Grande grande grande


"Grande grande grande" is a 1972 Italian song, written by Alberto Testa and Tony Renis. It was a No. 1 hit for Mina in Italy and for Shirley Bassey released as "Never Never Never" in the U.K., U.S. and Australia. The 1973 Shirley Bassey single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.

Mina version

"Grande grande grande" was a No. 1 hit on the Italian Singles Chart for Mina in 1972, from her No. 1 self-titled album. The single was released in early 1972 and entered the Top 10 the week of February 26.
After a steady climb to No. 2 the week of March 11, the song seemed to have run out of steam after falling 2 places to No. 4 to new hits by Delirium, Nicola Di Bari and Nada. By April 1, the song had once again climbed to its peak No. 2 position where it remained the whole month of April before finally reaching No. 1 on April 29. "Grande grande grande", arranged by Pino Presti, ruled the charts the first three weeks of May until "I giardini di marzo" by her collaborator Lucio Battisti, and her own hit "Parole parole" knocked it out of the top spot down to No. 3 the week of May 27. "Grande grande grande" remained in the top 10 until the week of July 8, often trading places with "Parole parole". By the year's end, only "Il Padrino" by Santo and Johnny had enjoyed a longer life on the charts and Mina had to settle for the runner up position for 1972's biggest hit on the Italian singles chart.
Mina also recorded the song in English and Spanish.

Personnel