’O sole mio

"’O sole mio" (Neapolitan pronunciation: [o ˈsoːlə ˈmiːə]) is a globally known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua. There are other versions of "’O sole mio" but it is usually sung in the original Neapolitan language. ’O sole mio is the Neapolitan equivalent of standard Italian Il mio sole and translates literally as "my sunshine".

Lyrics

Recordings

"’O sole mio" has been performed and covered by many artists, including Enrico Caruso, Rosa Ponselle, Beniamino Gigli, and Mario Lanza. Sergio Franchi recorded this song on his 1962 RCA Victor Red Seal debut album, Romantic Italian Songs.Luciano Pavarotti won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for his rendition of "’O sole mio". Tony Bennett recorded the song with a big band arrangement by Don Costa in 1972, which Verve released as a 45 single.

English versions

In 1915, Charles W. Harrison recorded the first English translation of "’O sole mio". In 1921, William E. Booth-Clibborn wrote lyrics for a hymn using the music, entitled "Down from His Glory."

Bryan Adams

Bryan Guy Adams, OC OBC (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian singer songwriter and photographer.

Adams rose to fame in North America with his album Cuts Like a Knife and turned into a global star with his 1984 album Reckless.

For his contributions to music, Adams has garnered many awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations, 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television in 1992. He has also won MTV, ASCAP, American Music awards, two Ivor Novello Awards for song composition and has been nominated five times for Golden Globe Awards and three times for Academy Awards for his songwriting for films.

Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world.

Adams was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2011 and Canada's Walk of Fame, Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1998., and in April 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards. In 2008, Bryan was ranked 38th on the list of All-Time top artists in the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. On 13 January 2010, he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career, and on 1 May 2010 was given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli, OMRI, OMDSM (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛːa boˈtʃɛlli]; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian classical crossover tenor, recording artist and singer-songwriter. Born with poor eyesight, he became permanently blind at the age of 12 following a football accident.

Bocelli has recorded fourteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 80 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.

In 1998, he was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. "The Prayer", his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. With the release of his classical album, Sacred Arias, Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the top three positions on the US Classical Albums charts. Seven of his albums have since reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and a record-setting ten have topped the classical crossover albums charts in the United States.