"Chanson D'Amour"
Single by The Manhattan Transfer
from the album Coming Out
B-side	"Helpless" or "Popsicle Toes"
Released	1977
Genre	Jazz
Length	2:55
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Wayne Shanklin
Producer(s)	Richard Perry

"Chanson D'Amour" ("Love Song") is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. A 1977 recording by the Manhattan Transfer was an international hit, reaching #1 in the UK Singles Chart, and Australia.

In 1958 the husband and wife team of Art and Dotty Todd were the resident act at the Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles. The duo had charted in the UK in 1953 with "Broken Wings" (#6) but were known in their native United States as veterans of the California lounge circuit; the Todds also sang on their own radio show. Art Todd recalls how Wayne Shanklin gave the duo the song "Chanson D'Amour": "Wayne Shanklin stopped us one day and said, 'I've got a great song for you.'" Shanklin produced a demo of Art and Dotty Todd singing "Chanson D'Amour" which was shopped to Era Records who released the demo track as a single. According to Art Todd: "The airplay was just sensational. This was just at the beginning of rock 'n' roll and the old-time DJs hated rock 'n' roll and they jumped on our song." Art and Dotty Todd's "Chanson D'Amour" was a Top Ten hit and reached #6 in April 1958.

The Manhattan Transfer remade "Chanson D'Amour" for their 1976 Richard Perry-produced Coming Out album. The song came to the groups' producer Richard Perry's attention as a demo on cassette. The group and Richard listened, and immediately decided to record the song. Janis Siegel sang the lead and used an Edith Piaf sound in her voice [to sing "Chanson D'Amour"] and it was recorded in one take.

Overlooked in the United States in its single release, the Manhattan Transfer's version of "Chanson D'Amour" became a European hit, breaking out on the charts in France at the start of 1977 to peak there at #8: the track subsequently became a hit in Germany (#20), the Netherlands (#6), Norway (#1 for two weeks) and Switzerland (#6). In the English speaking world, "Chanson D'Amour" afforded the Manhattan Transfer a chart-topping hit in the British Isles reaching #1 in both the UK - for three weeks - and Ireland in March 1977, with hit status also evident in Australia (#9), New Zealand (#14) and South Africa (#14). "Chanson D'Amour" proved to be the Manhattan Transfer's most widespread international success, despite being only moderately successful in the group's native United States, where the track registered on Easy Listening chart in Billboard at #16.

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Wikipedia