What a wonderful way to wake up, I thought! I had switched on the radio to hear the clear, silky voice of a female singer singing ̎Easy to Love. ̎ The only problem was that I didn't know who was singing. I soon found out that it was the Italian jazz singer, Roberta Gambarini.
It was probably always Gambarini's destiny to be a singer. Her parents even called her, Roberta, after their favourite movie, Roberta, which starred Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, and featured Jerome Kern songs. These included one of Gambarini's parent's favourite songs, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes."
A distinguished, true maestro, a man that has brought us beautiful songs and amazing TV shows, someone who represented an entire generation like very few could: this is Alberto Testa. Testa's words conquered the entire world and his life was about the entire world.
Every country has that special female singer who with her voice defines more than just a period, more than just a style, but a nation in its entirety, crossing the social boundaries that tie down other singers. While the United States has Barbra Streisand and Canada has Celine Dion, Italy has Mina. This amazing performer, whose voice goes beyond perfection, has been part of the Italian cultural landscape since the 1960s. At the beginning of her career Mina appeared on television, which was then still shown in black and white.
The 1960's were a crucial, very much loved and dearly remembered decade in Italian history, in part because of the so called economic boom, a golden moment for Italian economy, when industrialization was at its peak and consumerism, after the struggling days of the 1950's reconstruction, was starting to finally become the Italian way of life. But also because of the atmosphere of joyousness and lightheartedness which characterized them.
At the end of the Second World War, Allied troupes occupied Italy and American and English soldiers stormed through the country bringing all those things Italian people hadn't been allowed to have for twenty solid years. Italy enjoyed its freedom, and even if money was tight and the war had left terrible scars, people, finally free from twenty long years of dictatorship, wanted to sing, dance, and have fun. And, they wanted to do it to the rhythm of the musical trends from across the Atlantic Ocean.
The true nature of Fabrizio De André is a poetic one, as he was probably was more of a poet than a musician or a singer. Let's not be mistaken, he was an excellent performer and a great composer, but the strength and energy that came out of his words are certainly what made him such an important character in the Italian culture. De André was able to create tales with his songs, like a medieval storyteller. And like an artist he broke all the rules; he had a strong message and didn't hide it in complicated lyric twisting.
Just as Elvis Presley revolutionized music and dance with his unique voice, look, and moves, Adriano Celentano brought a completely different style to Italy, a style that was destined to change the musical scene forever and to create perhaps the biggest icon in Italian show business. Since 1965 when his first album was released he has sold more songs than anyone in Italian music; to date, his selling record is around 150 million units (among LP, CD and downloads), simply astonishing numbers.
Al Bano e Romina Power are one of the most famous duo in Italian music as they delivered wonderful songs, but also a magnificent love that for many years inspired an entire nation. Al Bano is a self-made singer coming from the South of Italy while Romina is the daughter of legendary Hollywood star Tyrone Power.
The very first time that I saw Morgan on TV, I changed the channel as I had a natural desire to shut him off, thinking "there it is again, an 'artist wanna be' with zero talent who ended up on primetime television because of his connections." Months later, after being bombarded by the constant presence of this dyed blond Captain Morgan look-alike, I decided to research him in order to finally understand what was so special about him, aside from the fact that he had been married for a short while to Asia Argento.
Italian popular music at the turn of the 20th century was like a small child, ready to absorb all possible input coming from the outside world. It was strongly, and somewhat randomly, influenced by the Opera, by the so called Neapolitan Song and by foreign musical styles such as the French Café Chantant and the American Charleston.
When approaching the history of Italian modern music, it is important to remember that for almost two centuries the first and strongest musical tradition of the country was opera. Opera had romantic and adventurous plots and above all melodic and catchy Arie, musical pieces which were sung and whistled all over the Italian peninsula like our modern songs.
Italian music abroad is often reduced to old Neapolitan songs and the great lyrical tradition embodied by famous singers such as Luciano Pavarotti and more recently Andrea Bocelli. What many don't know is the richness to be found in modern Italian music, which has been influenced by a variety of factors. Italy also has a long history of creative singer-songwriters who have shaped the country's music industry and continue to do so.
Italy has always been considered a "third world country" from the point of view of the music industry, but this seems about to change. Brand new Italian indie acts have started to be noticed in England and are now ready for global acclaim.
Italian "Global Diva" CARMEN CONSOLI Announces North American Tour (CHI, NYC, BOS, MTL, TOR) Concert dates in support of June 15 2010 US album release of "Elettra" (Electra) on Wrasse Records
"Calling himself an "enchanter," Mr. Capossela, one of the cleverest and most eccentric musicians in Italy, spins enigmatic fantasies of both skid row Americana and mythological Italy in a grittily elegant cabaret-jazz style that recalls Tom Waits and Paolo Conte". The New York Times
"Like a mystical cross between Tom Waits and John Cleese, Capossela limns a wry, topsy-turvy musical universe...he is known for captivating theatrical performances". The New Yorker
Some Americans seem to equate Italian music with O Sole Mio and Funiculi Funicula.Meaning no disrespect to these great songs, Italy has a popular music tradition that provides strong competition to popular and rock music from other countries such as the United States and England.
I would divide Italian popular music into four different categories (that overlap to some extent).
![Italian Music of the '50s](http://www.lifeinitaly.com/files/imagecache/small/san remo.jpg "Domenico Modugno singing "Nel blu dipinto di blu"")
