Era (song)

For the song by Opeth, see Sorceress (Opeth album).

"Era" (English translation: "It Was") was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, composed by British-Italian singer-songwriter Shel Shapiro (born David Norman Shapiro, formerly of The Rokes and Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys) and Andrea Lo Vecchio, and performed in Italian by American-born singer Wesley Johnson, known as Wess, and Italian Dori Ghezzi.

"Era"
Single by Wess and Dori Ghezzi
from the album Wess & Dori
Language	Italian
Released	1975
Genre	pop
Label	Durium
Songwriter(s)	Shel Shapiro Andrea Lo Vecchio
Wess and Dori Ghezzi singles chronology
"Un corpo e un'anima" (1974) "Era" (1975) "È l'amore che muore" (1975)
Music video
"Era" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 1975 entry
Country	Italy
Artist(s)	Wess and Dori Ghezzi
As	Wess & Dori Ghezzi [it]
Language	Italian
Composer(s)	Shel Shapiro
Lyricist(s)	Andrea Lo Vecchio
Conductor	Pier Natale Massara
Finals performance
Final result	3rd
Final points	115
Entry chronology
◄ "Sì" (1974)
"We'll Live It All Again" (1976) ►

Background

Starting with "Voglio stare con te", an Italian version of Brotherhood of Man's hit "United We Stand", in the 1970s Wess and Dori Ghezzi enjoyed a number of hits, notably "Tu nella mia vita" and "Con chi stai con chi sei".^[1] They were chosen to represent Italy at Eurovision following their victory at Canzonissima with the song "Un corpo e un'anima".^[2][3]

At Eurovision

The song was performed nineteenth on the night, following Sweden's Lars Berghagen with "Jennie, Jennie"). At the close of voting, it had received 115 points, placing it 3rd in a field of 19.

It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1976 contest by Al Bano & Romina Power with "We'll Live It All Again".

Other versions

The duo also recorded the song in English ("Fallin'"), French ("Qui vivra verra") and Spanish ("Era").^[4]

Among the artists who covered the song, Bessy Argyraki and Robert Williams recorded a Greek version titled "Μόνο".^[5]

Charts

Classement (1975)	Meilleure position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[6]	12
Norway (VG-lista)[7]	3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8]	20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9]	23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10]	6

References

1. Deregibus, Enrico (2006). Dizionario completo della canzone italiana (in Italian). Giunti. p. 216. ISBN 978-88-09-04602-3.
2. "Dori Ghezzi con Wess all'Eurofestival". La Stampa. No. 17. 24 January 1975. p. 9.
3. Anselmi, Eddy (2009). Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics. pp. 265, 942. ISBN 8863462291.
4. Rateyourmusic.com, Wess & Dori Ghezzi discography entry
5. "Era by Wess e Dori Ghezzi". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
6. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Se stiamo insieme".
7. "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era". VG-lista. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Wess & Dori Ghezzi" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
9. "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
10. "Wess & Dori Ghezzi – Era". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 May 2022.

External links

• Era at Discogs (list of releases)