EUROVISION'S 150 MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS. This post: 1958. More: tomorrow.

EUROVISION

1956-2022

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGS

(in chronological order)

 

This year’s Contest will see the 70^th song declared a winner. Caffè Lattè has ranked all of the past winning entries and other songs that have had a lasting impact on the Eurovision Song Contest.

1958

The United Kingdom made its ESC debut in 1957 and finished 7^th out of the 10 competing nations. This disappointing outcome led to the UK not participating until 1959. Sweden kept the number of entrants at 10 with its first appearance at Eurovision. To date, none of the previous entries had enjoyed an impact on the charts. That was to change in 1958. This was the first time that the Contest was held in the previous year’s winning country. Hilversum in The Netherlands was the host city.

 

DORS, MON AMOUR André Claveau

France

       In its fledgling years, French songs fared extremely well at Eurovision. The first winner “Refrain” was sung in French. Another song en français claimed victory in. 1958. The ballad would be overshadowed by the Italian entry that year.

 

GIORGIO Lys Assia

Switzerland

Eurovision’s first winning performer Lys Assia competed for the third consecutive year in 1958. Representing Switzerland with a song sung in Italian entitled “Giorgio”, she narrowly missed out on repeating her 1956 success. Assia gained 24 points from the juries. “Dors, Mon Amour” won with a score of 27. While many performers have returned to the ESC, few have managed a first and second place or a 2 wins. Among the notable exceptions are Gigliola Cinquetti and Johnny Logan.

 

NEL BLU DIPINTO DI BLU (VOLARE)

Domenico Modugno

Italy

Eurovision failed to create major chart hits in its first 2 years. The song that changed that was 1958’s Italian entry. It may have only finished in third position in Hilversum, but the public embraced the infectious track. Best remembered as “Volare”, it remains Eurovision’s most covered song. The hit charted all over Europe and Britain. Modugno topped the chart in countries that were not involved in Eurovision, including the U.S.A. and Australia. Its global success brought credibility to the Contest, proving that it could launch hit songs. Even more remarkable is that the endearing Italian entry collected 2 Grammy Awards: Record & Song of the Year. Billboard listed it as the #1 Single of 1958.