La canzone Italiana 41 - Claudio Villa

'La canzone Italiana' is, apparently, a series of 50 EP's presenting Italian songs, all released in 1970 - the year of my birth, incidentally. Some of them are interesting because they contain Italian Eurovision entries, although not all of them are included in the original versions.

This EP is a good example. All four songs are performed by Claudio Villa, who is an accomplished singer, but it was not him who performed 'Corde della mia chitarra' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957; it was Nunzio Gallo. Still, I wanted this one because it's really hard to find Gallo's version on a 7" single. A cover version is better than nothing, I suppose!

My collection: 7" single no. 6991
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 May 2023
Tracks: 'Luna rossa', 'Addio, sogni di gloria!' / 'Serenata celeste', 'Corde della mia chitarra'

Non andare piu lontano - Claudio Villa

Claudio Villa was born as Claudio Pica on 1 January 1926. From an early age he showed that he had a strong propensity for singing. He recorded his first album in 1946, and starred in his first film in 1952. His first appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest happened in 1962 with the song 'Addio Addio'. This happened after several appearances on the Italian San Remo festival. 

In 1967 he returned to the Eurovision stage with 'Non andare piu lontano'. This appearance was slightly less successful: whereas he reached 9th place in 1962, this time he only made it to 11th place. The slightly pompous song has not made a big impression on Eurovision fans, although the single remains sought after. But perhaps that is because of the sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6620
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Non andare piu lontano', 'Cuore Zingaro' / 'Non dirmi addio', 'Zapattore'

Addio, addio - Claudio Villa

'Addio, addio' ('Goodbye, goodbye') was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1962, performed Claudio Villa (born January 1, 1926). With music by Domenico Modugno and lyrics by Franco Migliacci (the same duo had collaborated on Modugno's previous entry 'Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare)'), the song is a ballad, in which Villa attempts to deal with the end of a relationship.

At the close of voting, it had received 3 points, placing 9th in a field of 16 competitors. The comparatively high place for a low-scoring song is partly explained by the fact that four entries at this Contest failed to record a point.

In 1967, Villa would return to the Eurovision stage with 'Non andare più lontano'. He died on February 7, 1987.

My collection: 7" single no. 6254
Found: Discogs.com, received January 24, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Addio, addio' / 'Quando il vento d'aprile..'