But we don’t need to feel sorry for Johnny – that guy went on to have an amazing career as one of Italy’s finest entertainers. His initial steps in show business where actually as an actor. Also, he was at the right place at the right time. • Hammond organ: Mario Migliardi Nevertheless, I can promise that discussing and exploring the song together with me will be almost as exciting as listening to it. Source #27: And “volare” means “to fly” or “flying”. Please note that I have used both paraphrased and literal or verbatim content and quotes from the following fine sources as appropriate. “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” popularly known as “Volare” was recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno and written by himself and Franco Migliacci. Que são azuis como um céu repleto de estrelas. – The Song & Production – 00:12:19 I counted over 50 cover versions. Perry Como – whose real name was Pierino –, Source #45: che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle. From a song structure and lyrics perspective, this is an amazingly simple and successful formula building on a strong repeated chorus with two lyrically deep verses. It would take another 36 years, until 1994, before another non-American song, it was “The Sign” by the Swedish group “Ace of Base”, would become Billboard’s Song of the Year. Eventually, Domenico moved to Lampedusa, which is a small island in the Mediterranean south of Sicily, where he died at home from another heart attack on August 6th in 1994 at the age of 66. Having Alberto Semprini, one of the finest orchestra conductors, composers and pianists of the 1950s – if not of all time –, involved in the project basically meant that it couldn’t go wrong musically. He stayed there until April 18th, 1990 when he became a Member of the other house, the Senate, where he remained in office until April 22nd, 1992. Source 32 is the official Wikipedia article for the “Eurovision Song Contest 2010”. That’s neither good nor bad, that’s just Dean – who was a legend in his own right. Also, being a music lover and not a historian, I always do my best to provide you with the most accurate information I find on the web and other sources and if there should ever be any mistakes, they are not intentional and please point them out to me. Source 28 is the official Wikipedia article for the Italian “Chamber of Deputies”. In 2001, Domenico was posthumously awarded with the Sanremo Music Festival Special Award. Upon its release in 1958, “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” basically replaced “O sole Mio” – which was exactly 60 years old at the time and recorded by many people including Enrico Caruso and Luciano Pavarotti who won the 1980 Grammy Award for the Best Classical Performance for his rendition of it – as the most widely-known Italian song in the world. After two verses with chorus each, the band have their big moment when they play the chorus loudly without any singing by Domenico. Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me. We’ll get into specifics related to this in chapters “The Artist”, “The Music” and “The Lyrics”. There is a school of thought that considers “Nel blu dipinto di blu” a ballad in a dramatic chanson style. At one point, an advertising agency even listed the song as a candidate to replace the current Italian national anthem. By the way, I wasn’t able to find out why Domenico and Johnny performed “Volare” together at Sanremo. Source #40: Source #17: They sang and danced to it at birthdays and other celebrations. Also in 1958 in Italy, the Merlin law named after the promoter and first signatory of the law, Senator Lina Merlin, was approved which prohibited the activity of “prostitution houses”, punished both the exploitation and the facilitation of prostitution, in particular, “anyone who in any way favors or exploits the prostitution of others” to name only a few major aspects of the law. Private #53310761 and the Beatles had their first recording session. In total, he participated in the Sanremo festival 12 times, won 4 in 1958, 1959, 1962 and 1966 and came in second in 1964 and 1974. But at the same time wonderful and beautiful. But let’s take it step for step now. Later, he would also add the job titles of director, film producer and politician to his resume. I’m not sure though to what extent Domenico was able to see and experience the beauty of the region as he was working in a tire factory. Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più. Source 43 is the book titled “Made in Italy: Studies in Popular Music” edited by Franco Fabbri and The Munich air disaster occurred when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany. Some say that it is the most successful and instantly recognizable song ever to have emerged from the Eurovision song contest together with “Waterloo” by “ABBA”. E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. The song was released on the 1st of February in 1958. Source 16 is the official Wikipedia article for the “Billboard year-end top 50 singles of 1958”. Marcello is an actor and a composer. – The Times – 00:04:56 In 1958, the song participated in the selection process for the eighth Sanremo Music Festival, held in 1958. The song was then released in other European countries as well asthe US and quickly became a worldwide hit and, over the years, one of the great classics. Again, I don’t know. This is a view that is a bit more refined and, therefore, probably a bit more accurate, in my opinion. Nel blu, dipinto di blu Felice di stare lassù. Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare!) The title’s success is usually summarized in saying that it sold more than 22 million copies worldwide, that it won the Sanremo Music Festival as well as two Grammy Awards and that it represented Italy at the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest where it came in third. He said that he had vivid dreams, and that when he woke up, he looked at the reproductions of the Chagall paintings on the wall and right there it hit him. It is by far one of the greatest hits the world has ever seen. Based on this, Franco started to write a song about a man who dreams of painting himself blue and being able to fly. While I could have discussed this aspect in the chapter titled “The Artist”, I chose to examine it here in the “The Music” chapter as I thought it would be closer related to the music than to the artist. After having abandoned his artistic career to be able to focus on his rehabilitation, he went into politics. If you’re wondering what the world and Italy were like in 1958 then you and I are having the same thoughts. Source #5: The song was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the April of 1990 and it was also a minor hit in the UK where it peaked at number 86. And one year later, in 1958, the time had come: Domenico recorded and released his eternal hit “Nel blu dipinto di blu” also known as “Volare”. “Volare”, for example, was quite unusual for the times and Domenico’s voice was considered rather rough and unsophisticated. ots=AI_9xVYexV&sig=ACfU3U1AgyLMchfHi_rUF5hbkdyrGdgeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFpMKl69npAhVnHjQIHUeJBRIQ6AEwH3oECDwQAQ#v=onepage&q=n Today, we’re gonna talk about one of the most iconic Italian popular songs that conquered not only Italy but the whole world: “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” better known as – especially in the US – “Volare” by Domenico Modugno who, by some – especially in the US – was and still is also called “Mr. Lanzouse como sinxelo en 1958 mediante Fonit. As a member of the Radical Party in Italy, a center-left liberal political party, Domenico formally kicked off the final professional phase of his life on July 2nd, 1987 when he was elected as a member of the Chamber of Duties in Torino. Source #34: Back then, there were only 28 Grammy categories. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupo_De_Luca Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. On the sports side, the New York Yankees won the baseball world series with a 4-to-3 win over Milwaukee, the Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 23-to-17 to win the NFL Championship Game – the first to go into sudden death overtime – and in what is called “The Greatest Game Ever Played” Brazil beat Sweden 5-to-2 in the final game of the soccer World Cup in Sweden to win the trophy. Also, the economy was continuously improving right after the war which improved the quality of lives for a lot of Italian-Americans which in turn allowed them to move further into mainstream culture. -https://x-gossip.news/fabio-camilli-is-the-son-of-domenico-modugno-for-the-supreme-court-a-journey-tiring-and-exhausting/ Domenico inherited his passion for music from his father Cosimo and when he was 15, he already played the guitar and the accordion and he also began writing songs. Phew. Aurelio Fierro was a successful Italian actor and singer who specialized in songs in the Neapolitan dialect and wo lived from 1923 until 2005. Source 37 is the official Wikipedia article for the “1st Annual Grammy Awards”. Nel blu dipinto di blu – No azul pintado de azul O azul era um sinal perfeito: o céu, o voo, a cor, uma libertação surreal e instantânea proposta por um rosto bonito e atrevido do sul da Itália… com um smoking branco, os braços abertos por uma onda de exuberância generosa, um sorriso que não permitiu argumentos. Source #1: singing, oh oh oh oh. Frank Sinatra had an unbelievable six nominations – the most of all nominees – but the big winner that night was Domenico who won two Grammys with “Nel blu dipinto di blu” for “Record of the Year“ and “Song of the Year“ further accelerating the song’s international success. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_air_disaster It should be mentioned that “Volare” is the only foreign-language recording ever to accomplish this. This is when Domenico and the band are flying. The band that played the song was relatively small – only 6 people including Alberto Semprini – and the inclusion of a Hammond organ, played by Mario Migliardi, was quite unusual. Domenico was married to Franca Gandolfi, an Italian actress and singer from Messina, Italy, from 1955 until his death in 1994. higher than the sun and even higher, mentre il mondo pian piano spariva The drums are still waiting for their turn. A number of Italian Americans fought in World War 2 and when they returned, they were able to use the GI Bill to attend university – for a lot of these young people, they were the first in their families to go to college. Wow. Copyright © 2020 - MusicStoryTalk.com - All rights reserved. Another honor followed in 2010 when “Volare”, interpreted by Italian singer Simona Galeandro, was declared the most popular song of the 20th century, winning the international competition of the 2010 Viña del Mar International Song Festival. Source #24: You’re gonna hear some music and sound effects in this show – that is music and sound effects that I purchased the reasonably priced licenses for. The “Christian Democracy“ – or short “DC” – party won the Italian elections and Amintore Fanfani formed his second government. It would be great if you dropped me a note from one music lover to another – I hope to hear from all of you. “Volare”, on a high level, consists of two verses and two chorus sections. “Le coq rouge” features a yellow man suspended in midair, while in “Le peintre et la modelle”, half the painter’s face was colored blue. Acho que nunca mais vou ter um sonho assim. Also, I’m mentioning all the sources I used at the very end of this show. Alright, now that we covered the band, let’s return to Domenico Modugno who wrote and sang Volare and Franco Migliacci who wrote the song together with Domenico. Up until then, Italian singers performed their songs with their arms on their chest and without moving on stage. While a “Canzone” allows melody, harmony, rhythm and the character of the timbre to vary freely, it doesn’t come with polyphony, for example. In 1951, aged 23, he had a small part in the film “Filumena Marturano” and over the next 30 years, he could be seen in around four dozen movie and TV roles in addition to a steady series of dramatic and musical stage productions. Source 6 is the article titled “1958 | Volare by Domenico Modugno” written by Elijah Wald published on June 2nd, 2017. He still performed every now and then at that time with his final active years being 1992 and 1993. October 5th: Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist and science communicator. Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. This was later dubbed the Recession of 1958. – Outro – 01:31:16 One piece of evidence here is a story that he spent some (if not most) of the money earned with “Volare” to buy a Ferrari that he ended up ruining in an accident. By 2019, for example, this list had grown to 84 categories. Volare”. Right when the tension becomes unbearable, he and the band relieve the audience with a jump into the rhythmic chorus that is kicked off by a long “Volare, oh oh”. Al Martino included the song on his album “To the Door of the Sun”. Let’s now focus on the artist behind the song. Fantastic stuff. Up until then, Italian singers performed their songs with their arms on their chest and without moving on stage. While Johnny’s performance was definitely OK, Domenico’s was truly great. It is important to mention that The grand finale will then be a quick exploration of the song’s legacy. Well, so let us now travel to the Italy of the late 1950s and discuss a lot of interesting details about Domenico Modugno’s classic “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” also known as “Volare”. Egypt continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic until 1971. Always remember that music is one of the major positive forces that connects us all as it doesn’t Volare, oh oh Cantare, oh oh oh oh Nel blu dipinto di blu Felice di stare lassù. On a lighter note, stereo recordings became available, the “Barbie” doll was introduced becoming an instant success, Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas and instant noodles went on sale for the first time. After Domenico’s death, it turned out that he had a fourth child resulting from an affair with Maurizia Calì, a dancer, choreographer and director from Trieste, Italy. Dion – whose real last name was DiMucci –, One of the key characteristics of this category is that the singer and author roles are joined. Not even after some wine. As such, it was one of the aspects of how life in the US had changed for Italian-Americans that many of the most famous and successful singers and actors of the post-World War 2 years were Americans of Italian descent. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen filed a patent for the iconic plastic Lego brick. Let’s now talk about Franco Migliacci who wrote the song together with Domenico. During the same show, Tommy Edwards sang his song “It’s All in the Game” which ended up bumping “Volare” from the top spot on September 29th, 1958. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw Domenico’s musical career peak but he remained a busy man even beyond that. “Volare” has been translated into several other languages including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and Finnish and in addition to all the cover versions, it is still used as the basis for a lot of football / soccer chants. This is noteworthy as Domenico now impressed audiences as both an actor and a singer. And Massimo is a singer, just like his dad was. Today, a bronze statue of Domenico Modugno and a waterfront dedicated to him in his hometown of Polignano a Mare proudly remember the town’s most famous son. -https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legge_Merlin&prev=search Letra, tradução e música de Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (feat. The “Canzone d’autore” emerged on the scene in the late 1950s. Dorelli, by the way, was a stage name created from the spelling of the Americanized pronunciation of Johnny’s last name which was D’Aurelio. And also non-Italians were successful with cover songs of Italian originals. -https://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/at/140/giardinovilla/5774/en/The-Statue-of-Domenico-Modugno-Polignano-a-Mare-(Bari) And Domenico was the one Italy and the world were waiting for to arrive on the world stage. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2010 Five days after “Volare” was released, on February 6th, seven Manchester United soccer players were among the 21 people killed in the Munich air disaster in West Germany, on the return flight from a European Cup game in Yugoslavia. “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” is a song that meant a lot to a lot of people. Tony Bennett – whose real last name was Benedetto –, Source #28: Ma tutti sogni nell'alba svaniscon perché, Quando tramonta, la luna li porta con sé, Ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli, Che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle. “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” popularly known as “Volare” was recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno and written by himself and Franco Migliacci. While I couldn’t find anything about Walter Beduschi, Bruno De Filippi and Ebe Mautino, I did find information about Giovanni “Pupo” De Luca and Mario Migliardi which I’m very happy to share with you. Source 23 is the English translation of the official Italian Wikipedia article for “Fabio Camilli”. Also in 1959, Domenico released a song titled “Io” which was covered by Elvis Presley in 1964 who released his English version under the name “Ask Me”. Also, Vice President Richard Nixon went on a goodwill tour of South America which sparked open protests and rioting. E voava voava feliz mais alto que o sol e ainda mais alto,Enquanto o mundo pouco a pouco desaparecia longe lá em baixo,Uma doce música tocava só pra mim. His music career started to pick up speed in 1953 when Domenico  competed against other musicians in the musical contests “Il Trampolino” and “Radioclub”. by Routledge in 2004. Billboard magazine declared it #1 for the year 1958. Source 10 is the article “DOMENICO MODUGNO Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” by Michael Jack Kirby on website waybackattack.com. And I keep flying happy higher up than the sun, Mentre il mondo pian piano scompare negli La tua voce è una musica dolce che suona per me. He was chosen over Johnny Dorelli who had done Sanremo together with Domenico. In this section, I’m only gonna discuss Domenico’s version of the song but not any of the cover versions. • And Bruno De Filippi the guitar. Therefore, let’s just focus on a few select ones. Domenico later told the story that Johnny was so nervous that he had to punch him to persuade him to go on stage with him. Tem certeza que deseja sair sem salvar suas alterações. Thousands of the 60 million Italians who were forced to stay at home due to the government-imposed lockdown would blend their voices to sing “Volare”, the Italian national anthem, also known as, “Inno di Mameli” and other songs together in nationwide flash mobs while waving Italian flags. • Responsible for the harp was Ebe Mautino. -https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-domenico-modugno-1382176.html Source #50: Source 4 is the official Wikipedia article for the 1958 Munich air disaster. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_and_Ciccio – The Sources – 01:31:52 Anyway, the two gentlemen Domenico and Johnny made it to the finals at Sanremo which took place at the Sanremo Casino on February 1st, 1958. The list is just too long as the song had so many cover versions where the lyrics sometimes differed to varying degrees. “Volare”, as the song is popularly known as by many, was released on February 1st, 1958. Depois de repente eu era carregado pelo vento. -https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/volare-italy-secret-son-royalties-court -https://www.youmovies.it/2019/08/10/figli-domenico-modugno-chi-sono/ I mean, you could argue that exactly this is the reason that I’m not a world-famous songwriter and I would give you that. Based on what we’ve heard so far about the “Canzone d’autore”, we have to conclude that Domenico Modugno was the perfect “Cantautore”. It was new. Source 24 is the article titled “Figli Domenico Modugno, chi sono Massimo, Marco, Marcello, Fabio?” by Ludivica Ranaldi published on August 10th, 2019 on website youmovies.it. Source #38: I hope this works for you. In the blue painted blue, Ma tutti i sogni nell’alba svaniscon perchè All of this doesn’t mean that most of the music experts back then considered Domenico a great singer when he had his initial success in the 1950s. – Domenico Modugno – Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) – Transcript Johnny’s son Gianluca, whom he had together with his wife, Italian actress Lauretta Masiero who died in 2010 at the age of 82 from Alzheimer’s disease, and who was born in 1967, is also a singer and in addition to that, an actor and theater director. Well, Domenico’s singing was one of the reasons for the song’s great success in addition to the beautiful music if you ask me. -https://www.songfacts.com/facts/domenico-modugno/nel-blu-dipinto-di-blu-volare ), Related products: Source 46 is the book titled “Popular Music: Popular music analysis” edited by Simon Frith and published Johnny’s father was Nino D’Aurelio, an Italian tenor that had great success in the US in the 1940s and 1950s and lived from 1908 until 1958. And finally, here’s a list of sources I used for this show. Source #2: Source #21: Their performance was a huge success and so they finished the festival as the winners with “L’edera” by Nilla Pizzi and Tonina Torrielli ranking second. -http://everything.explained.today/Volare_(song)/ The song consists of two verses and two main chorus sections. That started with his early songs in Sicilian and then in the Neapolitan dialect, with a strong vocal characterization and a very particular emission of vowels like “o” and “e” which accentuates the popularlike character of lyrics and music. Giovanni “Pupo” De Luca, the drummer, was an Italian actor and jazz musician who was born in Milan, Italy in 1924 and died in Lanzarote, Spain (where he had moved to in the early 1990s) in 2006 at the age of 82. At the same time, it reassured them that even though they can’t fly away, they would keep dreaming by looking into each other’s eyes – a confirmation that love is the strongest force that keeps us going even through the darkest times. Source #53: “Volare” held the number one spot for 5 non-consecutive weeks, stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 16 weeks and sold around 2 million copies in the US alone. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatric_reform_in_Italy David Bowie covered “Volare” in 1986 for “Absolute Beginners” which was a British rock musical film. In 2005, “Nel blu dipinto di blu” and 13 other songs were picked by fans of the Eurovision contest and by the EBU – the European Broadcasting Union – to compete against each other at the 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest anniversary competition. In 1958, Italy had since the mid-1950s been on its way towards what English-speaking journalists referred to as the “economic miracle” or “economic boom” of the country. Out of all the cover versions I know, this is the most powerful one, in my opinion. Louis Armstrong performed a jazzy instrumental version of “Nel blu dipinto di blu” live during the 1960s which you can find on some of his live albums. While other international artists and songs would also be successful around that time, it was the Italian Americans who really used this opportunity to share their music with the world. Source 53 is the official Wikipedia article for “Al Martino”. A big thanks goes out to all the authors of these sources. Source #52: It was one of many back then. After the second chorus, which is slightly modified compared to the first one, the band plays parts of the second, modified chorus again until the end of the song which is marked by the words “con te”. This was his only US hit: it was #1 for 5 weeks in 1958. Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai piùMi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu.Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito,E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. E volavo volavo felice Before we get to the cover versions, though, we also have to note really quick that the song’s huge success inspired imitation. Source 2 is the official Wikipedia article for the year 1958. It is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest pieces of popular music – or music in general – ever recorded and performed. Domenico eventually sued De Marco for defamation and, in July of 1958, a court in Italy absolved Domenico and Franco convicting De Marco. Overall, there were greater opportunities such as education that allowed Italian-Americans to be even more active in all areas of life. -https://www.ilmessaggero.it/spettacoli/musica/sanremo_johnny_dorelli_non_ci_sara-5031590.html – The Music – 00:55:04 Source #51: Let’s talk some more about the song itself now: The musical arrangement led by Alberto Semprini stood out. E voava voava feliz mais alto que o sol e ainda mais alto. While this wasn’t bad, it wasn’t the ultimate success. Source 22 is the article titled “Fabio Camilli is the son of Domenico Modugno for the Supreme court: ‘A journey tiring and exhausting’” published on August 19th, 2019 on website x-gossip.news. Actually, this is more than a song. e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. While the human aspect beyond the singer can sometimes get lost while listening to a record, it’s really important to me to – at least – try to find out as much as I can about the people who made the music and whose names are not necessarily known to the public. Elvis Presley is the best example here: “It’s Now or Never” was one of his biggest hits – an English-language cover of the Italian classic “O Sole Mio.” Another example would be Dean Martin who famously covered “Nel blu dipinto di blu” itself. I love this version which was in the typical Petula Clark style that just makes you happy. all the cover versions. It was an endless back and forth between Fabio Camilli and Domenico’s other three kids. -https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595344/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm As I explained during the intro, this show is based on my personal research of sources I found online and otherwise. E volavo volavo felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su,Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiù,Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me. Many know the infectious lines (‘Volare, oh, oh; Cantare, oh, oh, oh, oh.’), but back in 1958 at the third Eurovision Song Contest in Hilversum, Netherlands, no one would have thought that the performance by Domenico Modugno of ‘Nel blu dipinto di blu’ would take the world by storm and make him one of the first Italian pop music stars to go truly international. Did Romano know whose son Fabio was? se Source 47 is the article about the “Canzone d’autore” music genre on website rateyourmusic.com. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Republic Fabio Camilli, Domenico’s fourth son, is an Italian actor and was born in Rome on August 10th in 1962. Another episode of “The Greatest Hits Explained” with Michael Winter, your host and editor of the show comes to an end. ce=bl&ots=KlOyoXPj9P&sig=ACfU3U3Aqr27y75ph-jKE1hEDczR7B5mA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjct5GlqtXpAhUHCjQIHaVjAZsQ6AEwDXoECE0QAQ#v=onepage&q=why%20did%20johnn -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Migliacci – Start – 00:00:00 In this case, we will need to focus on the two gentlemen who created the song – Domenico Modugno who wrote and sang “Volare” and Franco Migliacci who wrote the song together with Domenico.