I remember this song from when I was growing up: it was basically omnipresent. Listening to it many years later, I found it pleasant but a bit repetitive.
The Singing Nun was born Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers in Brussels. She became a member of the Dominican Order of nuns, taking the name Sister Luc Gabriel. In French, she recorded as "Soeur Sourire" ("Sister Smile"). "Dominique" reached #1 in the United States and made it to the top ten in eleven countries.
Unfortunately, life did not go well for The Singing Nun after this. Most of the royalties from the song went either to her record company or to the convent. She clashed with her superiors in the convent and was forced to leave it, and the Belgian government pursued her for back taxes on her earnings, money that she claimed that she did not have. The pressure led her and her life partner, Annie Pécher, to commit suicide in 1985.
Created February 3, 2026.