'O Sole Mio

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"'O sole mio" is a universally famous Neapolitan song written in 1898. It has been performed and covered by countless artists, including such stalwarts of opera as Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Luciano Pavarotti, and even the punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Canadian pop singer Bryan Adams. The lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro, and the melody was composed by Eduardo di Capua. Though there are versions in other languages, 'O sole mio is usually sung in the original Neapolitan dialect. 'O sole mio translates literally as "My Sun" ("O" being the article).

In 1949, U.S. singer Tony Martin recorded the first English translation of the song, which was titled "There's No Tomorrow". About ten years later, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, Elvis Presley heard the recording, and put to tape a private version of the song. Upon his discharge, he requested that new lyrics be written especially for him, a job that was undertaken by the songwriting duo of Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, with a demo by David Hill. "It's Now or Never" was a number-one record in numerous countries during 1960, including the U.S. and the UK, where it spent nine weeks at the top, and selling in excess of ten million copies worldwide, his biggest international single hit ever.

In addition, a version of the song has also been used for decades on British television in advertisements for Cornetto ice cream. Because the song is so well-known, invoking in many the beauty and romanticism of Italian culture, many hotels and restaurants have been named after it. A common stereotype abroad sees the song as something usually sung by Venetian gondoliers, while they raft their boats. This view ignores the fact that Naples and Venice are many hundreds of miles apart. It is also considered a cliché in movies about the Italian Mafia.

Another famous tale surrounding the song is its playing in the 1920 Olympic Games, in Antwerp, Belgium, when the music to the Italian national anthem could not be found ^[1].

The song is no longer in the public domain; in October 2002 a judge in Turin declared that Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878-1972), previously considered only as a music transcriber, was actually a legitimate third author [1] [2]. Since copyright in countries bound by the Berne Convention extends to 70 years after the death of the last surviving author [3], the song is protected until 2042.

There is also a hymn-version of the song, titled Down From His Glory, with lyrics written by William E. Booth-Clibborn in 1921.

[edit] Media

O Sole Mio (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Enrico Caruso singing the song
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Preceded by "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" by Brian Hyland	Billboard Hot 100 number one single ("It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley) August 15, 1960	Succeeded by "The Twist" by Chubby Checker

Preceded by "Only The Lonely" by Roy Orbison	UK number one single ("It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley) November 5, 1960 - December 30, 1960	Succeeded by "I Love You" by Cliff Richard & The Shadows

Preceded by "Goodies" by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo	UK number one single ("It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley re-issue) February 5, 2005 - February 11, 2005	Succeeded by "Like Toy Soldiers" by Eminem