Mickie Most]]
| chronology = [[Donovan]] USA
| prev_title = [[Hurdy Gurdy Man]]
| prev_year  = 1968
| next_title = Do You Hear Me Now?
| next_year  = 1968
}}
{{Infobox song
| name     = Lalena
| cover    =
| alt      =
| type     =
| artist   = [[Deep Purple]]
| album    = [[Deep Purple (album)|Deep Purple]]
| released = 21 June 1969 (US)<br/>November 1969 (UK)
| recorded = January – March 1969 at [[De Lane Lea]], London
| studio   =
| venue    =
| genre    = [[Hard rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Eder|first=Bruce|title=Deep Purple - Deep Purple {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/deep-purple-mw0000355670|access-date=25 June 2021|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
| length   = {{Duration|m=05|s=06}}
| label    = [[Harvest Records]] (UK)<br/>[[Tetragrammaton Records|Tetragrammaton]] (US)<br/>[[Polydor]] (Canada)
| writer   = [[Donovan]]
| producer = [[Derek Lawrence]]
}}
'''"Laléna"''' (also spelled '''"Lalena"''') is the title of a composition by [[Donovan]]. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' described the single as a "beautiful and intriguing original ballad."<ref name=bb>{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=22 February 2021|date=September 21, 1968|page=72|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1968/Billboard%201968-09-21.pdf}}</ref>  ''[[Cash Box]]'' said that "sweet strings accent a hauntingly beautiful folk-flavored ballad which gets stronger with each listen."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=September 21, 1968 |page=18 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-09-21.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' said that Donovan "uses his reedy voice exquisitely."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Single Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=September 21, 1968|page=1|accessdate=2023-05-30|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/Record-World-1968-09-21.pdf}}</ref>
== History ==
In 2004, Donovan revealed that the song was inspired by the actress [[Lotte Lenya]] and that the song's lyrics, addressed to a societally marginalized woman, were Donovan's reaction to Lenya's character in the film version of ''[[The Threepenny Opera (1931 film)|The Threepenny Opera]]'':
{{cquote|She's a streetwalker, but in the history of the world, in all nations, women have taken on various roles from priestess to whore to mother to maiden to wife. This guise of sexual power is very prominent, and therein I saw the plight of the character. Women have roles thrust upon them and make the best they can out of them, so I'm describing the character Lotte Lenya is playing, and a few other women I've seen during my life, but it's a composite character of women who are outcasts on the edge of society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://donovan-unofficial.com/music/singles/lalena.html |title=Laléna |publisher=Donovan Unofficial |access-date=2 October 2016}}</ref>}}
"Laléna" was recorded in a September 1968 session at [[Olympic Studios]] produced by [[Mickie Most]], session personnel being [[Harold McNair]] on flute, [[Bobby Orr (drummer)|Bobby Orr]] on drums, [[Danny Thompson]] on bass with the [[Royal Philharmonic]] strings; [[John Cameron (musician)|John Cameron]] was the arranger. Donovan was not working toward an album when he recorded "Laléna", having completed the tracks which would comprise his ''[[The Hurdy Gurdy Man]]'' album in April 1968; that album and the single "Laléna" both were issued in the US in October 1968
"Laléna" made its first album appearance in 1969 on ''[[Donovan's Greatest Hits]]'' and was a bonus track on the 2005 [[compact disc|CD]] reissue of ''[[The Hurdy Gurdy Man]]''.
In 1975 Donovan recorded a version of the song with [[Marc Bolan]] in Munich which has been lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hit-channel.com/interview-donovan/68376 |title=Interview: Donovan – Hit Channel |website=Hit-channel.com |date=2014-06-20 |access-date=2 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.cogeco.ca/~ikocmarek/ |title=Index of /~ikocmarek/ |website=Home.cogeco.ca |access-date=2 October 2016}}</ref>
In 1978 a bootleg emerged which featured Donovan performing the song in a studio with [[Paul McCartney]] on acoustic guitar: this tape was likely made November 1968 at EMI Studios London where McCartney was producing tracks for [[Mary Hopkin]]'s ''Postcard'', an album on which Donovan played guitar.<ref>John C. Winn ''That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy'' Vol Two 1966-1970 (2009) {{ISBN|978-0-307-45239-9}} p.225</ref>
==Chart performance==
In the US, "Laléna" was a [[Top 40]] single in the autumn of 1968, reaching #33 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]].<ref>{{cite book |title=  Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=251}}</ref> (Donovan was at this time unable to have product released in the UK due to a contractual dispute). The single was also a hit in France reaching #22.
==Television appearances==
Donovan's performed the song on December 8, 1968, on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'',<ref>Season 3, Episode 8, [http://www.timelife.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=1001&langId=-1&productId=83003 ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour – Best of Season 3''] (Time Life).</ref> along with two other tunes: "Happiness Runs" and "I Love My Shirt".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059079/|title=The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967–1970) : Episode #3.7|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2 October 2016}}</ref>
== Other versions ==
*The song has also been recorded by [[Deep Purple]] on their 1969 [[Deep Purple (album)|self-titled album]]
*[[:cs:Helena Vondráčková|Helena Vondráčková]] (in Czech) on her 1970 album ''Ostrov Heleny Vondráčkové''
*[[Jane Olivor]] on her 1977 album ''Chasing Rainbows''
*[[Trini Lopez]] recorded a cover of the song on his album ''The Whole Enchilada''.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://donovan-unofficial.com/music/singles/lalena.html Lalena (Single) - Donovan Unofficial Site]
*{{discogs master|236917|name=Laléna|type=single}}
*[http://www.sabotage.demon.co.uk/donovan/disco/singles.htm Donovan discography]
{{Donovan}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalena}}
[[Category:1968 singles]]
[[Category:Donovan songs]]
[[Category:Deep Purple songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Donovan]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Mickie Most]]
[[Category:Epic Records singles]]
[[Category:1968 songs]]
[[Category:Harvest Records singles]]
[[Category:1960s ballads]]