DOMENICO MODUGNO

Better known around the world as Mister Volare, singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno represents a turning point in Italian pop music's history. His very first compositions' style reflected both the Sicilian and the Neapolitan folk style of music, although he soon realized how the Italian music scene was missing a national music style, a song form that could be identified with the whole country.

Domenico Modugno was born in Polignano a Mare (near Bari , in Puglia - southern Italy ) on January 9, 1928 . His father Cosimo taught him how to play guitar and accordion at a very young age. By the time Domenico was 15, he had already composed his first song.

At the age of 23, in 1951, he decided to become an actor and enrolled into an acting school (the C.S.C. - Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia). While studying there, Eduardo De Filippo (who‘s probably one of the greatest Italian play-writers of all times) assigned to him a role in a cinematographic version of his play: Filumena Marturano. In those years he never stopped composing, and a first taste of popularity for Domenico Modugno came in 1957, when at the “Song Festival of Naples” he presented his Neapolitan song “Lazzarella” (sung in the contest by Aurelio Fierro). Immediately “Lazzarella” was a success, and Modugno seriously considered the opportunity of composing Neapolitan songs. “Resta Cu Mme,” “Strada Nfosa,” “Nisciuno Po Sape',” among others, were all successful and written in Neapolitan dialect with innovative melodies.

The turning point of his career came in 1958, when he was selected to be a contestant for the Sanremo Festival. His song “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu,” co-authored by him and Franco Migliacci, not only won the contest but suddenly became a worldwide discographical success, especially in the United States, where it is also known as “ Volare ” (as the refrain sings). The song received two Grammy Awards and sold far more than one million copies. It came in third at the Eurovision Song Contest that same year (1958) and was, of course, translated in many different languages.

Characterized by a free tempo in the intro and the first verse, an explosive dragging swing feel carried on the refrain of Volare. For the first time an Italian song's melody was conceived with the right syncopation concept [syncopation gives melodies a swing feel by temporarily displacing the regular metrical accent, stressing the weak beat. In the pre-Modugno era the swing feel was mainly concerning the rhythm section, instead of the melodies].

In 1959 Domenico Modugno won the Sanremo Music Festival for the second time in a row with “Piove,” also known as “Ciao Ciao Bambina.” Again, same formula: free tempo in the intro and the first verse, upbeat tempo and swing feel in the refrain. The following year (1960) Modugno ended being second at the Sanremo contest with the song “Libero.” It's also worth it to mention that in those years his hit song “Io” was recorded by Elvis Presley with the English title: “Ask Me”.

Domenico Modugno won the Sanremo Festival for the third time with the song “Addio Addio” in 1962, and in 1966 for the fourth time with his ballade “Dio Come Ti Amo” (this song has been also recorded by Shirley Bassey). In 1964 he's also the winner of the Song Festival of Naples with “Tu Si Na Cosa Grande,” a great composition with Neapolitan lyrics often recorded by jazz musicians around the world.

Throughout the ‘70s Modugno interpreted several lead roles in modern operas, and also acted on television and in movies, working with great directors such as Vittorio De Sica (in the movie “ Il Giudizio Universale”), Pier Paolo Pasolini (“ Capriccio All‘Italiana”) and director Luigi Comencini ( in the movie “Lo Scopone Scientifico”).

In the ‘80s he started hosting tv shows. One night, while hosting “La Luna Nel Pozzo”, a show on Canale 5 (one of Berlusconi‘s networks), Modugno had a stroke and was taken to medical emergency. The show was interrupted. The healing process was very slow, but he never gave up. His tenacity and willingness to recover brought him back not only to the music scene, but also to a political life. In fact, in 1986 Modugno entered the political arena as a member of the Italian Radical Party, and on June 15, 1987 he was elected congressman. In the following years he was very active on social issues and human rights battles.

A second stroke hit him in 1991, and again he recovered. Two years later, in fact, Domenico Modugno went back to the recording studios as a special guest: his son Massimo was recording his first album! Massimo featured his dad in the wonderful “Delfini” (a composition of Domenico, of course) included in the homonym album. The song tells the story of an old dolphin wounded and captured by fishermen and about to leave his cub on his own. A sad farewell. This song was prophetic….

One year later (1994), on August 6 th , at age of 66, Domenico Modugno died in his house in Lampedusa (a little island right off the Sicilian shore). A living legend was gone forever... His son Massimo nowadays is a very active performer, and music critics all agree that Massimo Modugno has inherited his dad's mellow voice.

Some “Domenico Modugno Greatest Hits” have been published by the following record companies: Harmony - RCA - Euro Trend. RCA has also published in 1998 the collection “Volare.”

You can find videos of Domenico Modugno on “You Tube” at http://www.youtube.com just by entering “Domenico Modugno” (or any of the song titles above-mentioned) as keyword.

You can also check his official website at www.domenicomodugno.it

Ciao, alla prossima!