"Venus" is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, initially released as a single in the Netherlands in the summer of 1969. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the song topped the charts in nine countries. The song has been covered dozens of times by many artists. In 1986, English girl group Bananarama covered "Venus" for their third studio album, True Confessions, with the single reaching number one in six countries. The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows, and commercials. Composition and recording The song was written by Robbie van Leeuwen, Shocking Blue's guitarist, sitarist, and background vocalist. Van Leeuwen wrote new lyrics set to music based on "The Banjo Song" by Tim Rose and the Big 3, which is in turn lyrically a modification of the 19th century song "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster. Influences from other songs include the opening guitar riff that is similar to The Who's "Pinball Wizard". The song was recorded on a two-track machine in Soundpush Studio in Blaricum, the Netherlands. Van Leeuwen also produced the song. In the Shocking Blue original version, the song's lead vocals were performed by Mariska Veres. The lyrics, however, contained a typo in the line "A goddess on a mountain top", with "goddess" written as "goddness", which was how Veres sang it on the record and on television. Later recordings by other artists corrected the word. Release and reception "Venus" was issued in the Netherlands in July 1969 as a single, backed with "Hot Sand", on the Pink Elephant label, a label specially created for Shocking Blue by Dureco. The song initially peaked at number three on the Dutch Top 40 on 12 July 1969, and remained at that position for a total of five weeks. It also reached No. 1 in Belgium, France, and Germany. Jerry Ross, who was in Europe in the autumn of 1969 looking for European hits for release in the United States, was offered the song. He signed The Shocking Blue to his newly-created Colossus Records, and chose the record for release in the United States later that year. "Venus" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 7 February 1970, the first song by a Dutch band to reach No. 1. On 28 January 1970, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of one million copies in the United