Which song won the first Grammy Award for Record of the Year?

“Nel blu, dipinto di blu,” performed by Domenico Modugno, won the first Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

The song won at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, held on May 4, 1959, honoring music released during 1958. Its Italian title is commonly translated as “In the blue-painted blue,” while the recording is far better known internationally by its nickname, “Volare,” meaning “to fly.”

Modugno’s performance defeated nominees including Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft,” Perry Como’s “Catch a Falling Star,” and “The Chipmunk Song” by David Seville and the Chipmunks. The same recording also won the first Grammy for Song of the Year, making it doubly historic.

The title is often shortened or written with different capitalization and punctuation, but “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” is the canonical song title. It remains notable as the first—and famously one of the rare foreign-language—recordings to win Record of the Year.