Italy "Dio, come ti amo"
Eurovision Song Contest 1966 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Composer(s)
Domenico Modugno
Lyricist(s)
Domenico Modugno
Conductor
Angelo Giacomazzi
Finals performance
Final result
17th
Final points
0
Entry chronology
◄ "Se piangi, se ridi" (1965)
"Non andare più lontano" (1967) ►

"Dio, come ti amo" (English translation: "God, How I Love You") is a song which was first performed as duo by Domenico Modugno and Gigliola Cinquetti at the Sanremo Music Festival 1966. By winning the competition, it was chosen as the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, and performed in Italian by Modugno. It was also the title of an Italian Musicarello released in 1966, in which the singer was the main star, accompanied by Mark Damon, Raimondo Vianello and Nino Taranto.

The song is a ballad, in which Modugno tells his lover how he feels about her. He expresses his amazement at the depth of his own feelings, with the title phrase being used frequently.

At Eurovison

The song was performed fourteenth on the night (following Monaco's Téréza with "Bien plus fort" and preceding France's Dominique Walter with "Chez nous"). At the close of voting, it had received nul points (zero), for the first and also the only time in Italian Eurovision history, placing 17th (equal last) in a field of 18.

Due to the song becoming a solo performance, rather than a duet, it had been rearranged since its performance at the Sanremo Music Festival. However, this broke the EBU rules stating that the arrangement should be finalised well in advance. During rehearsals mere hours before the final, Modugno performed the new arrangement with three of his own musicians as opposed to the orchestra, which went over the three minute time limit set by the rules of the contest. Following his rehearsal, Modugno was confronted by the show's producers about exceeding the time limit and was asked to use the original arrangement with the orchestra. Modugno was so dissatisfied with the orchestra that he threatened to withdraw from the contest. Both the producers and EBU scrutineer Clifford Brown felt it was too short notice to fly Gigliola Cinquetti to Luxembourg to represent Italy, so the EBU gave in and allowed Modugno to use his own ensemble instead of the orchestra. Despite websites and the official programme listing Angelo Giacomazzi [it] as the conductor, Giacomazzi actually played the piano for the entry.[1][2]

It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1967 contest by Claudio Villa with "Non andare più lontano".

Recordings

Charts

Chart (1966) Peak
position
Argentina (CAPIF)[4] 1
Brazil (IBOPE)[5] 5
Italy (Musica e dischi)[6] 1
Peru (La Prensa)[7] 1
Spain (AFYVE) 5

References

  1. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs For Europe The United Kingdom at The Eurovision Song Contest Volume One: The 1950s and 1960s. UK: Telos. p. 410. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  2. ^ Angelo Giacomazzi bio at www.andtheconductoris.eu
  3. ^ "Explore Releases on Discogs". Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2012-04-21. Sergio Franchi
  4. ^ "Argentina's Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox Magazine. 7 May 1966.
  5. ^ "Brazil's Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox Magazine. 11 June 1966.
  6. ^ "Singoli - I Numeri Uno (1959-2006) - parte 1: 1959-1970" (in Italian). It-Charts.150m.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 23 July 1966.
Categories