Famous Italian Singers

Louie Prima was born December 7, 1910 in New Orleans to Italian emigrants. His older brother Leon was a well regarded local bandleader. In his youth, Prima played the trumpet in his brother's band and the pit band of the Saenger Theater.
In 1933 he began his recording career, as part of the David Rose orchestra at station WGN in Chicago.
In 1934 Prima moved to NY, working regularly on 52nd Street. Prima's informal jazz group was known as Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang.
In 1936, Prima's composition, "Sing Sing Sing" became one of his biggest hits of the swing era. Benny Goodman performed the song at Carnegie Hall.

Big bands were big business in the 1940s and was pressured from booking agents to form a conventional big band. Prima sang most of the band vocals. Prima's big band continued into the early 1950s, with a series of novelty recordings supervised by record producer Mitch Miller. His band continued up until 1975. Prima was married five times. His fourth wife , Keely Smith was his female singer in his band throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. They had two children together.

In 1967 Prima's distinctive voice and jazzy delivery landed him a role in Walt Disney's animated feature The Jungle Book, as King Louie.

1973, he suffered a mild heart attack.
In 1975, Prima found out he had a brain stem tumor. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery to remove the tumor. He never recovered, and died three years later in 1978 at the age of 67.

Dean Martin's real name was Dino Paul Crocetti born June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio. He was a boxer at the age of 15 and later became a blackjack dealer before becoming a nightclub singer. He was discovered by one of the Mills brothers and was later introduced to Frank Sinatra and became a member of the Rat Pack. His charm and coolness gave him the nickname the "King of Cool". He also teamed with Jerry Lewis and toured onstage together and made several movies. Dean Martin recorded more than 100 albums over his career. His major hit songs were "That's Amore", " Volare" and "Everybody Loves Somebody". He won a Golden Globe award for his performance in Who WasThat Lady? In the 1970s he had a hit TV show called the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roas"t. Dean was a family man, even though he appeared to be a drunk on TV. He insisted that was just an act. He retired from show business in 1991. Martin died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1995 in Beverly Hills, California.

Frank Sinatra was one of the best singer entertainers of all time. Even after his death, his music is still remembered all over the world. He had a showmanship on stage that captivated audiences. Some people say life is empty without Sinatra. Among his nicknames were Ol' Blue Eyes and The Chairman of the Board.

Al Martino's real name is Alfred Cini, born on October 7, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
His single "Here in My Heart" was number one for nine weeks in the UK in 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records. One of the most successful Martino hits was "Spanish Eyes", achieving several gold and platinum discs for sales.

In the U.S., Martino had eleven top 40 hits in the Billboard pop singles chart in the 1960s and 1970s, with 1963's "I Love You Because" and 1964's "I Love You More and More Every Day" both reaching the Top Ten. He also sang the title song for the film, "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964),
He also had small acting roles, in the Godfather movies playing singer Johnny Fontane. He also sang the title theme song, "Speak Softly Love".

Al Martino died on October 13, 2009,

Tony Bennett was born on August 3, 1926 in Astoria, Queens, New York. His real name is Anthony Dominick Benedetto. He's a singer of popular music, standards and jazz. After having achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1950s and early 1960s, his career suffered an extended downturn during the height of the rock music era.
Bennett staged a remarkable comeback, however, in expanding his audience to a younger generation while keeping his musical style intact. He remains a popular and critically praised recording artist and concert performer still today.

JImmy Roselli was born in Hoboken New Jersey 1925. Jimmy was raised by his Neapolitan grandfather. Reason being, his mother died two days after she gave birth to him and his father a prizefighter, abandon him.At the age of 9 to make some money, JImmy shined shoes to soldiers and hookers while singing to them. At age 13, he won a national singing contest on NBC's Amature Hour Radio. At age 21 he opened for Jimmy Durante at a gig in Boston. In the 1960s he was a sellout at the Copacabana. He is best know for his hit song 'Mala Femmena." In his biography, he tells of how the wiseguys would harass him on wanting to control a hugh share of this salary. He refused and some mobsters wanted to kill him, but their woman said not to. He had turned down a part in the Godfather Part II and other guest apparances because he felt he was worth more than what they were offering him. He died of heart complications at the age of 85 on July 10, 2011.

Perry Como's real name was Perino Ronald Como. He was born on May 18, 1912. Before becoming a singer, he was a barber. He signed on with the RCA Victor record label in 1943. He sold millions of records and had a weekly musical variety TV show which proved one of the most successful in television history. His calm and relaxed nature was reflected in his singing.

He was always noted for his relaxed attitude, an attitude which was reflected in his singing style. His was a beautiful voice, possessed by this former barber. His music was very popular in the United Kingdom as well as in America. His first big hit in 1953 was 'Don't Let The Stars Get in Your Eyes' and 'in 1958 'Magic Moments'. His most popular songs were 'It's Impossible', 'And I Love You So', and 'For The Good Times' in the 1970s. Perry Como also made a number of films, including 'Something For The Boys' and 'Doll Face'. He died in his sleep on May 12, 2001.

Connie Francis' real name is Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero. She was born on December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey.

Connie Francis was traditionally a pop and rock and roll artist with hits like "Who's Sorry Now", "Lipstick on Your Collar" and "Where the Boys Are". But she also sang Italian songs of her heritage with her smash hits "Mama" and "Forget Domani".

Jerry Vale (born Gennaro Luigi Vitaliano, July 8, 1932, The Bronx, New York) is an American singer.

Career

In high school, in order to make some money, he took a job shining shoes in a barbershop in New York City. He sang while he shined shoes, and his boss liked the sound so well that he paid for music lessons for the boy. Enjoying the lessons, Vale started singing in high school musicals and at a local club. This led to additional club dates, including one that lasted for three years at a club in the suburb of Yonkers, New York, just north of the city. When Paul Insetta, (who was a road manager for Guy Mitchell and a hit songwriter) heard him there, he signed him to a management contract, changed his name, and further coached him. He then arranged for Vale to record some demonstration records of songs he'd written, and brought the demos to Columbia Records. Vale then signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, and Insetta managed him for many years.

His version of the National Anthem, recorded in the late 1960s, was a fixture at sporting events for many years.

Vale and Rita, his wife of over forty years, reside in Palm Desert, California. His autobiography, A Singer's Life, was published in 2000 by Celebrity Profiles, Long Island, New York. He made cameo appearances as himself in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" and the 1995 film "Casino".

Vic Damone was born on June 12, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. . His real name is Vito Rocco Farinola. Damone had asked Perry Como to hear him sing and he liked his voice. So Perry Como took Damone under his wing and referred him to a local band leader. The name Damone was taken from his mother's maiden name.
In 1947, he entered a contest on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout and won the competition. After meeting Milton Berle at the station, who gave him a chance to perform regular shows at two nightclubs. By the middle of 1947, he signed on with Mercury Records.

His first release, "I Have But One Heart" reached #7 on the Billboard chart.
In 1948 he got his own weekly radio show, Saturday Night Serenade.

Mario Lanza was born January 31, 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an American operatic tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the 1950s. His voice was considered by many to rival that of Enrico Caruso, whom Lanza portrayed in the 1951 film The Great Caruso. Lanza was able to sing all types of music. He died October 7, 1959.

Lou Monte was well know for bringing comedy to his songs. His hit single "Pepino the Italian Mouse" was my favorite when I was five years old. I often think of my grandmother and how she used to dance to the song. His other smash hit was "Dominick the Donkey." was a classic Italian Christmas song. Lou Monte would often mix English and Italian on his songs.

Luciano Pavarotti was born October 12, 1935 in Modena to the family of a baker.
After abandoning the dream to become a professional football goalkeeper, Pavarotti spent seven years in vocal training and began his career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy. He sang in houses in The Netherlands, Vienna, London, Ankara, Budapest and Barcelona.

Popular stardom came at the 1990 World Cup in Italy with the performances of "Nessun Dorma" (from Turandot) and as one of The Three Tenors in their famed first concert. The other star tenors were Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.

The later years brought a decline in ability to perform on stage due to a weight gain and lack of mobility. Pavarotti's final appearance in an opera was at the Met in March 2004. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy saw him performing for the last time. Pavarotti sang Nessun Dorma, with the crowd as its Chorus, and got a thunderous standing ovation. On September 6, 2007, he died at home in Modena from pancreatic cancer.

Andrea Bocelli was born on 22nd September 1958 and grew up at the family farm in Lajatico, nestling between the vines of the Pisan countryside.
He studied piano at the age of six. Later the flute and saxaphone, but then he discovered his voice and from then on, he knew what his real talent was.
In 1970, he won in a singing competition, performing 'O sole mio'. To continue paying for his voice lessons with Maestro Luciano Bettarini, he would play piano at local bars. He was discovered by Caterina Caselli and signed to her record label "Sugar".
Andrea had an opportunity to make his debut on the operatic stage, in 1994 in Verdi's Macbeth in the role of Macduff. That Christmas he was invited to sing the Adeste Fideles in St. Peters Square before the Pope. That was the beginning of his career to fame.
In September 2009 Bocelli made his triumphant debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in a triple concert where he performed sacred arias and liede

Also in 2009, his Christmas record sold more than 4 million copies, making it the fifth best selling album in the world that year. Not to mention his 65 million records sold to date. In February 2011, Bocelli received a 20 minute standing ovation at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. On September 2011, Bocelli performed on the lawn of Central Park along with Celine Dion and other artist. The CDs and DVDs of this concert was sold to 70 countries. He is definitely one of the greatest tenors.

Italian Flag Crest Boot Medieval by biscottimafia
View other Italian Mugs

Real Italians Call it Gravy! by charity7squid
Make custom tee shirts at zazzle.com

biscottimafia's Store at Zazzle