Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song)
"Nel blu, dipinto di blu" (Italian pronunciation: [nel ˈblu diˈpinto di ˈblu]; 'In the blue [sky] [as I was] painted blue'), popularly known as "Volare" (pronounced [voˈlaːre]; 'To fly'), is a song originally recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno. Written by Modugno and Franco Migliacci, it was released as a single on 1 February 1958.[2]
"Nel blu, dipinto di blu"
'In the blue that is painted blue'
- "Vecchio frac"
- "Nisciuno po' sapé"
- "Strada 'nfosa"
- "Lazzarella"
1 February 1958
3:29
- Fonit (Italy)
- Decca (US)
- Oriole international (UK)
Domenico Modugno
- Franco Migliacci
- Domenico Modugno
The song spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1958, and subsequently became Billboard's number-one single for the year. In 1959. At the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno's recording became the first ever Grammy winner for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[3]
Winning the eighth Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen as the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958, where it came in third place out of ten songs in total. The combined sales of all the versions of the song exceed 18 million copies worldwide, making it one of the all-time most popular songs to come out of Sanremo and Eurovision.
The song was later translated into several languages and recorded by a wide range of performers. The song is also used as the basis for numerous football chants.[4]
Background and composition[edit]
Writing[edit]
Franco Migliacci began working on the lyrics of the song in June 1957, inspired by two paintings by Marc Chagall. He had planned to go to the sea with Domenico Modugno, but while waiting for Modugno to show up, Migliacci started drinking wine and eventually fell asleep. He had vivid dreams, and when he woke up, he looked at the Chagall paintings (reproductions) on the wall.[5] In "Le coq rouge" was a yellow man suspended in mid-air, while in "Le peintre et la modelle", half the painter's face was coloured blue.[6] So he began penning a song about a man who dreams of painting himself blue, and being able to fly.[5][7]
Later that same night, Migliacci discussed his lyrics with Modugno, and for several days they worked on the song, tentatively entitled "Sogno in blu" ('Dream in blue').[8]
In 2008, Modugno's widow, Franca Gandolfi, recalled that her husband, after a storm forced open his window, had the idea of modifying the chorus of the song, introducing the word "Volare", which is now the popular title of the song.[5]
The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish. Alternative English lyrics were written in 1958 by Gracie Fields, and were used from then in most concerts she performed in until her death in 1979; she often changed the words to suit her performance and age.
"Nel blu dipinto di blu"
Commercial success[edit]
The song became an instant success in Italy, selling more than 20,000 copies in its first 12 days. As of February 2013, according to RAI's estimates, the single had sold 800,000 copies in its domestic market.[2][21]
Following the results obtained in Italy, the song was also released in the United States and in the rest of Europe and the single obtained global acclaim,[19] becoming an international hit.[16]
In the United States, the single debuted at number 54 on the very first Billboard Hot 100, on 4 August 1958, and the next week it climbed at number two, marking the biggest jump to the runner-up spot in the chart's history.[22] On 18 August 1958, it topped the Hot 100, becoming the second song to reach the top spot on the chart, after Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool".[23] The song later completed a run of five non-consecutive weeks at the top of the chart,[24] selling 2 million copies in the United States during 1958.[25] During its US release, 15 other recordings of the song were also on release, including Dean Martin's "Volare", which in total sold over 1.5 million records. "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" and "Volare" were both in the top 10 at the same time.[26] "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" was Billboard's Song of the Year[23] and was the first non-American, -Canadian or -British single to achieve this honour in the rock era, and it would be the only one to do so until 1994's "The Sign" by Swedish group Ace of Base. It is also one of the only two songs by Modugno charting on the Hot 100, together with "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)", which peaked at number 97.[23]
In the United Kingdom, Modugno's single was released on 23 August 1958[2] and debuted at number 15. The following week it rose and peaked at number ten on the UK Singles Chart.[27] Eight other versions recorded by international artists were also released in the UK. It peaked at number two on the Norwegian VG-lista Topp 20 Singles and on the Dutch Mega Single Top 100.[28]
The song's popularity endures, and in 2004, according to the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, it was the most played Italian song in Italy as well as in the whole world.[29] Moreover, the combined sales of all the recorded versions of the song exceed 18 million units.[16][30]
Awards and honours[edit]
Awards[edit]
During the 1st Grammy Awards, held on 4 May 1959 at Hollywood's Beverly Hilton Hotel, "Nel blu dipinto di blu" received two awards: for Record of the Year and for Song of the Year.[3] The song is the only foreign-language recording to achieve this honour,[31] and it is the only song competing in the Eurovision Song Contest to receive a Grammy Award.[32]
In 2001, seven years after his death, Modugno was awarded with the Sanremo Music Festival Special Award, "given to the one who,...in 1958, with 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', turned the Sanremo Music Festival in a stage of worldwide relevance."[33] During 2008's Sanremo Music Festival, lyricist Franco Migliacci and Modugno's widow, Franca Gandolfi, received the special Award for Creativity for the song, presented by Italian Society of Authors and Publishers' chairman Giorgio Assumma.[34]
In 2023, it received a nomination at the first SIAE Music Awards for the category Song in Clubs with Live Music. The nomination was based on 2023 music consumption data collected by SIAE.[35]
Honours[edit]
In 2005, a concert was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. During the event, "Nel blu dipinto di blu" was ranked second on the list of the "all time favourite songs of the Eurovision Song Contest," behind ABBA's "Waterloo". ABBA member Benny Andersson, while receiving the prize, commented:
In 2008, the 50th anniversary of the song was celebrated in Italy by releasing a postage stamp showing a man who is flying on a blue background.[37][38][39] During the 2010 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, the song, performed by Italian singer Simona Galeandro, was also declared the most popular song of the 20th century, winning the international competition of the contest.[40]
Plagiarism allegation[edit]
Immediately after the release of "Nel blu dipinto di blu", Antonio De Marco accused Domenico Modugno and lyricist Franco Migliacci of plagiarising his 1956 song "Il castello dei sogni".[41][42] Though the song was not released, it had been played during some concerts in the previous years.[41] During the trial for plagiarism, De Marco claimed that he lost his sheet music in Rome while registering his song with the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, suggesting that Modugno somehow found it[43][44] and plagiarised both the lyrics and the music of his composition.[41] However, the Rome court of justice absolved Modugno and Migliacci,[45] following the opinion of an expert who stated that the two songs did not have any relevant similarity.[44]
As a response, Modugno sued De Marco for defamation,[41] and in July 1958 De Marco was convicted by the Milan court of justice.[46]
Credits adapted from Discografia Nazionale della Canzone Italiana.[47]