By 1990, the Gipsy Kings were already global stars, after bursting onto the scene with the ubiquitous 1988 summer hit “Bamboleo.” Thirty years ago Tuesday (April 21), Gipsy Kings -- the band that had the world striking a flamenco pose and screaming out “bem bem” and “djobi, djoba” on dance floors -- rumbaed to the top of the Hot Latin Songs chart with “Volaré.” The Kings’ first Hot Latin Songs No.
1 covered Domenico Modugno’s 1956 Billboard Hot 100 topper, recorded as “Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu,” which, in the 1970s, made a return appearance into American households via the version sung by suave Italian singer Sergio Franchi, who appeared in commercials for Plymouth’s Volaré car, thus christened to emphasize its continental style.
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