Jeanny (song)

"Jeanny"
Single by Falco
from the album Falco 3
Released22 December 1985
Recorded1985
Length5:53
LabelGIG
Songwriters
ProducersRob and Ferdi Bolland
Falco singles chronology
"Vienna Calling"
(1985) 		"Jeanny"
(1985) 		"The Sound of Musik"
(1986)
Music video
"Jeanny" on YouTube

"Jeanny" is a song by Austrian singer Falco, released on 22 December 1985 as the third single from his third studio album, Falco 3 (1985).[1] It was written and composed by Falco alongside Rob and Ferdi Bolland, who also produced the song.

Controversial due to its lyrics, the song nonetheless topped the charts in numerous European countries. The single re-entered the Austrian Singles Chart in 2008 at number 56 and in 2017 at number 47.[2]

Composition

The song was co-written by Dutch brother songwriting duo Bolland & Bolland. Ferdi Bolland said that "Jeanny" was the greatest song that he wrote for Falco, and he wrote it with the intent of being a protest song in support of women. "I was in America and saw that they printed photos and small 'Wanted' posters of missing children on milk containers. I wanted to take up this topic and expand it to include missing women."[3] In 1986, Falco said that the narrator of the song is a stalker who lets his thoughts run free.[4] NPO Radio 2 wrote that, "It is suggested that the narrator kidnaps and possibly kills the girl, although this cannot be deduced anywhere from the lyrics themselves."[4]

The "news flash" segment of the track is spoken by German newsreader Wilhelm Wieben.[5]

Boycott

Several feminist associations called for a boycott of the song. Some TV and radio stations in West Germany agreed and did not play the song "for ethical reasons", while others just played it on their charts shows. In East Germany, the song was not on air and playing it in dance clubs was prohibited.

There were also demands to prohibit the song in West Germany, but officials denied the application in April 1986. This angered news presenter Dieter Kronzucker, who presented the daily news magazine heute-journal for the West German public TV station ZDF. Following this, further radio stations followed the boycott. In the German federal state of Hesse, the song was aired accompanied by a warning. In the popular music show Formel Eins [de] cutscenes were aired, but only whilst the song was at the top of the charts.

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Jeanny Part I"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Gold 50,000*
Germany (BVMI)[26] Gold 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Gold 75,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

"Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)"

"Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)"
Single by Falco
from the album Emotional
Released12 October 1986
Recorded1985–1986
Length5:32
LabelTeldec
Songwriters
  • Bolland & Bolland
  • Falco
ProducersRob and Ferdi Bolland
Falco singles chronology
"The Sound of Musik"
(1986) 		"Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)"
(1986) 		"Emotional"
(1986)

In 1986, Falco recorded a sequel to "Jeanny Part I", titled "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)", for his fourth album, Emotional.[28] The song was released as the album's single, reaching number 1 in Germany and the top five in Austria, Norway and Switzerland. The single's B-side, "Crime Time", also appears on Emotional.[28]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)"
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] 4
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[30] 53
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 27
Norway (VG-lista)[32] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 3
West Germany (GfK)[35] 1
Year-end chart performance for "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)"
Chart (1986) Position
West Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 36

"The Spirit Never Dies (Jeanny Final)"

The album The Spirit Never Dies was released posthumously in 2009 as a compilation of unpublished Falco songs. The title track, "The Spirit Never Dies (Jeanny Final)", was also released as a single. The track was found by chance after a water-pipe burst in the archives of the recording studio Mörfelden-Walldorf that was used by Falco's producer Gunther Mende in 1987. After the closing of the archives, the tapes were sent to Mende personally, who then had a look at the material, all of which had originally been rejected by Falco's recording label Teldec; this was explained by Horst Bork in an interview mentioning that Falco had tried to use a different style of music at the time that the label did not want to support.[36] The single reached number 3 in Austria.

The video for the song is an assembly of cut scenes from earlier Falco music videos along with photos and video clips of Falco's girlfriend Caroline Perron.

TV movie

The plot of "Jeanny Part 1" is the basis for the German-Austrian TV movie "Jeanny - Das 5. Mädchen [de]" (Jeanny - The 5th girl), that was released on 30 January 2022 (the 65th birthday of Falco). The movie starred Manuel Rubey who in 2008 portrayed Falco in the biopic Falco: Damn, we're still alive!.

Music video

In "Part I", the Jeanny character is portrayed by 15-year-old Theresa Guggenberger, a student from the dance school associated with the Theater an der Wien. She was selected from those taking part in a formal job casting prior to the video shoot. Despite the public outcry, she never felt uneasy about her appearance and reprised the role in "Part II".[37] The video for "Part I" contains a number of references to crime scenes both real and fictional. The "news break" portion refers obliquely to Jack Unterweger who was still in jail at the time. The "F" on Falco's trenchcoat in the video refers to the 1931 German film M by Fritz Lang in which a blind man marks the murderer with a chalk sign in the same way. The location in the underground canal is the same as in the 1949 film The Third Man. The main location in the video for "Part I" is the Opernpassage in Vienna. The main location in the video for "Part II" is the Gasometer in Vienna.

References

  1. ^ Perrone, Pierre (11 February 1998). "Obituary: Falco". The Independent.
  2. ^ a b "Falco – Jeanny Part I" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Falco: „Als er das Studio betrat, war er so betrunken, dass er kaum stehen konnte" - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Het liep toch nog goed af met Falco's Jeanny". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Falcos „Jeanny": Einer der größten Skandale der Musikgeschichte". Promipool.de (in German). 4 March 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  7. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 3, no. 11. 22 March 1986. p. 13. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Jeanny" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
  10. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  11. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 14, 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I". VG-lista. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Falco – Jeanny Part I". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Falco Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1986". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1986 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  20. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles – Hot 100 of the Year 1986" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 51/52. 27 December 1986. p. 28. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  21. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1986" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1986". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1986" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Authentic Austrian Gold Record Award – Falco "Jeanny, Part 1" – GiG Records Wien, Februar 1986" (PDF) (in German). pdfhost.io. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Falco; 'Jeanny Part I')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Dutch single certifications – Falco – Jeanny" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 10 February 2021. Enter Jeanny in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1986 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  28. ^ a b Hochman, Steve (23 November 1986). "Fall Album Roundup : Falco's Teutonic Rap". Los Angeles Times.
  29. ^ "Falco – Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, ein Jahr danach)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  30. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 47. 29 November 1986. p. 21. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  31. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  32. ^ "Falco – Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, ein Jahr danach)". VG-lista. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Falco – Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, ein Jahr danach)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Falco – Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, ein Jahr danach)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  35. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  36. ^ Sueddeutsche.de
  37. ^ "Falcoworld.net". Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_Home_(Jeanny_Part_2)