This novelty song pokes fun at Italian Americans with thick accents and exaggerated speaking gestures. Joe Dolce was born in Ohio, and his parents were Italian American. In the late '70s, he took a train from Ohio to California and wrote some poetry, including this song. He moved to Australia in 1979, where he created the Joe Dolce Music Theater and created the character Giuseppe, which he used to perform this song.
This song topped the chart in over 15 countries including Australia, Canada, France and Germany and 18 months later, England, where it kept Ultravox's "Vienna" from the #1 spot. It went on to sell 6 million copies worldwide and has been recorded in over 35 different foreign language cover versions. It is the most successful Australian produced single in Australian music history, with sales of over 350,000 copies.
