Adriano Celentano

Adriano Celentano (Italian pronunciation: [adriˈaːno tʃelenˈtaːno]; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer, composer, producer, comedian, actor, film director and TV host.

He is dubbed as the Molleggiato because of his dancing. Throughout his career Celentano has sold over 150 million albums, also abroad, making him one of the Italian musical artists with the most sales.

Very often also the author of the music and songs (sometimes co-author of music and lyrics, even though, according to his wife Claudia Mori accredited to others), due to his career and his great successes, not only in Italy but also in the rest of the world, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music. His character has meant that Celentano has built a persona who became a symbol and an icon for many Italians after World War II.

He is recognized for having realized that something in the music business (and costume) was changing, and then to have introduced in Italy, influenced by the new stars of rock and roll from the United States, a new type of music, unbridled and with great appeal especially to young people of that time.

Toto Cutugno

Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtɔto kuˈtuɲɲo]; born 7 July 1943) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. Cutugno may be best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", which was on his hit CD, I Grandi Successi.

Biography

Toto Cutugno was born in Fosdinovo, Tuscany, to a Sicilian father and a Tuscan mother. Shortly after his birth the family moved to La Spezia (Liguria).

He began his musical career as a drummer, but later formed a band that performed his own songs. He also had cowritten for popular French-American singer Joe Dassin, contributing some of his most famous songs, including "L'été indien" ("Africa"), "Et si tu n'existais pas" and "Le Jardin du Luxembourg" (written with Vito Pallavicini). He also co-wrote Dalida's "Laissez moi danser" ("Voglio l'anima"), which became a Platinum record shortly after its release.

In 1976, Cutugno participated for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival coming up with third place with his band Albatros with the song, Volo 504. He then won in 1980 with the song "Solo noi", and subsequently finished second in six editions: in 1984 with the song "Serenata" ("Serenade"), in 1987 with "Figli" ("Sons" or "Children"), in 1988 with "Emozioni" ("Emotions"), in 1989 with the song "Le mamme" ("The Mamas"), in 1990 with Ray Charles with the song "Gli amori" ("Loves", but entitled "Good Love Gone Bad" in Charles' version) and in 2005 with Annalisa Minetti with the song "Come noi nessuno al mondo" ("No One Else in the World Like Us"). Toto Cutugno participated in the festival a total of 13 times.

Renato Carosone

Renato Carosone [reˈnaːto karoˈzoːne] (3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001), born Renato Carusone, was among the greatest figures of Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called canzone napoletana, Naples' song tradition.

Biography

Beginnings

Carosone, first of three siblings, was born in Naples. He studied piano at the Naples Conservatory and obtained his diploma in 1937, when he was just 17. Soon after he signed a contract as a band leader for a tour of Africa, which resulted in him working in Addis Ababa as a pianist. Here he would become a prominent figure of the music scene, performing with his band on several occasions. He returned to Italy only in 1946, after the end of World War II.

Despite his success abroad, Carosone was a stranger to Italian audiences. He had to start his career afresh, playing the piano for small dance-hall bands. These new performances were strongly influenced by the new rhythms and music styles he had encountered during his ten years' absence from the Italian music scene.

Fred Buscaglione

Ferdinando "Fred" Buscaglione (Italian pronunciation: [fred buskaʎˈʎone]; 23 November 1921 – 3 February 1960) was an Italian singer and actor who became very popular in the late 1950s. His public persona – the character he played both in his songs and his movies – was of a humorous mobster with a penchant for whisky and women.

Biography

Ferdinando Buscaglione was born in Turin, Italy on 23 November 1921. The son of a porter, his great passion for music appeared at a very young age. When he was 11, his parents enrolled him at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Turin. During his teen years, he performed at night clubs in Turin singing jazz and playing double bass and violin.

During World War II, he was incarcerated in an American internment camp in Sardinia. His musical talent was apparent and he was allowed to join the orchestra of the allied radio station of Cagliari. This permitted Buscaglione to continue to make music and to experiment with new sounds and rhythms coming from the U.S. (Most foreign music had been officially forbidden by the Italian Fascist regime.)

Domenico Modugno

Domenico Modugno (Italian pronunciation: [doˈmeːniko moˈduɲɲo]; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, guitarist, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu dipinto di blu". He is considered the first Italian cantautore.

Early life

The youngest of four children, Modugno was born at Polignano a Mare, in the province of Bari (Apulia), on 9 January 1928. His father, Vito Cosimo Modugno, was a municipal police commander, while his mother, Pasqua Lorusso, was a housewife.

At the age of 9, his family moved to San Pietro Vernotico, in the Province of Brindisi, where his father was transferred for a new job position. Here Domenico attended primary school and learned San Pietro Vernotico's dialect, which belongs to the linguistic area of Lecce's dialect, similar to Sicilian. He attended secondary school in Lecce.

From a young age he wanted to become an actor and in 1951, after his military service, he enrolled in an acting school.