Domenico Modugno (January 9, 1928 - August 6, 1994) was a twice Grammy Award-winning Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. Modugno was born in Polignano a Mare, province of Bari (Puglia). From a young age he wanted to become an actor and in 1951, after his military service, he enrolled in an acting school. While still studying he had a role in a cinematographic version of Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo as well as some other films. In 1935 his father moved to San Pietro Vernotico, in the Province of Brindisi (where his parents are buried). Here Domenico attended primary school and learned San Piertro Vernotico's dialect, which belongs to the linguistic area of Lecce's dialect, which is close to Sicilian dialect. He attended secondary school in Lecce. In 1957 his song "Lazzarella," sung by Aurelio Fierro, came second in the Festival della Canzone Napoletana, bringing him his first taste of popularity. In 1958 Modugno took part in Antonio Aniante's comedy La Rosa di Zolfo at the Festival della Prosa in Venice. The turning point of his career came in that year, when he also participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, presenting, together with Johnny Dorelli, the song "Nel blu dipinto di blu." Co-authored by him and Franco Migliacci, the song won the contest and suddenly became an enormous discographical success worldwide, especially in the United States. It received two Grammy Awards with sales far over a million ...

• published: 05 Mar 2009
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• author: catrashoo