Anno Domenico: Pleased To Meet Alex Chilton

The first time I ever heard of Alex Chilton was in a song by The Replacements. On their LP Pleased To Meet Me from 1987 (still a favorite LP of mine) there's a song bearing Chilton's name.

I remember buying that LP initially because I thought the graphics were so cool.
So then I discovered that Alex Chilton is a cult figure who was in the Box Tops at 16 (remember The Letter ?) and Big Star.

In the same year, 1987, Alex Chilton released his acclaimed solo LP High Priest for which he recorded Volare in his inimitable ironic vocal style.



Read more about Alex Chilton, Big Star and the Box Tops at Answers.com
If you haven't done so yet, you should really watch The Letter by the Box Tops in this Youtube video and see the magic of Alex Chilton.
The CD version of the Replacements LP Pleased To Meet Me is available at most internet stores and a recommended 80's fun power pop punk rock album. (Although it really should be listened to (loud!) on vinyl, some LPs are just better that way).
The Replacements' Alex Chilton video (youtube) is here

2008: Anno Domenico will feature 50 years of coverversions of Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare).With this link you'll get all the Eurocovers Posts that have featured the song so far.

BLOG TIP: Nora Brockstedt at Global Vintage
A whole week of Nora Brockstedt goodies at the 'new' blog Global Vintage. Nora Brockstedt is the singer of the first two Eurovision entries for Norway: Voi Voi from 1960 and Sommer I Palma from 1961.
She celebrated her 85th birthday last week and Global Vintage is the place to party!

Nora Brockstedt also recorded Volare as I Dine Blå Øynes Blå in Norwegian (record details wanted) and as I Det Blå in Swedish.
Nora Brockstedt Eurocovers Discography (any additions welcome!!)
UPDATED - Thanks Erik for the additions & correction!

Denmark 1957 - Skibet Skal Sejle I Natt (Birthe Wilke & Gustav Winckler)
- Skibet skal seile I natt (Norwegian) - details wanted
- Skeppet skall segla i natt (Swedish) on 7" (Cupol CS 4521) & EP Höst i en park i Paris (Cupol SEP 105)
France 1958 - Dors Mon Amour (André Claveau)
- Sov I min favn (Norwegian) on 7" (details wanted) & CD Tango For To, 50 Innspillinger Fra 50 År.
- Sov, min älskling (Swedish) on EP (Cupol CEP 193) also includes I Det Blå.
Italy 1958 - Volare (Domenico Modugno)
- I dine blå øynes blå (Norwegian) - release details wanted
- I det blå (Swedish) on EP (Cupol CEP 193)
Sweden 1959 - Augustin (Brita Borg)
- Augustin (Norwegian) - details wanted, a 5/7 hit in Norway
- Augustin (Swedish) on EP (Cupol CEP 214)
Norway 1963 - Solhverv (Anita Thallaug at Eurovision) This song was performed twice in the Norwegian National selection, once by Jan Høiland and once by Nora Brockstedt. A different singer sang it at Eurovision and Jan Høiland is the only one to release the song.

2008 - Anno Domenico: Shake Your Booty To Volare

Volare, basically has had three lives. Three times in the past 50 years the song was covered very successfully and confused a new generation into thinking it was the original. And still.., Volare? isn't that that the Gipsy Kings song?
The Gipsy Kings version from 1989 is the third time Volare was a worldwide success spawning many soundalikes and of course the first life was in the late 50's and early 60's.

Al Martino
The second time Volare became an (almost*) worldwide hit was in 1975 when Al Martino swept the charts with his polished disco version that was appropriate both in the disco as well as on your aunts 25th wedding anniversary hoedown.
A lite mix of the popular Philadelphia sound (Three degrees, Lou Rawls, MFSB etcetera) with the crooning qualities of an established 50's / 60's star was just bound to work.

Al Martino's version was the start of an avalanche of disco versions which popped up until the 70s were over. Every party band played the new version and it gave Modugno's its second life.
Even orchestra's that had recorded the song the first time around rode along on the Al Martino wave (George Jouvin, Caravelli).

Al Martino was born in Philadelphia 80 years ago. His breakthrough hit was Here In My Heart in 1952. And the story goes that he recorded the song because Mario Lanza, who it was planned for, was too busy. It was a U.S. & U.K. # 1. In fact it was the first #1 hit in the U.K.'s recorded chart history: 9 wks #1 in the NME top 12.
Many hits followed: Take My Heart, Now, Wanted were his biggest hits in the 50's, when he was more popular in the U.K.. The 60's were the US decade with hits like I Love You Because and I Love You More And More Everyday. 14 years after Here In My Heart he recorded Spanish Eyes, another global hit (in 1966, 1970 and 1973).
Volare, recorded in 1975, *failed to chart in the U.K. but was a huge smash in Europe, including a #24 in Italy and a #2 in Belgium.

Read more about Al Martino at his homepage. Or check the usual sources for his compilation cds. (Or just pick up some of his old vinyls at the record fair, you won't regret it)
Al Martino also recorded Love Is Blue, The other Eurovision winner that lost (or loser that won). It was a single and a minor hit in 1968.

Here's a long version of Martino's Volare from a 1976 12"inch (EMI). The L.P.O (Larry Page Orchestra) version is from 1974 and is one of the first disco efforts the and Bebu Silvetti (1978) track is one of many disco versions that were released in the second half of the 70s. Corny, but you'll love it.



2008: Anno Domenico will feature 50 years of coverversions of Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare).
With this link you'll get all the Eurocovers Posts that have featured the song so far.

BLOG TIPS:Loronix, recommended blog for Music From Brasil, features various LPs with Modugno Eurocovers, all with wonderful picture sleeves:
Volare: Guimaraes e seu Conjunto
Piove (Ciao Ciao Bambina, Modugno's 1959 entry) by Zé Maria , and more LP's with Piove by Simonetti & Orchestra RGE and Orchestra Pan American
Dio Come Ti Amo by Lyrio Panicali .
Blow Up Doll featured Françoise Hardy (Eurovision 1963, Monaco) last week in Françoise Hardy Week. This week they feature Jane Birkin in Jane Birkin week. Check out or miss out!
Update: and now it's France Gall week, can it get any better?

Anno Domenico: Volare for Ethiopia (1985)

Do They Know It's Christmas, We Are The World. The 80's saw a host of allegedly well meant millionselling songs aimed to raise money for the starving and to Feed The World. I can try to be as PC as possible, but after 20 years people still are quite hungry. What's Going On?

Every European country had it's own version of the charity explosion and that's where Volare comes into the frame. In 1985 a host of Italian stars recorded Modugno's song to raise some cash for Ethiopia: Musica Italiana Per L'Etiopia. You know the images: priviliged people in casual daywear, headphones in check, eyes closed, passionately acting and singing one whole line to do their bit for the needy.

The Italian effort featured the popular recording artists at the time, some has beens and even the occasional Eurovision artist* (or to be). And lovely Milva! (her solo version of Volare is here)
Angelo Branduardi, Banco, Claudia Mori, Dik Dik, Dori Ghezzi*, Enrico Ruggeri*, Eugenio Finardi, Fabrizio De Andrè, Gianna Nannini, Gianni Togni, Giuni Russo, Ivano Fossati, Loredana Bertè, Lucio Dalla, Maurizio Fabrizio, Milva, Patty Pravo, Riccardo Fogli*, Ron, Rossana Casale, Tony Esposito and Vasco Rossi.

The song was released on a 7" inch single (Ricordi ET 0100) at 3500 Lire and a 12"inch with an extended version (Ricordi ETX 0100) at 7000 Lire. Both discs also have the instrumental version. It was a #2 hit in the Italian charts in may 1985 and was the 27th best selling single of the year. We Are The World was the best selling hit in Italy that year.

----Ethiopia is here

2008: ANNO DOMENICO - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, it's 2008 and I wish all Eurocovers readers a fantastic year. May some of your wishes come true and may there always be something to wish for.

Anno Domenico ©
2008 at Eurocovers will be Anno Domenico ©. After last years celebration of the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Puppet On A String in The Year Of The Puppet we go back 50 years this time to pay hommage to the best selling Eurovision song Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) written and performed by Domenico Modugno. By now you know many details about the history of the song already but there's more in 2008, and of course a host of interesting, cool, rare and odd coverversions of the Italian evergreen.
And there will be info on Volare celebrations held in Italy this year: There will be a Volare stamp, TV shows, concerts and releases spread all over 2008.

2008 will also see a new Eurovision, in Belgrade, Serbia and a record 43 countries will participate in this edition. National selections will see hundreds of artists trying to get a ticket to the Balkan and several of them have recorded coverversions of Eurovision songs. They will all be here.

I have prepared several Anno Domenico © posts already but I had a hard time to start somewhere. Currently the list of Volare coverversions counts 1060 (and rising). The famous and the forgotten, the obvious and the obscure, the polka, the punk & the philharmonic, so much to choose from.

I decided to kick off Anno Domenico © with a favorite version from 1958. Several American artists have recorded the song before Modugno had his breakthrough with his song but none of them stole his thunder. One of them is featured here.

Jesse Belvin (1932 - 1960)
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was a soul singer from Los Angeles (but born in San Antonio, Texas) and he only spent 28 years on this earth, but not without leaving his marks on 20th music history.
His first chart hit was in 1953 with Dream Girl (Jesse & Marvin). He co-wrote Earth Angel, a 1954 hit for the Penguins, and later for the Crew-Cuts and much much later for New Edition (1986). His second band The Shields, also featuring Johnny Guitar Watson, scored a hit with You Cheated (1958). The most successful Belvin hits were Goodnight My Love (1958) and Guess Who (1959) from his first solo LP Just Jesse.
Tragedy struck when after a concert with stars like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, Jesse Belvin and his wife Anne died in a car accident in Arkansas. It was just before his third album Mr. Easy (his nickname) was released.

Jesse Belvin's wonderful soul-voiced version of Volare, sung in English and Italian, was released on a 7" single in the US in July 1958 (RCA Victor 47-7310). It was his 30th single.

Jesse Belvin recorded for various labels like Specialty, Imperial, Modern, RCA-Victor, King and Knight. His RCA recordings (including Volare) are collected on the recommended 2CD Guess Who - The RCA Victor Recordings (ACE records, UK) which was released in 2004 and is available in any good music store and in most internet CD shops.
♫ Jesse Belvin / Jesse Belvin

You can find a detailed Jesse Belvin discography here.

Also check out these 2007 Eurocovers posts that feature versions of Volare:
Jazz legend Oscar Peterson, Brasilian superstar Leny Eversong, Chorrujumo, 10.000 Eurocovers featuring Milva, Wayne Newton, Dolores Duran, Gery Scott & Earl Grant. Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano Pavarotti & G4 , Lithuanian Mino and La Grande Dame De France: Juliette Greco.


Some facts about Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)
The song was written by Domenico Modugno (music) and Franco Migliacci (lyrics). The most used English lyrics are written by Mitchell Parish.
The song was written in 1957 but was first launched at the eighth San Remo contest (Final Februari 1st) where it was performed twice. Once by Domenico Modugno and once by Johnny Dorelli.
Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu won the San Remo song contest and Modugno represented Italy in the third Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 in Hilversum, The Netherlands at the 12th of March.

The contest was won by France's Dors Mon Amour by André Claveau and Modugno ended third with 13 points. 2 times 4 from Belgium and Germany and five times 1 point. And zero poing from Denmark and Luxemburg.

But Modugno laughed all the way to the bank, as his song , soon known as Volare (after the refrain) became one of the top 100 best selling singles of 20st century, a US #1 hit, A grammy winner and one of the most covered songs with several lives in most decades since the original recording.
Volare won the first ever Grammy for a song in 1958. Both for song of the year and record of the year.

More facts to come….

Oscar Peterson 1925 - 2007

To commemorate Jazz Legend pianist Oscar Peterson who died last week, listen to his interpretation of Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare), The Italian Eurovision classic from 1958. (below Youtube)
The recording is by the Oscar Peterson Trio: Oscar Peterson (piano), Ray Brown (bass) and Ed Thigpen* (drums) and is from december 1962. ------------
Oscar Peterson even performed at the Eurovision stage: In 1978 (Paris, France) he was a guest performer in the interval together with Stéphane Grapelli, Yehudi Menuhin, Kenny Clarke and Nils Pedersen.
* Ed Thigpen not pictured above.

Eurocovers Brasil: Leny Eversong - Fabulosa!!!

Brasilian 50's superstar Leny Eversong (1920 - 1984) is another example of a singer whose amazing music I discovered through my search for coverversions of Eurovision songs.

The singer is big enough to fill the gap between Yma Sumac and Ella Fitzgerald and especially her international work reminds of both these singers.

Leny Eversong covered three Eurovision songs (Two from the top 10 most covered Eurovision songs) and the French entry of 1959 Oui Oui Oui Oui stands out as three minutes of luscious cool swing.


Eversong Eurocovers-------1958 Au Bleu Du Ciel Bleu (Volare sung in French)
- on 78rpm (RGE 30025) & LP A International (RGE XRLP 5034)
1958 No Azul Pintado De Azul
----------(Volare in Portuguese, with Audi Roberto)
- on 78rpm (Copacabana 5884, b-side to Geada) (audio wanted)
1959 Oui Oui Oui Oui
----------(French entry of 1959, sung in Portuguese)
- on 78rpm (RGE 10256)and LP Fabulosa!!! (RGE XRLP 5087)
1961 Muito Alèm ----(Al Di Lá, in Portuguese)
- on 1989 CD Convita para ouvir, no details on original release

------ ♫ Au Bleu / Au Bleu - Oui / Oui - Muito Alèm / Muito Alèm

A good new compilation CD is Grandes Vozes - Leny Eversong which includes both Muito Alèm and Au Bleu Du Ciel Bleu and timeless classics like Summertime, Fascination, Jezebel and Night and day. Available internationally from Sambastore and other internet shops.

You can find a fantastic 1957 Leny Eversong LP and Fabulosa! at Loronix, a highly recommended blog for all kinds of music from Brasil.

Two great Leny Eversong performances at the Ed Sullivan show are at a Sofa Entertainment DVD set Elvis - The Ed Sullivan shows. They feature the full Ed Sullivan shows on which Elvis Presley appeared. Disc 3 has both the Leny Eversong clips and you can also see them at YouTube: Jezebel and El Cumbanchero.

Really Famous People Doing Volare (1) - Ella Fitzgerald

A new occasional series for Eurocovers. Artists that need no introduction having their way with the Classic of all Classics still heard in pizzeria's and concert halls around the world, Dominico Modugno's Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, also known as Volare, the 1958 San Remo Winner, Eurovision loser and the best selling, most covered, only grammy winning Eurovision song ever.
If there's any 'Volare' aficionado's out there (I know there are) I'd like to get in contact, exchange information, compare lists, write a book...


Ella Fitzgerald's Volare can be found on EP Volare (Verve) and also on LP 1964 Hello Dolly.

The LP Hello Dolly was re-issued on CD in 2005 and is avalable from your local shop and the usual Amazons and CD-ONs.

Recommended: The Ella Fitzgerald Homepage




Other Eurocovers posts featuring Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare):
G4 and Pavarotti - Juliette Gréco - Mino (Lithuania)

It's the end of the world: G4 have split!!

British 'Classical' 'boy' 'band' G4 have split. It seems because they would rather drink each others blood than sing together. Thousand of fans have gathered together crying, lighting candles and seeking professional help.
Who G4 band?? Of course it's a sick concept, creating a group / band / act in an X-factor / Idols / whatever style, just to copy another successful (although corny) formula. In this case G4 was conceived as a new Il Divo.
So I'm not very sad to see the G4's each go their own way.

Why this heartbreaking news at Eurocovers? Well on the critically not very acclaimed G4 album ACT 3 there is a cheesy faux-classic disco version of Volare - Nel blu di pinto di blu. Covered by all the greats and not so greats, it's the most successful Eurovision song ever. Originally it only ended 3rd in the Eurovision Song Contest by Domenico Modugno in 1958 , and the only Eurovision # 1 hit in the U.S.. In fact, at one time there were 7 versions of the song in the US top 100 at the same time.

If you prefer to hear a real tenor sing Volare, check out the version by Luciano Pavarotti.
Pavarotti's version is from the CD Volare, originally released in 1990 (Decca). a collection of Popular Classics (as opposed to Classic Popular Classics) recorded with the Henri Mancini orchestra.
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Take one last look at G4 http://www.g4site.com/

More Volare's at these Eurocovers posts:
- La grand dame de France, Juliette Greco
- A version in Lithuanian by Mino is here .
- Volare, the most covered Eurovision song.
- Volare by Ella Fitzgerald
Content added 06-09-07

Juliette Gréco - Le temps d'une chanson

La Grand Dame de France, actress and chanteuse Juliette Gréco has released a new album last december. Only 57 years after she released her first record she finally managed to squeeze in a Eurovision cover, especially for us.

The CD, Le temps d'une chanson, features coverversionsof classic French songs, although with a legend of Gréco's stature I prefer to call them interpretations.
She sings Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg, Leo Ferré and Charles Trenet and a few international songs like Over the rainbow (Judy Garlands evergreen) and Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu), the 1958 Italian Eurovision entry by Domenico Modugno.

Volare is the most successful Eurovision song ever, as well by the original singer as by many covering superstars. The song was covered by the famous and the fabulous like Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie, Dean Martin, Dalida, Petula Clark, Chubby Checker, Connie Francis, Cliff Richard, Pavarotti, Barry White, Catherine Valente, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and the list goes on. (In fact I now have 920 versions of Volare listed, more about that in future Eurocovers Posts)
The likes of Frank Zappa, U2, Prince and Paul McCartney have been known to perform the song live (and they have appeared on bootleg albums)

I'm very pleased to add Juliette Gréco to this list, even if Volare isn't the greatest moment on the album.

Gréco's velvet voice blends beautifully with the magnificent orchestral arrangements and she really excels in Avec lés temps (Leo Ferré) and Les amants d'un jour.

Get this album now, I'm sure your local shop or amazfnac etcetera has it.
Read more about Juliette Gréco at http://perso.orange.fr/juliette.greco/
Discography http://perso.orange.fr/juliette.greco/disco.htm




related Eurocovers posts: Ginette Reno & Les Parisiennes / Marianne Mille