Mix", which included re-recorded vocals in English and Spanish and an Argentinian bandoneon, was promoted to radio. Madonna's version reached number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and the national charts of the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, and Spain. It also became a top-ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and many other charts worldwide, while attaining gold or platinum in six countries. Background and development "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were developing Evita in 1976. Both were extremely intrigued by the stories surrounding the life of Eva Perón while researching her during the mid-1970s. Evita was initially produced as an album, before being adapted for the stage, following a formula that Lloyd Webber and Rice had employed during the production of Jesus Christ Superstar, their previous musical. The duo had written the songs for a female singer with good vocals. Rice and Lloyd Webber's research showed that Eva had not in reality delivered any major oration on the day of her husband Juan Perón's inauguration ceremony, but not long after becoming Argentina's new First Lady she started making highly emotional speeches, the intensity of which they wanted to capture with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". The song was composed to appear at the opening and near the end of the show, initially as the spirit of the dead Eva exhorting the people of Argentina not to mourn her, and finally during Eva's speech from the balcony of Casa Rosada. Its melody is similar to the opening song of the musical, "Oh What a Circus", which puts emphasis on Eva's funeral. As "Oh What a Circus" ended with the character Che's sarcastic questioning of the mourning behind Eva's death, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" started with only few lines being sung, while the rest of the song was reserved for the finale. After the song was composed, Lloyd Webber and Rice were struggling to find a suitable musical actress for the songs and the titular role, since the only one they knew, Yvonne Elliman, had moved to the United States. One day they were watching the British musical television show, Rock Follies, where they noticed actress and singer Julie Covington, who played an aspiring rock musician. Covington had played in London musicals like Godspell, and her acting abilities in Rock Follies convinced Rice and Lloyd Webber