COVERS

A song often needs to be translated into the local language in order to be appreciated in other countries. This is the meaning of the word “cover” when associated to different recordings and versions of a song. This section of the portal features recorded Italian versions of many foreign songs, gathering a vast repertoire that affords an overview of the tastes and trends of a recording industry that has always boasted a high degree of globalization. The whole history of the song since the early twentieth century abounds with covers, not to mention the many American classics that came down to us during the Fascist years, despite the official policy of protection of the national musical production. However the golden age of covers was the 1960s, when Italy imported the best of the new foreign rhythms (beat, soul, pop) reproducing them faithfully except for the lyrics, which in some cases were literal translations and in other totally removed from the original. The purpose was to rearrange songs whose success on other markets was already tried and tested at a time when – apart from few major hits – not many foreign-language records could scale the charts and Italian audiences preferred songs in their own language. In some cases, however, singers, bands or producers had the merit of discovering songs that drew little appreciation at home, but would become huge hits in Italy at a time when singles on 45rpm records dominated the market. Finally, this section also includes the opposite case, i.e. Italian songs recorded in foreign languages. This is a less common but still relevant phenomenon: famous Italian songs not only appeared in English, French or Spanish, but also in Russian, Finnish, Japanese or Chinese versions. The history of Italian covers is a litmus test that says a lot about the international popularity of the song and the trends that led to its inclusion in several local repertoires, where it enjoys a great reputation.