While doing some online research to see if there was more to say about this Elvis classic, than O Sole Mio and There's No Tomorrow, I found out that James Butler posted some very interesting recordings recently on his really fantastic YouTube channel. Very early recordings with different lyrics on the same music: O Sole Mio. So to me that made it worthwhile to spend some time on this topic.
As we all know It's Now Or Never as written by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold was based on this Neapolitan song O Sole Mio. So it's with this song where our journey begins...
Famous throughout the world, the words to O Sole Mio were written in 1898 by Giovanni Capurro (February 5, 1859 – January 18, 1920).
Born in Naples, he is considered one of the finest Italian poets of his time.
In 1898, Giovanni Capurro wrote the words to 'O Sole mio' and asked Eduardo Di Capua to set it to music.
Di Capua (March 12, 1865 – October 3, 1917), who was an Neapolitan composer, singer and songwriter, was in Odessa at that time, with his orchestra-violinist father. Do Capua composed the music to the poem and turned it into a song.
Neapolitan Italian Text
Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole,
n'aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe' ll'aria fresca pare già na festa...
Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole.
Ma n'atu sole
cchiù bello, oje ne'.
O sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
O sole
O sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!
Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne,
me vene quase 'na malincunia;
sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne.
Ma n'atu sole
cchiù bello, oje ne'.
O sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
O sole
O sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!
English Translation
What a wonderful thing a sunny day
The serene air after a thunderstorm
The fresh air, and a party is already going on…
What a wonderful thing a sunny day.
But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!
When night comes and the sun has gone down,
I start feeling blue;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun has gone down.
Unfortunately, Giovanni and Eduardo didn’t make much money on royalties for the song as they had sold its publishing rights to the Bideri publishing house for a very small fee of just 25 lire.
What wasn’t known at the time was that a third author was involved. Alfredo Mazzucchi helped Eduardo write music for the song but didn’t sign the manuscript. A Torino judge eventually (in 1973) ruled that he be listed as a co-author to the song.
The first recording of O Sole Mio took place in 1901. It was recorded on the rotating cylinder of a tinfoil sheet by Francesco Daddi, a tenor, singer and pianist with a lyrical voice and an idiomatic style:
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In 1912, American soprano Elizabeth Spencer recorded the melody as Your Own Dear Kiss on cylinder Edison Amberol: 997.
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This might be the first translation into English. Translator unknown.
Another English translation of the song followed in 1914 when American born Charles W. Harrison, from New Jersey, recorded it as My Sunshine on cylinder Edison Blue Amberol: 2594:
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Italian tenor Enrico Caruso’s recording of O Sole Mio in 1918 is arguably the best vocal version ever produced.
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The melody began to appear in hymns and was even used to represent Italy as unofficial national anthem at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games as Italy's Ugo Frigerio won the gold medal in both the 3km and 10km walking events:
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The band didn't know the (relatively new) Italian national anthem, so they played "O Sole Mio"...and the whole crowd sang
Co-founder of the Salvation Army in France and Switzerland, William E Booth, transcribed the song as a hymn under the title Down From His Glory in 1921.
Down From His Glory
Down from His glory,
Ever living story,
My God and Savior came,
And Jesus was His Name.
Born in a manger,
To His own a stranger,
A Man of sorrows, tears and agony.
Refrain:
O how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all.
The great Creator became my Savior,
And all God's fullness dwelleth in Him.
What condescension,
Bringing us redemption;
That in the dead of night,
Not one faint hope in sight,
God, gracious, tender,
Laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul
Refrain
Without reluctance,
Flesh and blood His substance,
He took the form of man,
Revealed the hidden plan,
O glorious myst'ry
Sacrifice of Calv'ry,
And now I know Thou art the great 'I Am'
Refrain
Chip Dorton sings Down From His Glory with the Chancel Choir of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL in the year 2000:
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William E Booth was born in Switzerland and later moved to the United States with the Salvation Army movement.
Following the advent of the vinyl record, American crooner Tony Martin recorded the song with new lyrics under the name of There’s No Tomorrow, which was written by Al Hoffman, Leo Corday and Leon Carr. The recording was released by RCA Victor Records as a 78rpm record (catalog number 20-3582) and a 45rpm record (catalog number 47-3078). The record first reached the Billboard Magazine charts on November 4, 1949 and lasted 27 weeks on the chart, peaking at number two.
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Dean Martin recorded it as well. Here's a more traditional interpretation than the one included in his "Italian Love Songs" album, this is from the Martin & Lewis Radio Show that same year:
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The Neapolitan tune underwent another transformation in 1957, when Calabrian born Lou Monte released it as Don’t Say Forever. The singer had previously had enormous success with his song Pepino The Italian Mouse.
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However, Elvis felt for There's No Tomorrow, which he home recorded in Germany, 1959:
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When he got out of the army (or while still in the army) Elvis asked for new lyrics to the tune. Lyrics especially written for him. Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold wrote It's Now Or Never. From another source*:
David Adams interview highlight: " After 'Stuck On You', Elvis turned to more adult material with 'It's Now Or Never'. 'That song was very important in re-establishing his popularity and it was based on '0 Sole Mio'. Elvis liked '0 Sole Mio' very much. I had heard him fool around with it on the piano, and so I had some English adaptations written. I asked three or four different teams of songwriters to come up with something and he decided to record 'It's Now Or Never' by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, which was a huge hit." -Freddy Bienstock from Hill and Range.
It became the most successful retention of the old Neapolitan melody ever. The single is the second best-selling single by Presley, and one of the best-selling singles of all time according to Collins, Ace (2005). Untold Gold: The Stories Behind Elvis's #1 Hits. Chicago Review Press. pp. 155–162. ISBN 9781569765074.
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Later also combined with it's roots, O Sole Mio, during live performances. Here he is in June 1977:
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A more recent version as released on 05 October 2004 by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes:
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Aside from being recorded time and time again, O Sole Mio also appeared in various other areas too. As already mentioned it was used as the unofficial Italian national anthem at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium and appeared in several films including Monkey Business starring the Marx Brothers in 1931; the Danish production Han, Hun, Dirch og Dario starring Italo-Danish actor Dario Campeotto; and The Big Red One starring Lee Marvin.
On the small screen, the perennial tune has been heard on television series and advertising. Among the most notable television uses of the song were on The Sopranos, The Addams Family, a performance by Ernie on Sesame Street and The Alvin Show which featured the Chipmunks performing a version of Oh Gondoliero on a gondola in Venice.
The song has even been used in advertising campaigns for ice-cream company Cornetto in England where Renato Paglieri performed a rendition called Just One Cornetto:
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And in Australia the famous tune was used for Bankwest’s ‘Happy Banking’ campaign, albeit with different lyrics.
O Sole Mio has achieved a truly legendary status unmatched by any other Italian song. Synonymous with Italian culture, this catchy tune has been enjoyed all over the world for over a century.
Broadcasted on April 27, 1982. The band Pookiesnackenburger with their Ska version of Just One Cornetto:
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Sources
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa2bHMewYCxo72B-AGsPhPA/videos?shelf_id=0&sort=dd&view=0
http://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list5.html#S1325
http://www.italianicious.com.au/all-featured/view/the-legend-of-o-sole-mio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Capurro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_di_Capua
http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/opera/qt/osolemiolyrics.htm
http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php?queryType=@attr%201=1&query=Di+Capua%2C+Eduardo%2C+1864-1917.&num=1&start=9&sortBy=&sortOrder=ia
http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php?queryType=@attr%201=1&query=Di+Capua%2C+Eduardo%2C+1864-1917.&num=1&start=4&sortBy=&sortOrder=ia
http://www.beyondtoscano.com/entertainment/italys-most-famous-song-250/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_No_Tomorrow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Now_or_Never_(song)
* Juan Luis: http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=1520448#p1520424
