Level: 4
Tuning: Standard

"Volare" is one of the most evocative songs ever. The original Italian song talks about a dream, where the singer paints himself blue and flies away. Simple yet powerful. "Volare" won the eighth Sanremo Music Festival, and the was chosen as the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958. The combined sales of all the versions of the song exceed 22 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful Sanremo Music Festival and Eurovision songs ever. It was Billboard's number-one single for 1958 and became the first Grammy winner for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1958. The song was later translated in several languages and has been recorded by a wide range of performers, including Bobby Rydell, Dean Martin, Al Martino, Jerry Vale, David Bowie, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Dalida, Gipsy Kings, Chico & the Gypsies, Dean Martin and Barry White.

My arrangement echoes the era when "Volare" was first introduced. There are lots of harmonic movements that embellish the melody chord structure. I think the real goal of arranging this song was to keep it simple, yet interesting. This is a common but difficult task. There is a bit of Lenny Breau artificial harmonic technique at the beginning, some good boom/chick alternating bass and a bit of blues licks - just to remember where I come from!