About The Song
“Donna” is a song written by Ritchie Valens, featuring a I IV V chord progression. The song was released in 1958 on Del-Fi Records. Written as a tribute to his high school sweetheart Donna Ludwig, it was Valens’ highest-charting single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year.
The song was recorded on September 16, 1958, at the Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. Bob Keene is listed as having been the leader of the session, which included Earl Palmer on drums; Buddy Clark on bass; and Valens, Rene Hall, Irving Ashby, and Carol Kaye on guitars.
“Donna”, the second Ritchie Valens single released, was the A side of the influential song “La Bamba”. This single was only one of four, along with the previous single (“Come On, Let’s Go”/”Framed” – Del-Fi 4106) and the follow-up (“Fast Freight”/”Big Baby Blues” — Del-Fi 4111) and (“That’s My Little Suzie”/”In a Turkish Town – Del-Fi 4114) ever released in Valens’ lifetime. Original Del-Fi pressings of “Donna”/”La Bamba” include black and sea green labels with circles, later replaced with solid sea green or solid dark green labels. Early 1960s pressings have black labels with sea green “sawtooth” outer edge.
Valens’ version was positioned at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles in October 1958. Three weeks before Valens’ death, the song peaked at No. 2. On the Hot R&B Sides chart, “Donna” went to No. 11.
The song was notably covered by Los Lobos for the soundtrack to the 1987 film La Bamba which portrayed the life story of Ritchie Valens. In one scene, Valens is shown singing it to his girlfriend Donna Ludwig on the telephone and in another scene Valens is shown recording the song in the recording studio, and in a third scene he is shown performing the song on American Bandstand. Stourbridge (UK) band Stormboys (previously known as Kayran Dache) also released a version in Europe around the same time. Despite national radio plays it was outsold by the Los Lobos version that went Top 30 in France and Belgium and to #83 in the UK.
Donny Osmond covered the song in 1972 on the album Too Young.
Video
Lyrics
I had a girl
Donna was her name
Since she left me
I’ve never been the same
‘Cause I love my girl
Donna, where can you be?
Where can you be?
Now that you’re gone, I’m left all alone
All by myself, to wander and roam
‘Cause I love my girl
Donna, where can you be?
Where can you be?
Well, darlin’, now that you’re gone
I don’t know what I’ll do
All the time and all my love
For you, ooh-ooh
I had a girl, Donna was her name
Since she left me, I’ve never been the same
‘Cause I love my girl
Donna, where can you be?
Where can you be?
Oh, Donna
Oh, Donna
Oh, Donna
Oh, Donna
Oh-oh-oh