Nel blu dipinto di blu

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The second Italian edition of the original version appeared on blue vinyl in 1958

Nel blu dipinto di blu [nel ˈblu diˈpinto di ˈblu] ( Italian ; 'Blue painted in blue'), also known as Volare (Italian for 'to fly ') after its refrain , is a work by Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci written song. It was presented for the first time at the 1958 Sanremo Festival by Modugno and Johnny Dorelli and emerged as the winner of the competition. In March of the same year Modugno took part with the song at the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson , where it took third place.

After the song was released in the United States , it became the number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 . Numerous recordings by other artists followed. In 1959, Domenico Modugno received two of the first ever Grammy Awards in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories for the song . Nel blu dipinto di blu became an international hit and is now considered one of the most famous Italian songs. It is part of the repertoire of numerous artists around the world. Most recently, the flamenco rumba version of the Gipsy Kings became popular worldwide.

Emergence

The two authors have made several and sometimes contradicting statements about the origin of the song. Modugno initially claimed that he made up the chorus of the song while he and his wife were looking at the sky outside his window in Piazza Consalvo in Rome . The co-author Franco Migliacci recalled that he carried the painting The Red Rooster (Franz. Rouge Le Coq ) by Marc Chagall was inspired to write the song after a bottle of Chianti had been drinking. In an interview broadcast by the Italian television station TG1 in 2007, Migliacci said again that a nightmare inspired the work.

Sanremo Festival and Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson

Domenico Modugno performing at the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson , 1958

The song was presented at the Sanremo Festival, held from January 30th to February 1st, 1958. At the time, each song was performed there by two artists with different arrangements. In addition to Modugno himself, who performed the song with the accompaniment of the Azzurro sextet under the direction of Alberto Semprini, the song was also presented by Johnny Dorelli and the Della Canzone orchestra under conductor Cinico Angelini. The piece landed in first place at the festival, which also made it the Italian contribution to the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson 1958 .

At the European competition, which was held on March 12th in Hilversum , composer Modugno sang the song as the first of ten participants. The accompanying orchestra was again led by the conductor Alberto Semprini. During the broadcast of the Italian contribution there was a picture disturbance in some countries, which is why Modugno was allowed to perform the song a second time before the vote. The jury finally voted the song in third place. The winning title Dors, mon amour by André Claveau and Giorgio by Lys Assia (2nd place) were largely forgotten , in contrast to the worse placed Nel blu dipinto di blu, which from then on was mostly only called Volare .

Original version

German first publication of the original version on Polydor, October 1958

The original Italian version by Domenico Modugno was recorded in Milan . It was first released in early 1958 as a shellac record and vinyl single on the popular Italian label Fonit. Due to the great success, several editions followed in the same year with different colored labels and partly on blue vinyl. In addition to the singles, the record company also released the piece on the long-playing record La strada dei successi and an EP . At the same time, the title was released in the version of Johnny Dorelli, who also presented the song in Sanremo , on the Compagnia Generale del Disco (CGD) label.

Internationally, Modugno's original version was marketed by Decca (United States), Oriole ( United Kingdom ) and Polydor ( Germany ), among others .

successes

German cover version Bambina by Ralf Bendix, 1958

Numerous performers around the world added the song to their repertoire, some with altered lyrics. Some of the most successful English versions with the text written by Mitchell Parish include those by Dean Martin , the McGuire Sisters, and Bobby Rydell . In France , the song was known under the title Dans le bleu du ciel bleu (Text: J. Larue) in Dalida's version . The text for the first German version, entitled Bambina, came from Kurt Feltz . Performers included Peter Alexander (Polydor), Ralf Bendix ( Electrola ), Leo Leandros ( Philips ), Danny Marino ( Heliodor ), Jo Roland ( Decca ) and Tony Sandler ( Ariola ). The version by Peter Alexander reached second place in the German charts in the summer of 1958, making it more successful there than the original, which was only published later. Ralf Bendix's interpretation was also listed in the German top 10.

Other foreign-language titles of the work have been published in Belgium (Jouw ogen), Finland (Taivaan sinessä), Russia (Воларе), Spain (En el azul del cielo) as well as in Brazil and Latin America (Azul pintado de azul) .

Chart placements (selection)

The following is a listing of versions of the song in the chronological order of their first chart positions.

Interpreter title Chart position Label
Ralf Bendix Bambina DE : 8 - 5 July 1958 - 4 weeks. Electrola
Peter Alexander Bambina DE : 2 - 12 July 1958 - 14 weeks. Polydor
Willy Alberti Nel blu dipinto di blu NL : 4 July 1958 - 7 weeks Philips
Domenico Modugno Nel blu dipinto di blu US : 1 - 2 August 1958 - 16 weeks.
UK : 10-5 September 1958 - 12 weeks. 		Decca Records
Oriole
Dean Martin Volare US : 15 - August 2, 1958 - 13 weeks.
UK : 2 - 29 August 1958 - 14 weeks. 		Capitol
Capitol
The McGuire Sisters Volare US : 80 - 23 August 1958 - 1 week. Coral
Marino Marini and his Quartet Volare UK : 13 - October 3 1958-7 Where. Durium
Charlie Drake Volare UK : 28 - 24 October 1958 - 2 Location. Parlophone
Bobby Rydell Volare US : 4 - 16 July 1960 - 15 weeks.
UK : 22-1 September 1960 - 6 weeks. 		Cameo Parkway
Cameo Parkway
Al Martino Volare NL : 3 - February 14, 1976 to 9 wk.
DE : 41 - March 8, 1976 - 3 weeks. 		Capitol
Capitol
Gipsy Kings Volare UK : 86 - 9 December 1989 - 4 weeks
FRI : 16 December 1989 - 15 weeks
NL : 30-13 January 1990 - 4 weeks 		Dureco
Dureco
Dureco

Other important artists (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Domenico Modugno in the Billboard Chart History. , accessed May 4, 2010.
  2. ^ Directory at grammy.com
  3. ^ Gino Castaldo: Nel blu di Modugno l'Italia si mise a cantare. In: La Repubblica . November 19, 1999, accessed May 5, 2010 (Italian).
  4. ^ The 1958 Grand Prix. André Claveau delights the jury and the audience. In: Bild + Funk. March 1958, accessed May 5, 2010 .
  5. ↑ on this version see Bronson. Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1992, p. 41
  6. ↑ Cover versions of Nel blu dipinto di blu . In: Rock'n'Roll Record Forum. May 3, 2010, accessed May 5, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Taurus Press (ed.): Hit balance: Deutsche Chart Singles 1956–1980 . Verlag popular music-literature, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-922542-41-7 .