Domenico Modugno was born on January 9th, 1928 in Polignano a Mare (where now he has been dedicated a promenade with adjacent low-relief in memory), in the province of Bari, from Cosimo Vito Modugno Municipal Guards Corps commander, and Easter Lorusso, hehad two older brothers, Vito Antonio, and John said Giannino said Tonino, and a sister, Teresa. When he was very young in the family he was called Mimì.
In 1935 his father was transferred to San Pietro Vernotico, in the province of Brindisi (where his parents will be buried).There Mimmo at the age of 7 started to go to school and learned the sanpietro dialect from the Salento area. In this dialect he wrote his first songs.
When he was an adolescent he learned to play the guitar, under the teachings of his father, and the accordion, and in 1945 he composed his first two songs, which he never recorded, The moon through the clouds smiling at my pain and The train whistles. He also wrote some poems, which were printed by his father of his friend Guglielmo Centonze. From that time onwards his songs were all written in the dialect of his town, San Pietro
In the meantime he attended the Accountancy high school in Lecce.
In 1947 he moved (unknown to his father) to Turin to seek his fortune, and worked first as a waiter and then as an apprentice Tire specialist in a rental hut. The cold suffered in Turin, which was then the capital of Italian cinema, deeply affected his soul.
In 1949, after military service performed in Bologna he returns to his town and he grew a mustache. During this period, he began performing as an accordion player in the countryside festivals, improvising serenades for the young girls with his all-time group of friends. So he got the reputation of “fimminaru” or “sciupafemmine” , that is seducer thanks to his physical appearance and his extraordinary artistic skills.
In 1935 his father was transferred to San Pietro Vernotico, in the province of Brindisi (where his parents will be buried).There Mimmo at the age of 7 started to go to school and learned the sanpietro dialect from the Salento area. In this dialect he wrote his first songs.
When he was an adolescent he learned to play the guitar, under the teachings of his father, and the accordion, and in 1945 he composed his first two songs, which he never recorded, The moon through the clouds smiling at my pain and The train whistles. He also wrote some poems, which were printed by his father of his friend Guglielmo Centonze. From that time onwards his songs were all written in the dialect of his town, San Pietro
In the meantime he attended the Accountancy high school in Lecce.
In 1947 he moved (unknown to his father) to Turin to seek his fortune, and worked first as a waiter and then as an apprentice Tire specialist in a rental hut. The cold suffered in Turin, which was then the capital of Italian cinema, deeply affected his soul.
In 1949, after military service performed in Bologna he returns to his town and he grew a mustache. During this period, he began performing as an accordion player in the countryside festivals, improvising serenades for the young girls with his all-time group of friends. So he got the reputation of “fimminaru” or “sciupafemmine” , that is seducer thanks to his physical appearance and his extraordinary artistic skills.
(In the blue painted blue)
Modugno became one of the protagonists of Italian and international pop music when he won the 1958 Sanremo Italian Song Festival with Johnny Dorelli with the song "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (also known as “Volare” - Flying- from its very famous refrain).
The stories about the birth of the text by the two authors -Modugno himself and Migliacci- are contradictory. They also vary depending on the reconstruction of the moment. It seems that at first Modugno stated that the idea of the refrain Volare, oh oh had come to his mind one morning while watching the sky from the window of his home in Rome; on the contrary, Migliacci asserted that the idea came to him, looking at the painting by Marc Chagall, Le Coq Rouge, and that only after he had spoken to the singer.
Later, Modugno said that, while they were walking near Ponte Milvio, one of them would say the line "I had been painted blue" and from there the rest of the text would then be developed.
Lately, however, Migliacci changed his version, claiming that the song was born after a nightmare: one day he would have gone to seaside with Modugno, but the latter never arrived. Then Migliacci gave up and stayed at home. Because of the hot weather he fell asleep, dreaming of himself flying in the sky and being painted blue.
It is clear that it is almost impossible to understand what the truth about the birth of the text is, but as to the music, written by the only Modugno, everyone agrees in recognizing its innovativeness, at least using hindsight. In fact immediately after the Sanremo performance, some musicians did not hesitate to criticize the melody. Later on, however, the opinions of music critics were unanimous: it is such an original, imaginative and sensational song!
The luck of the song is due, however, to other aspects, not just the text or melody. In particular it has to be mentioned the arrangement made by Alberto Semprini, and Modugno's interpretation in his performance in Sanremo, when, during its famous refrain, he accompanied his voice by widely opening his arms.
After Sanremo, the song came in third in Eurovision Song Context in 1958 and won three Grammy awards: as the best long play, the best song and the best performer of the year.
“In the blue painted blue” was the Italian song most performed all over the world from 1958 to today.
Theme song
This song is about a man who paints his face and hands blue and happily flies in the blue sky. This flight in the sky, in psychoanalysis, is the symbol of the sexual act. The lyrics stand for an explosion of sensual joy and a journey to the center of every human experience of love.
Modugno's other famous songs :
Modugno's other famous songs :
- 1956 Musetto (instrumental)
- 1959 Piove (feat. Johnny Dorelli)
- 1960 Libero (feat. Teddy Reno)
- 1962 Addio... addio... (feat.Claudio Villa)
- 1964 Che me ne importa... a me (feat. Frankie Laine)
- 1966 Dio, come ti amo ( feat. Gigliola Cinquetti)
- 1967 Sopra i tetti azzurri del mio pazzo amore (feat. Giduili)
- 1968 Il posto mio (composed by Tony Renis)
- 1971 Come stai? (feat. Carmen Villani)
- 1972 Un calcio alla cittÃ
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