I Will Follow Him


"I Will Follow Him" is a popular song that was first recorded in 1961 by Franck Pourcel, as an instrumental titled "Chariot". The song achieved its widest success when it was recorded by American singer Little Peggy March with English lyrics in 1963. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat. It was adapted by Arthur Altman. The completely new English lyrics were written by Norman Gimbel.

Instrumental versions

The song was first recorded by Franck Pourcel as an instrumental, and was released in 1961 on the European LP Amour, Danse, Et Violons. No.17 and on an EP on the La Voix de son Maître label. Pourcel co-wrote the song with his friend and fellow French bandleader Paul Mauriat. Mauriat later recorded an instrumental version, which he released on his album Paul Mauriat Plays the Hits of 1976.
In 1963, Percy Faith released an instrumental version, re-titled "I Will Follow You", as the lead song on side 1 of his album titled Themes for Young Lovers. The album spent 28 weeks on Billboards chart of Top LPs, reaching No. 32, and earned Percy Faith a gold record.

Petula Clark versions

In 1962, Petula Clark released a French language version of the song, titled "Chariot", which reached No. 1 in Wallonia, No. 2 in France, and No. 8 in Flanders, and earned Clark a gold record. Her English version reached No. 4 in Denmark, where it was released by Vogue, but failed to chart in the UK and the US, where it was released by Pye and Laurie respectively. Clark also recorded Italian and German versions of the song, with her Italian version, "Sul mio carro", reaching No. 4 in Italy, and her German version, "Cheerio", reaching No. 6 in West Germany.

Little Peggy March version

On January 22, 1963, Little Peggy March's version of "I Will Follow Him", backed with "Wind Up Doll", was released by RCA Victor. March's version spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on April 27, 1963 and spending three weeks in this position, making 15-year-old March the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single. Her version also reached No. 1 in Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa, Uruguay, Canada's CHUM Hit Parade, New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade", and Billboards Hot R&B Singles chart.
The song also reached No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100, in a tandem ranking of Little Peggy March, Franck Pourcel, Petula Clark, Rosemary Clooney, Betty Curtis, Jackie Kannon, Joe Sentieri, and Georgia Gibbs' versions, with March's version marked as a bestseller. It was one of the nominees for the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

In Italy three versions of the song were in the charts in 1963 : One recorded by Betty Curtis, another version by Petula Clark and the Franck Pourcel version. The song reached No. 1 in Italy's Musica e dischi, in a tandem ranking of these three versions. Curtis's version was also a top 10 hit in Uruguay.
In 1963, Italian singer Ennio Sangiusto released a version of the song titled "Chariot ", which reached No. 1 in Spain. Also in 1963, Italian singer Joe Sentieri released a version of the song titled "La Tierra", which reached No. 3 in Argentina.
In 1963, Argentine singer Alberto Cortez released a version of the song titled "La Tierra ", which reached No. 2 in Spain. Also in 1963, Argentine singer Violeta Rivas released a version titled "La Tierra", which reached No. 1 in Uruguay.
Dee Dee Sharp released a version of the song on her 1963 album Do the Bird. Sharp's version reached No. 1 in Hong Kong.
In 1982, Dutch singer José Hoebee released a hit cover of the song, which reached No. 1 in Flanders, No. 1 on the Dutch Top 40, and No. 2 on the Dutch Nationale Hitparade. A new version, recorded in 2005, reached No. 90 on the Dutch Single Top 100.
The Norwegian comedian Lars Mjøen wrote comedic Norwegian lyrics, «Torsken kommer!». The song was published by the comedy troupe KLM as Brødrene Dal as the B-side of "Gaus, Roms Og Brumund" and on the LP record Spektralplate in 1982. A music video remake was released by Norges Bank in 2017 to mark the introduction of the new 200 krone banknote that features a cod on the obverse side.
The song is featured at the end of the 1992 film Sister Act, where it was performed by the nuns' chorus for the Pope with Whoopi Goldberg's character as the lead singer.
The song is also used by Malaysian mobile service provider Digi for its extensive promotional campaign in late 2006, albeit with slightly different lyrics. The first five notes of the song has since been made into the main jingle for future Digi advertisements.