Song:Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)
Album:Eh, Paisano! 100% Italian-American Classics
I figure that most music fans are familiar with this song under the title Volare when it was a top five hit for Bobby Rydell in 1960. But this original version by Domenico Modugno not only topped the charts in 1958 but won the Song Of The Year Grammy. In Italy, Modugno was a very popular singer, songwriter, actor and later a politician. He was born Jan. 9, 1928 in Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy. He went to acting school and appeared in several films in the 50s. Then he got into songwriting and when one of his songs became a hit, he decided to try performing. He wrote the music for Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu and the lyrics were written by screenwriter Franco Migliacci. The song won the 1958 Sanremo Music Festival and finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest. From there the song became a huge worldwide hit including topping the Billboard Hot 100. It was also Billboard's top single of 1958 and won the 1958 Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year Grammys and is the only foreign language song to win those awards. Popularly the song is known as Volare and was adapted to English by lyricist Mitchell Parish who wrote Star Dust and Sophisticated Lady among others. It was usually sung in half English half Italian and Bobby Rydell's recording of Volare reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. I'm sure Modugno enjoyed the royalties from that recording. You can get Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu on this Rhino various artists budget comp of Italian-American favourites including songs by Dean Martin, Louis Prima and Lou Monte. Domenico Modugno won the Sanremo Music Festival four times and was a recording and film star in Italy through the 80s. In 1986, he was elected congressman for Turin as a member of the Italian Radical Party. He died of a heart attack on Aug. 6, 1994 at age 66. Here's Domenico Modugno performing Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu on The Ed Sullivan Show 1958.
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