The 18,000,000-selling single that became the first non-English language number one
Domenico Modugno’s Italian-language song “Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu”, widely known as “Volare”, became the first non-English song to top the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. Its success showed that a song could reach the top of the American charts even when most listeners could not understand its verses, and it helped establish a milestone for music sung outside English.
Released in the US in February, the song grew into a radio hit over the summer and spent five weeks at number one from August. It has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and won Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the first Grammy Awards in 1959. The article says 11 non-English tracks have since topped the US chart, including five in the past decade.
- “Volare” was the first non-English US number one.
- It spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.
- The song has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide.
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The Billboard Hot 100 is a US chart that ranks popular songs, and reaching number one can bring a recording to a large audience. In the 1950s, American popular music was dominated by English-language songs, so a chart-topping song in another language was unusual.
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer and songwriter, and “Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu” is also known by its refrain, “Volare”. Its success helped show that listeners could embrace a song even if they did not understand its words, and it became an early marker of the international reach of popular music.