More Modugno

Italy's muff-haired Domenico Modugno, a guitar-plunking crooner with a gypsy wail, turns out lyrics that make no sense, and he cannot read the music he composes and sings. But last year his song Volare (To Fly) was the world's biggest hit, with 7,000,000 records sold, including 2,000,000 for Decca Records in the U.S. alone. Last week Modugno, glowing in a powder-blue tuxedo, weepily twanged his latest effort, Piove (It's Raining), at the annual San Remo Song Festival, walked off with the festival prize--no cash, but an Oscar-sized honor in a crooner-crazed land. This week Piove, a mawkish tale about lovers parting at a train station, flowed across the U.S. on hot platters pressure-cooked by Decca, is almost sure to be another smash hit for Modugno. He freely admits that his stuff is pure corn-on-the-sob, but happily asks: "Why not? Is not the heart eternal?"

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