The Gipsy King lineup featured a combination of left and right-handed guitarists; three of the Reyes brothers (Nicolas, Andre', and Patchai) play guitar left-handed, and play left-hand (and sometimes right-hand) guitars that are strung for right-handers (i.e., with the low "E" string on the bottom), while Diego Baliardo plays a left-handed guitar that is strung for left hand (i.e., with the low "E" string on the top). Dean Martin included a half-English version of the song, with lyrics adapted by Mitchell Parish, on his LP This Is Dean Martin!. [68], During the same year, several other versions of the song were released, but did not achieve the same success. [121], In 2011, a rock version of the song was included in Gianna Nannini's Io e Te. [119] A piano version of the song is also included in 2010's Golden Memories 2 by Iranian composer Fariborz Lachini. Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu; poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito, e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. 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". [104] A piano cover of the song is included in 1997's Mambo Italiano by Stefano Bollani,[105] while Italian singer Al Bano released in 1999 an album titled Volare, featuring a cover of "Nel blu dipinto di blu".[106]. The band started out in Arles, a town in southern France, during the 1970s, when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of flamenco artist Jose Reyes, teamed up with their cousins Jacques, Maurice, and Tonino Baliardo. [109] It was also performed by Sanjeev Bhaskar in the film Anita and Me. Oh ya ya Bamboleo oh a ya (Bamboleo) Oh ya ya Bamboleo oh a ya (Oh-eo) Oh ya ya Bamboleo oh a ya (Bamboleo) Oh ya ya Bamboleo oh a ya (Oh-eo) Te puedes preparar que esta fiesta va a empezar Vamonos! 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. Chico Bouchikhi, co-founder of the group, a son-in-law of Jose Reyes, was also a member but left after the 1989 album Mosaïque to create his own band, Chico & The Gypsies. [69] Fud Leclerc, who competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1958 alongside Domenico Modugno, recorded a French version as well. [1] Although the group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos, Spanish Romani who fled Spain during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. Even Eurovision losers get lucky sometimes", "Volare. [115] [27] Moreover, the combined sales of all the recorded versions of the song exceed 22 million units. [79], Among the other artists covering the song soon after its release, Chet Atkins covered it for 1963's Travelin';[80] Ella Fitzgerald recorded it for her 1964's Hello, Dolly! One year later, a version of the song performed by Emma Marrone was included in the soundtrack of the Italian movie Benvenuti al Nord, directed by Luca Miniero. The song is also used as the basis for numerous football chants. He had vivid dreams, and when he woke up, he looked at the Chagall paintings (reproductions) on the wall. Their cover version of "Hotel California" was an example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming; it was featured in the 1998 Coen Brothers' movie The Big Lebowski. "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" (Italian pronunciation: [nel ˈblu diˈpinto di ˈblu]; 'In the blue [sky] [as I was] painted blue' or 'In the blue-painted blue [sky]'), popularly known as "Volare" (pronounced [voˈlaːre]; 'To fly'), is a song originally recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno. Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France, who perform in a mixture of languages, mostly in Spanish, but also mixing southern French dialects. Festival de Viña 2010 tiene su canción ganadora", "La vera creatività non è scrivere canzoni ma avere una figlia", "BENVENUTI AL NORD – Emma Marrone nella colonna sonora", "Classifica settimanale − WK 17 (dal 23.04.2012 al 29.04.2012)", "Britain's Got Talent's Jonathan Antoine announces solo album Tenore", "Il Volo, alla conquista del successo internazionale nel nome dellʼamore", "Malika Ayane, anima Naïf in concerto all'Auditorium", "Sanremo, Tiziano Ferro dedica Almeno tu nell'universo al marito e si commuove", "Accetto Miracoli: L'esperienza degli altri, il nuovo album di cover di Tiziano Ferro", "Gilberto Gil Lança EP de três músicas gravadas com su neta Flor", ¡Volaré! A French version of the song, titled "Dans le Bleu du Ciel Bleu", was featured on Dalida's Les Gitans. [7], 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.[4]. The band have been criticised by flamenco purists, but Nicolas Reyes said in an interview that the flamenco world is not in great shape itself and that the band are proud of their success; the Compas album contains more … [10] In 2005, a concert was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1996, American polka band Brave Combo covered the song for the compilation album Mood Swing Music. In the United Kingdom, Italian musician Marino Marini's cover peaked at number thirteen in October, and Charlie Drake's version reached number 28. The band have been criticised by flamenco purists, but Nicolas Reyes has said in an interview that the flamenco world is not in great shape itself and that the band are proud of their success. Domenico Modugno vince il Festival di Sanremo", "Piramidi rotanti luci da record e 007 in azione", "Also-rans no more? 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. [85] Ray Conniff also recorded an instrumental version of the song in 1967, with the brass impersonating a male chorus, as well as featuring a wordless vocal chorus, too. Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). [12], While Dorelli's performance had little impact on the audience,[7] Modugno's is now considered to be the event that changed the history of Italian music. Following its first place victory at the Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958, which took place on 12 March in Hilversum, Netherlands. [41], As a response, Modugno sued De Marco for defamation,[38] and in July 1958 De Marco was convicted by the Milan court of justice. During the same year, several Italian artists released their own version of the song, including Fred Buscaglione,[58] Nicola Arigliano,[59] Nilla Pizzi,[60] Gino Latilla,[61] Marino Marini and His Quartet,[62] Emilio Pericoli[63] and Claudio Villa. An English/Spanish salsa version is also sung by Son Boricua of Jimmy Sabater and Jose Mangual Jr. in 2000. [30], 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. "[31] 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.[32]. His single peaked at number 33 in the US,[91] reached number 3 on the Dutch Single Top 100,[92] and was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. [111][112] During the same year, Engelbert Humperdinck included a cover of the song in his album Definition of Love. [3], Franco Migliacci began working on the lyrics of the song in June 1957, inspired by two paintings by Marc Chagall. [124] Emma's cover reached number 70 on the Italian Singles Chart. Winning the eighth Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen as the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958, where it won third place out of ten songs in total. [5] So he began penning a song about a man who dreams of painting himself blue, and being able to fly. The group included artists such as Vasco Rossi, Fabrizio De André, Loredana Bertè, Lucio Dalla, Patty Pravo, and Giuni Russo. [64], The song was also translated in several languages, including French, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, and Portuguese. [38][39] Though the song was not released, it had been played during some concerts in the previous years. [9], On 31 January 1958, the song was performed for the first time, during the second night of the Festival, by Domenico Modugno and Johnny Dorelli. [38] 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[40][41] and plagiarised both the lyrics and the music of his composition.