Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, politician and actor. Born in 1928 in Puglia
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, politician and actor. Born in 1928 in Puglia, Italy, he was the youngest of four children. He performed at the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1958, 1959 and 1966, where he had nul points.
At a young age, Modugno wanted to become an actor, and in 1951, he was in an acting school. He was in a few films in Italy, and eventually became a manager to the comedy duo Franchi and Ingrassia, and got them into a long-running film career in 1958.
Also in 1958, Modugno participated in the Italian Sanremo Festival, (the festival that the Eurovision Song Contest was originally based around) for the first of many times, and won with the song Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, also known as Volare. The song was a very big success worldwide, being awarded two Grammy Awards and having over 22 million sales. It was also covered by many world-renowned artists. Volare finished third on the night with 13 points.
In 1959, Modugno won the Sanremo Festival yet again, with the song Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina). This wasn’t as commercially successful as Volare, but on Eurovision night, he accumulated 9 points and came 6th.
Modugno won the Sanremo Festival again in 1962, but never got to the Eurovision, as RAI had a different way to find a participant that year. However, he did reach Eurovision in 1966 with Dio, come ti amo but that really wasn’t successful this time, as he finished last with nul points.
After Eurovision
Modugno acted in 44 movies and was a producer of two of them, and in the 1970s he was frequently on television, singing operas and adapting poetry.
However, in 1984 he had a severe stroke and was partially paralysed, and the consequence of that was to abandon his music and acting careers. He went into politics and was very active in social issues near the end of his life, and returned to the music scene one last time with his son, Massimo, and performed their last song together, Delfini, in 1993.
His last song was Delfini (Dolphins), in 1993 with his son, Massimo. On 6 August 1994, Modugno died at the age of 66, from a heart attack, on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, while he was in his home by the sea.