Bella Ciao From Sameer Dossani

Italian


Russian


Spanish

Lyrics:


1. part: Spanish 2. part: Italian

Castellano:

esta mañana ... me he levantado
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
esta mañana me he levantado y he descubierto al invasor

oh partigiano ... me voy contigo
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
partigiano me voy contigo porque me siento aqui morir!

Y si yo caigo ... en la guerrilla
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
si yo caigo en la guerrila te dejaré mi fusil

cava una fosa ... en la montaña
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
cava una fosa en la montaña a la sombra de una flor

asi la gente ... cuando la vea
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
asi la gente cuando la vea gritará ¡REVOLUCIÓN!

esta es la historia ... de un guerrillero
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
esta es la historia de un guerrillero muerto por la libertad


Meaning:
This morning ... I got up
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
this morning I got up and detected the invader

oh partigiano ... I'll go with you
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
partigiano I'll go with you because here I'm feeling my death

And when I fall ... in the guerrilla
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
And when I fall in the guerrilla I'll leave you my gun

dig a grave ... on the mountain!
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
dig a grave on the mountain next to the shadow of a flower!

so the people ... when they see it
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
so the people when they see it they'll shout REVOLUTION!

That's the history ... of a guerrilla fighter
oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
that's the history of a guerrilla fighter who died for liberty

An Evening in Roma

Dean Martin



Patrizio Buanne


Como e' bella ce' la luna brille e' strette
strette como e' tutta bella a passeggiare
Sotto il cielo di Roma

Down each avenue or via, street or strata
You can see 'em disappearing two by two
On an evening in Roma
Do they take 'em for espresso
Yeah, I guess so
On each lover's arm a girl I wish I knew
On an evning in Roma

Though there's grining and mandolining in sunny Italy
The beginning has just begun when the sun goes down
So please meet me in the plaza near your casa
I am only one and one is much too few
On an evening in Roma

Don't know what the country's coming to
But in Rome do as the Romans do
Will you on an evening in Roma

Como e' bella ce' la luna brille e' strette
strette como e' tutta bella a passeggiare
Sotto il cielo di Roma
Don't know what the country's coming to
But in Rome do as the Romans do
Will you on an evening in Roma
Sott'er celo de Roma
On an evening in Roma

Dean Martin
(June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an Italian-American singer, film actor and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?". One of the leaders of the "Rat Pack", he was a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage/night clubs, recordings, motion pictures, and television who was nicknamed the "King of Cool",[1][2]

Born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio to Italian immigrant parents, Gaetano and Angela Crocetti (née Barra), his father was an immigrant from Abruzzo, Italy and his mother was an Italian of part Neapolitan and part Sicilian ancestry. Martin was the younger of two sons. He had one brother, Bill. Martin spoke only Italian until he started school at the age of five. He attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville, Ohio and took up the drums as a hobby as a teenager. He was the target of much ridicule for his broken English and ultimately dropped out from Steubenville High School in the 10th grade because he thought that he was smarter than his teachers. He delivered bootleg liquor, served as a speakeasy croupier, wrote crafty anecdotes, was a blackjack dealer, worked in a steel mill and boxed as welterweight. He grew up a neighbor to Jimmy the Greek. At the age of 15, he was a boxer who billed himself as "Kid Crochet". His prizefighting years earned him a broken nose (later fixed), a permanently split lip, and many sets of broken knuckles (a result of not being able to afford the tape used to wrap boxers' hands). He won 11 of his 12 bouts.[3] For a time, he roomed with Sonny King, who, like Martin, was just starting in show business and had little money. It is said that Martin and King held bare-knuckle matches in their apartment, fighting until one of them was knocked out; people paid to watch. Eventually, Martin gave up boxing. He worked as a roulette stickman and croupier in an illegal casino behind a tobacco shop where he had started as a stock boy. At the same time, he sang with local bands. Calling himself "Dino Martini" (after the then-famous Metropolitan Opera tenor, Nino Martini), he got his first break working for the Ernie McKay Orchestra. He sang in a crooning style influenced by Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers), among others. In the early 1940s, he started singing for bandleader Sammy Watkins, who suggested he change his name to Dean Martin.
In October 1941, Martin married Elizabeth Anne McDonald. During their marriage (ended by divorce in 1949), they had four children. Martin worked for various bands throughout the early 1940s, mostly on looks and personality until he developed his own singing style. Martin famously flopped at the Riobamba when he succeeded Frank Sinatra in 1943, but it was the setting for his introduction.
Martin repeatedly sold 10 percent shares of his earnings for up front cash. He apparently did this so often that he found he had sold over 100 percent of his income. Such was his charm that most of his lenders forgave his debts and remained friends.
Drafted into the United States Army in 1944 during World War II, Martin served a year stationed in Akron, Ohio. He was then reclassified as 4-F (possibly due to a double hernia; Jerry Lewis referred to the surgery Martin needed for this in his autobiography) and was discharged.
By 1946, Martin was doing relatively well, but was still little more than an East Coast nightclub singer with a common style, similar to that of Bing Crosby. He drew audiences to the clubs he played, but he inspired none of the fanatic popularity enjoyed by Sinatra.
[edit]Mafia connections

A biography on Martin entitled Dean Martin: King of the Road by Michael Freedland alleged he had links to the Mafia early in his career. According to this book, Martin was given help with his singing career by the Chicago Outfit who owned saloons in the city, and later performed in shows hosted by these bosses when he was a star. The mob bosses were Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana. Freedland suggests Martin felt little sympathy for the Mafia and only did them small favors if it was not inconvenient for him. Reportedly, the FBI's bugs once picked up a mafioso making plans to injure or even kill Martin because of a perceived lack of gratitude. Another book, The Animal in Hollywood by John L. Smith, depicted Dean Martin's longtime friendship with Mafia mobsters Johnny Roselli and Anthony Fiato. Smith suggests Anthony Fiato (a/k/a "the Animal") did Dean Martin many favors, such as getting back money from two swindlers who had cheated Betty Martin, Dean's ex-wife, out of thousands of dollars of her alimony.
[edit]Teaming with Jerry Lewis

Main article: Martin and Lewis
Martin attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures, but a Hollywood contract was not forthcoming. He seemed destined to remain on the nightclub circuit until he met a comic named Jerry Lewis at the Glass Hat Club in New York, where both men were performing. Martin and Lewis formed a fast friendship which led to their participation in each other's acts and the ultimate formation of a music-comedy team. More than a few people dubbed them "The Organ Grinder and the Monkey".

Martin and Lewis' official debut together occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24, 1946, and they were not well received. The owner, Skinny D'Amato, warned them that if they did not come up with a better act for their second show later that night, they would be fired. Huddling together in the alley behind the club, Lewis and Martin agreed to "go for broke", to throw out the pre-scripted gags and to improvise. Dean sang and Jerry came out dressed as a busboy, dropping plates and making a shambles of both Martin's performance and the club's sense of decorum until Lewis was chased from the room as Martin pelted him with breadrolls. They did slapstick, reeled off old vaudeville jokes, and did whatever else popped into their heads at the moment. This time, the audience doubled over in laughter. This success led to a series of well-paying engagements on the Eastern seaboard, culminating in a triumphant run at New York's Copacabana. Patrons were convulsed by the act, which consisted primarily of Lewis interrupting and heckling Martin while he was trying to sing, and ultimately the two of them chasing each other around the stage and having as much fun as possible. The secret, both said, is that they essentially ignored the audience and played to one another.
A radio series commenced in 1949, the same year Martin and Lewis were signed by Paramount producer Hal B. Wallis as comedy relief for the movie My Friend Irma.

Martin liked California which, because of its earth tremors, had few tall buildings. Suffering as he did from claustrophobia, Martin almost never used elevators, and climbing stairs in Manhattan's skyscrapers was not his idea of fun.
Their agent, Abby Greshler, negotiated for them one of Hollywood's best deals: although they received only a modest $75,000 between them for their films with Wallis, Martin and Lewis were free to do one outside film a year, which they would co-produce through their own York Productions. They also had complete control of their club, record, radio and television appearances, and it was through these endeavors that they earned millions of dollars.

Martin and Lewis were the hottest act in America during the early 1950s, but the pace and the pressure took its toll. Most critics underestimated Dean's contribution to the team, as he had the thankless job of the straight man, and his singing had yet to develop into the unique style of his later years. Critics praised Lewis, and while they admitted that Martin was the best partner he could have, most claimed Lewis was the real talent and could succeed with anyone. However, Lewis always praised his partner, and while he appreciated the attention he was getting, he has always said the act would never have worked without Dean Martin. In Dean & Me, he calls Martin one of the great comic geniuses of all time. But the harsh comments from the critics, as well as frustration with the formulaic similarity of Martin & Lewis movies, which producer Hal Wallis stubbornly refused to change, led to Martin's dissatisfaction. He put less enthusiasm into the work, leading to escalating arguments with Lewis. They finally could not work together, especially after Martin told his partner he was "nothing to me but a dollar sign". The act broke up in 1956, 10 years to the day from the first official teaming.

Splitting up their partnership was not easy. It took months for lawyers to work out the details of terminating many of their club bookings, their television contracts, and the dissolution of York Productions. There was intense public pressure for them to stay together.

Lewis had no trouble maintaining his film popularity alone, but Martin, unfairly regarded by much of the public and the motion picture industry as something of a spare tire, found the going hard. His first solo film, Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957), was a box office failure. He was still popular as a singer, but with rock and roll surging to the fore, the era of the pop crooner was waning. It looked like Martin's fate was to be limited to nightclubs and to be remembered as Jerry Lewis's former partner.
The CBS film, Martin and Lewis, a made-for-TV movie about the famous comedy duo, starred Jeremy Northam as Martin, and Sean Hayes as Lewis. It depicted the years from 1946-1956.
[edit]Solo career

Never totally comfortable in films, Martin wanted to be known as a real actor. Though offered a fraction of his former salary to co-star in a war drama, The Young Lions (1957), he agreed so he could learn from Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. Tony Randall already had the part, but talent agency MCA realized that with this movie, Martin would become a triple threat: they could make money from his work in night clubs, movies, and records. Martin replaced Randall and the film turned out to be the beginning of Martin's spectacular comeback. Success would continue as Martin starred alongside Frank Sinatra for the first time in a highly acclaimed Vincente Minnelli drama, Some Came Running (1958). By the mid '60s, Martin was a top movie, recording, and nightclub star, while Lewis' film career declined. Martin was acclaimed for his performance as Dude in Rio Bravo (1959), directed by Howard Hawks and also starring John Wayne and singer Ricky Nelson. He teamed up again with Wayne in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), somewhat unconvincingly cast as brothers.
In 1960, Dean Martin was cast in the motion picture version of the Judy Holliday hit stage play Bells Are Ringing. Martin played a satiric variation of his own womanizing persona as Vegas singer "Dino" in Billy Wilder's comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) with Kim Novak, and he was not above poking fun at his image in films such as the Matt Helm spy spoofs of the 1960s, in which he was a co-producer.
As a singer, Martin copied the styles of Harry Mills (of the Mills Brothers), Bing Crosby, and Perry Como until he developed his own and could hold his own in duets with Sinatra and Crosby. Like Sinatra, he could not read music, but he recorded more than 100 albums and 600 songs. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody", knocked The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" out of the number-one spot in the United States in 1964. This was followed by the similarly-styled "The Door is Still Open to My Heart", which reached number six later that year. Elvis Presley was said to have been influenced by Martin, and patterned "Love Me Tender" after his style. Martin, like Elvis, was influenced by country music. By 1965, some of Martin's albums, such as Dean "Tex" Martin, The Hit Sound Of Dean Martin, Welcome To My World and Gentle On My Mind were composed of country and western songs made famous by artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens. Martin hosted country performers on his TV show and was named "Man Of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1966. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," a song Martin performed in Ocean's Eleven that never became a hit at the time, has enjoyed a spectacular revival in the media and pop culture (which can be traced to its usage in 1993's A Bronx Tale).
For three decades, Martin was among the most popular acts in Las Vegas. Martin sang and was one of the smoothest comics in the business, benefiting from the decade of raucous comedy with Lewis. Martin's daughter, Gail, also sang in Vegas and on his TV show, co-hosting his summer replacement series on NBC. Though often thought of as a ladies' man, Martin spent a lot of time with his family; as second wife Jeanne put it, prior to the couple's divorce, "He was home every night for dinner."
[edit]The Rat Pack

Main article: Rat Pack
As Martin's solo career grew, he and Frank Sinatra became close friends. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Martin and Sinatra, along with friends Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. formed the legendary Rat Pack, so called by the public after an earlier group of social friends, the Holmby Hills Rat Pack centered on Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, of which Sinatra had been a member.

The Martin-Sinatra-Davis-Lawford-Bishop group referred to themselves as "The Summit" or "The Clan" and never as "The Rat Pack", although this has remained their identity in the popular imagination. The men made films together, formed an important part of the Hollywood social scene in those years, and were politically influential (through Lawford's marriage to Patricia Kennedy, sister of President John F. Kennedy).

The Rat Pack were legendary for their Las Vegas performances, which were almost never preannounced. For example, the marquee at the Sands Hotel might read DEAN MARTIN---MAYBE FRANK---MAYBE SAMMY. Las Vegas rooms were at a premium when the Rat Pack would appear, with many visitors sleeping in hotel lobbies or cars to get a chance to see the three men together. Their act (always in tuxedo) consisted of each singing individual numbers, duets and trios, along with much seemingly improvised slapstick and chatter. In the socially-charged 1960s, their jokes revolved around adult themes, such as Sinatra's infamous womanizing and Martin's legendary drinking, as well as many at the expense of Davis's race and religion. Davis famously practiced Judaism and used Yiddish phrases onstage, eliciting much merriment from both his stage-mates and his audiences.[citation needed] It was all good-natured male bonding, never vicious, rarely foul-mouthed,[citation needed] and the three had great respect for each other. The Rat Pack was largely responsible for the integration of Las Vegas. Sinatra and Martin steadfastly refused to appear anywhere that barred Davis, forcing the casinos to open their doors to African-American entertainers and patrons, and to drop restrictive covenants against Jews.[citation needed]
Posthumously, the Rat Pack has experienced a popular revival, inspiring the George Clooney/Brad Pitt "Ocean's" trilogy. An HBO film, "The Rat Pack," starred Joe Mantegna as Martin, Ray Liotta as Sinatra and Don Cheadle as Davis. It depicted their contribution to JFK's election in 1960.

Quando Quando Quando

Tony Renis




Connie Francis


Cliff Richard






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeV0ewzoQ00
Engelbert Humperdinck


Dimmi quando tu verrai,
dimmi quando... quando... quando...
l'anno, il giorno e l'ora in cui
forse tu mi bacerai...

Ogni istante attenderò,
fino a quando... quando... quando...
d'improvviso ti vedrò
sorridente accanto a me!

Se vuoi dirmi di sì
devi dirlo perchè
non ha senso per
la mia vita senza te...

Dimmi quando tu verrai,
dimmi quando... quando... quando...
e baciandomi dirai,
"Non ci lasceremo mai!"

Se vuoi dirmi di sì
devi dirlo perchè
non ha senso per
la mia vita senza te...

Dimmi quando tu verrai,
dimmi quando... quando... quando...
e baciandomi dirai,
"Non ci lasceremo mai!"


"Quando, Quando, Quando"

Tell me when will you be mine
Tell me quando quando quando
We can share a love divine
Please don't make me wait again

When will you say yes to me
Tell me quando quando quando
You mean happiness to me
Oh my love please tell me when

Every moments a day
Every day seems a lifetime
Let me show you the way
To a joy beyond compare

I can't wait a moment more
Tell me quando quando quando
Say its me that you adore
And then darling tell me when

Every moments a day
Every day seems a lifetime
Let me show you the way
To a joy beyond compare

I can't wait a moment more
Tell me quando quando quando
Say its me that you adore
And then darling tell me when

Whoa lover tell me when
Oh darling tell me when
Oh come on tell me when
Yea tell me when



All versions come out in 1962 from the original italian version in February 1962 coming fourth at the San Remo festival. On the sheet music on all versions we have clearly written Tony Renis as the music writer. On the Pat Boone and the engelbert humperdinck versions it indicates A.Testa as the Italian words.
This is the registration copywrite number EFO000086566 / 1962-02-14 the title deposited: “Quando, quando, quando; samba. w Alberto Testa, w & m Tony Remis, pseud. of Elio Cesari.” So the music is written by a famous Italian musition , and the first words where from Alberto Testa who recently died October 2009, Remis came fourth with this song in February 1962 at the famous Italian San Remo music Festival, the song was a big hit remaining 10 weeks in the first position in Italy and 20 weeks in the top ten)
"Quando, Quando, Quando" is an Italian pop song from 1962, music by Tony Remis and words by Alberto Testa. American entertainer Pat Boone, who recorded the song in 1962, is listed in some sources as the writer of its English-language lyrics, but other sources, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame, say veteran songwriter Ervin Drake was the lyricist. In 2008 the song was performed in Vietnamese, with lyrics written by Joseph Hieu (Australia). Portuguese version by Cavaco Pilla (sometimes credited under his birth name Cavaco Silva). Cavaco made the song famous in Portugal.
[edit]English versions

The title translates as "When, When, When".
The song has been used and remixed by many artists and in many different advertisements. The most notable rendition in English was by pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck. In 2005, Nelly Furtado performed the song as a duet with Michael Bublé. There is an instrumental Latin version by Edgardo Cintron and The Tiempos Noventa Orchestra. The song was a 1962 Billboard Top 100 entry by Pat Boone. Quando is the only Italian word normally retained in the English version. Pat Boone sings the starting piece in a good Italian accent but mistakes the words he then carries on the the rest of the song in English, repeating every now and again some Italian words. the Italian words sung by Boone: Dimmi quando tu verrai, dimmi quando... quando... quando... l'anno, il giorno e l'ora in cui forse tu mi bacerai... (he say "qui" which means "here" instead of "cui" which means "that")
Other singers: Connie Francis, American pop singer from italian origan sang in Italian in 1963, Cliff Richard, English singer in 1968, Dieter Thomas Kuhn a German singer, sings in German and the song is titled "Sag mir Quando" in 1998, Roberto Blanco from cuban origins famous in Germany, sings in a mixed German and Italian.

This song was sung famously by Hayley Marsh & Stacey Wiltshire in the Eurovision song contest. Having scored an initial rating of 90 points they went on to sing locally achieving great success.


Engelbert Humperdinck:
(born Arnold George Dorsey, May 2, 1936, Madras, India) is a well-known British popular music singer who became famous internationally during the 1960s and 1970s, after adopting the name of the famous German opera composer Engelbert Humperdinck as his own stage name.

He was one of ten children of British Army officer Mervyn Dorsey and his wife Olive. At least one of Arnold George Dorsey's parents was Anglo-Indian (of mixed British and Indian bloodlines), which in turn classifies his ethnicity as 'Anglo-Indian'. His family moved to Leicester, England, when he was 10, and a year later he showed an interest in music and began learning the saxophone. He started work as an apprentice engineer and by the early 1950s he was playing the instrument in nightclubs, but he is believed not to have tried singing until he was 17 and friends coaxed him into entering a pub contest. His impression of Jerry Lewis prompted friends to begin calling him Gerry Dorsey, a name he worked under for almost a decade.[1]
His music career was interrupted by national service in the British Army Royal Corps of Signals during the mid-1950s, but he got his first chance to record in 1958 with Decca Records. His first single, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," was not a hit, but Dorsey recorded for the same company almost a decade later with much different results. Dorsey continued working the nightclubs until 1961, when he was stricken with tuberculosis. He regained his health and returned to nightclub work with little success, but in 1965 he teamed with former roommate Gordon Mills who had become a music impresario and the manager of Tom Jones.[1].
He had his first real success during July 1966, in Belgium where he and four others represented England in the annual Knokke song contest, and in October he was on stage in Mechelen. In that period, Humperdinck was already No. 1 in the Belgian charts, six months before the release of Release Me. Belgian Television then made a video clip in the harbour of Zeebrugge[2]

Aware that Dorsey had been struggling for several years to make it in music, Mills suggested a name change to the more arresting Engelbert Humperdinck, borrowed from the composer of such operas as Hansel and Gretel. Mills also arranged a new deal with Decca Records. In early 1967 the changes paid off when Humperdinck's version of "Release Me," done in a smooth ballad style with a full chorus joining him on the third chorus, scored the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic and scored number one in Britain, keeping The Beatles' adventurous "Strawberry Fields Forever" from entering the top slot in the UK. "Release Me" spent 56 weeks in the Top 50 in a single chart run[3].
Even in a year dominated by psychedelic rock music, the success of "Release Me" may not have been that surprising, considering Frank Sinatra's chart comeback that began a year earlier, and stablemate Tom Jones' success with a ballad or two in the interim, both of which probably opened some new room for more traditionally-styled singers. "Release Me" was believed to sell 85,000 copies a day at the height of its popularity, and the song became the singer's best known song for years.
Humperdinck's deceptively easygoing style and casually elegant good looks, a contrast to Tom Jones's energetic attack and overtly sexual style, earned Humperdinck a large following, particularly among women. "Release Me" was succeeded by two more hit ballads, "There Goes My Everything" and "The Last Waltz", earning him a reputation as a crooner that he didn't always agree with. "If you are not a crooner," he told Hollywood Reporter writer Rick Sherwood, "it's something you don't want to be called. No crooner has the range I have. I can hit notes a bank could not cash. What I am is a contemporary singer, a stylized performer."
He was successful with "Am I That Easy to Forget". "A Man Without Love," "From Here To Eternity", "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize," "The Way It Used To Be, "A Place In The Sun", "I'm A Better Man," and "Winter World of Love" before the 1960s ended. In the 1970s he scored with such albums as The Last Waltz, The Way It Used To Be, A Man Without Love, and Engelbert Humperdinck. His own television program was less successful, being cancelled after six months.

Engelbert Humperdinck poses after giving a concert in a Belgian café, named "Club nr. 1", October 1966
As his kind of balladry became less popular, and after he adopted some Broadway influences, Humperdinck concentrated on selling albums and on live performances, developing lavish stage presentations that made him a natural for Las Vegas and similar venues. He still had successful singles however, and "After the Lovin'", a ballad recorded for CBS subsidiary Epic, became one of the greatest successes of his career during 1976 and won him a Grammy Award nomination.
It was a conscious effort to update his music and his image. "I don't like to give people what they have already seen," Humperdinck was quoted as saying in a 1992 tourbook. "I take the job description of 'entertainer' very seriously! I try to bring a sparkle that people don't expect and I get the biggest kick from hearing someone say 'I had no idea you could do that!'" He also defended his fan mania, which helped him continue to sell records when radio play largely ended for him. "They are very loyal to me and very militant as far as my reputation is concerned," Humperdinck had told Sherwood. "I call them the spark plugs of my success."
But he later revealed that he had little if any say in the selection of songs for his albums, a fact that had sometimes brought into question whether he was his own or his manager's or record label's pawn. As his career moved on, however, Humperdinck began gaining more creative freedom, and his albums accordingly brought several kinds of songs into his reach beyond syrupy ballads. But he kept romance at the core of his music regardless, and he's long since been tagged by fans as "the King of Romance."

Cliff Richard:
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940)[1] is an Indian born English singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.
With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s (ie the 5 year "Before-Beatles" period: 1958-1962), before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts in 1963. John Lennon once claimed that "before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music."... - The Times. Nov 30th 2005.[2]
A conversion to Christianity and subsequent softening of his music led to his having more of a pop than rock image. He has achieved the same impact in the United States despite several chart singles there such as Devil Woman, but he has remained a popular music, film, and television personality in the United Kingdom and he retains a following in other countries. Over his 51-year career he has amassed hundreds of gold and platinum discs and awards, making him one of the most successful singers of all time.
During six decades, Cliff Richard has charted many singles, and holds the record (with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its decades (1950s–2000s). He is the only singer to have had a number one single in the UK in, officially, five consecutive decades, doing so from the 1950s through to the 1990s (though if you discount digital downloads and only count CDs, he has had a number one single in the UK in six consecutive decades, from the 1950s through to the 2000s—see the first paragraph of 'Works: Chart accomplishments' below --, a record generally considered impossible to be beaten). In the British charts, Richard has had more than 130 [single], albums and EPs make the UK top 20, more than any other artist.[3] He has had 8 US Top 40 single entries, of which 3 peaked in the Top 10. He has sold more than 250 million records.[4]

1940–58: Childhood
Cliff Richard was born to Anglo-Indian parents, at the King George Hospital, Victoria Street, in Lucknow, British India, to Rodger Oscar Webb, a manager for a catering contractor that serviced the big Indian Railways, and Dorothy Marie (born Dazely) Webb the family lived in a modest house with other Anglo Indians at Maqbara close to the main shopping centre of Hazratgunge. Cliff's father was 17 years senior to his mother. He was christened on 2 November 1940 at St Thomas' Church, Dehradun, India. Rodger Webb was educated at Christ Church School Lucknow. The Anglo Indians living at Maqbara often were employed as musicians and a band from there played at the Royal Cafe Restaurant Lucknow and another band at the Mohmmad Bagh club which was the officers' military club serving the large garrison at Lucknow.[5] Dorothy Marie's mother served as the dormitory matron at the La Martinier Girls School. Anglo Indians did not enjoy any social status in India and were looked down upon by the British.[5] In 1948, following Indian independence, the family moved to England. The Webbs moved from comparative wealth in India where they had servants and lived in a company supplied flat at Howrah near Calcutta, to the semi-detached house of Harry's grandmother in Carshalton, Surrey. In 1949 his father obtained employment in the credit control office of Thorn Electrical Industries and the family moved in with other relatives in Hertfordshire until a three-bedroom council house in Cheshunt was allocated to them in 1950. Harry then attended Riversmead School (which was later renamed Bishopslea School) from 1952 to 1957. As a member of the top stream he stayed on beyond the mimimum leaving age to take GCE Ordinary Level examinations and he gained a pass in English. He then started work as a filing clerk for a company called Atlas Lamps.[6] A development of flats, Cliff Richard Court, has been named after him in Cheshunt.[7]
Webb became interested in skiffle, his father bought him a guitar at 16 and he formed the Quintones vocal group in 1957. He then sang in the Dick Teague Skiffle Group.
[edit]1958–1963: Success and stardom
Harry Webb became lead singer of a rock and roll group, The Drifters (not to be confused with the U.S. group of the same name). Before their first large scale appearance, at the Regal Ballroom in Ripley, Derbyshire, in 1958, they adopted the name "Cliff Richard and the Drifters". The four members were Webb, Ian "Sammy" Samwell on guitar, Terry Smart on drums and Norman Mitham on guitar. None of the other three played with the later and better known Shadows, although Samwell wrote songs for Richard's later career.
For his début session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a cover of an American record by Bobby Helms. Richard was permitted to record one of his own songs for the B-side; this was "Move It", written by the Drifters' Samwell on a number 715 Green Line bus on the way to Richard's house for a rehearsal. For the Move It session Paramor used the session guitarist Ernie Shears on lead-guitar and Frank Clark on bass.
There are a number of stories about why the A-side was replaced by the intended B-side. One is that Norrie Paramor's young daughter raved about the B-side; another was that influential TV producer Jack Good, who used the act for his TV show Oh Boy!, wanted the only song on his show to be "Move It".[8]
The single went to No. 2 on the UK charts. Music critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler wrote that it was the first genuine British rock classic, followed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over". John Lennon was quoted as saying that "Move It" was the first English rock record.
In the early days, Cliff Richard was marketed as the British equivalent to Elvis Presley. As did previous British rockers such as Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, Richard adopted Presley-like dress and hairstyle. In performance he struck a pose of rock attitude, rarely smiling or looking at the audience or camera. His late 1958 and early 1959 follow-up singles, "High Class Baby" and "Livin' Lovin' Doll", were followed by "Mean Streak", which carried a rocker's sense of speed and passion, and Lionel Bart's "Living Doll". It was on "Living Doll" that the Drifters began to back Richard on record. By that time the group's lineup had changed with the arrival of Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Hank Marvin, and Bruce Welch. The group was obliged to change its name to "The Shadows" after legal complications with the U.S. Drifters as "Living Doll" entered the American top 40, licensed by ABC-Paramount. Living doll was used in his debut film Serious Charge, but as a country standard, rather than a rock n roll standard.
The Shadows were not a typical backing group. They would become contractually separate from Richard, and the group received no royalties for records backing Richard. In 1959, The Shadows (then still the Drifters) landed an EMI recording contract of their own, for independent recordings. That year, they released three singles, two of which featured double-sided vocals and one of which had instrumental A and B sides. In 1960, they recorded and released "Apache". Reaching the top of the charts in more than one country, the single set The Shadows on a path of their own. They thereafter had several major hits, including five UK No. 1s. The band also continued to appear and record with Richard and wrote many of his hits. On more than one occasion, a Shadows' instrumental replaced a Richard song at the top of the British charts.
Richard's fifth single "Living Doll" triggered a softer, more relaxed, sound. Subsequent hits, the No. 1s "Travellin' Light" and "I Love You" and also "A Voice in the Wilderness" and "Theme for a Dream" cemented Richard's status as a mainstream pop entertainer along with contemporaries such as Adam Faith and Billy Fury. Throughout the early sixties his hits were consistently in the top five.
Typically, The Shadows closed the first half of the show with a 30-minute set of their own, then backed Richard on his show-closing 45-minute stint. Tony Meehan and Jet Harris left the group in 1961 and 1962 respectively and later had their own chart successes for Decca. The Shadows added bass players and took on Brian Bennett on drums.
In the early days, Richard sometimes recorded without The Shadows in order to cater to other styles. Even after the Beatles' rise he continued to achieve hits, although more often with an orchestra rather than The Shadows: a revival of "It's All In The Game" and "Constantly". A session under the direction of Billy Sherrill in Nashville yielded two more top two hits: "The Minute You're Gone" and "Wind Me Up" in 1965.
Cliff Richard and in particular, The Shadows never achieved star status in the United States. In 1960 they toured the U.S. and were well-received; however, lacklustre support and distribution from a revolving door of American record labels proved an obstacle to long-term success Stateside despite several chart records by Cliff including the aforementioned "It's All In The Game" on Epic, via a renewed linking of the worldwide Columbia labels after Philips ended its distribution deal with CBS. To the Shadows' chagrin, Apache reached #1 in The U. S. via a cover version by Danish guitarist Jorgen Ingmann which was virtually unchanged from their worldwide hit, save a sound effect Ingmann added evoking whooshing arrows in flight created by flicking his fingers on the fretboard. Cliff and the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was crucial for The Beatles', but these performances did not help them gain sustained success in North America.
Richard and The Shadows appeared in six feature films, including a rather odd début in the 1959 film Serious Charge but most notably in The Young Ones, (the title song being his biggest hit up to "Mistletoe and Wine"); Summer Holiday (which featured a slimmed-down Richard with visible dancing skills), Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers. These films created their own genre known as the "Cliff Richard musical" and led to Richard being named the number one cinema box office attraction in Britain for both 1962 and 1963. The irreverent 1980s TV sitcom The Young Ones took its name from Richard's 1962 movie, and also made references to the singer. In 1966, Richard and the Shadows appeared as marionettes in the Gerry Anderson film Thunderbirds Are GO. In the summer of 1963 Cliff and the Shadows appeared for a season in Blackpool, where Cliff had his portrait modelled by Victor Heyfron, M.A.
[edit]1964–1975: Changing circumstances
As with the other existing rock acts in Britain, Richard's career was affected by the sudden advent of The Beatles and the Mersey sound in 1963 and 1964. However, his popularity was established enough to allow him to weather the storm and continue to have hits in the charts throughout the 1960s, albeit not at the level that he had enjoyed before. Nor did doors open to him in the U.S. market; he was not considered part of the British Invasion, despite four Hot 100 hits (including the top 25 "It's All In The Game") between August 1963 and August 1964, the U.S. public had little awareness of him. However, he continued having international hits, including 1967's "The Day I Met Marie", which reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart and #5 in the Australian charts, and is considered a quintessential summer hit, due to its summery nature.
Although baptised as an Anglican, Richard did not appear to practise the faith in his early years. However, in 1964, he became an active Christian and this conversion has become an important aspect of his life. Standing up publicly as a Christian affected his career in several ways. Initially, he believed that he should quit rock 'n roll, feeling he could no longer be the rocker who had been called a "crude exhibitionist" and "too sexy for TV" and a threat to parents' daughters. However, by the time Richard converted, his image had become tamer due to his film roles and well-spoken manners on radio and TV. Richard intended at first to 'reform his ways' and become a teacher, but Christian friends advised him not to abandon his career just because he had become a Christian. Soon after, Cliff Richard re-emerged, performing with Christian groups and recording some Christian material. He still recorded secular songs with the Shadows, but devoted a lot of his time to Christian work, including appearances with the Billy Graham crusades. As time progressed, Richard balanced his faith and work, enabling him to remain one of the most popular singers in Britain as well as one of its best-known Christians. He was a leading figure in the Nationwide Festival of Light during 1971, protesting against the commercial exploitation of sex and violence in Britain, and advocating the teaching of Christ as the key to recovering moral stability in the nation.[citation needed]
Cliff Richard's first serious acting role took place in the 1967 film Two a Penny, released by Billy Graham's World Wide Pictures,[9] in which he played a young man who gets involved in drug dealing while questioning his life after his girlfriend changes her attitude. He released the live album "Cliff in Japan", which featured Olivia Newton-John as backing singer and John Farrar on guitar (Farrar would later be Newton-John's producer).
Also in 1968 he sang the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest: "Congratulations" by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter; it lost by just one point to Spain's "La La La". According to John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest — The Official History, this was the closest yet result in the contest and Richard locked himself in the toilet to avoid the nerves of the voting.[10] In May 2008 a Reuters news report claimed that voting in the competition had been fixed by the host country's dictator leader, Francisco Franco, to ensure that the Spanish entry won, allowing them to host the contest the following year (1969). In particular, it is claimed that Spanish TVE television executives offered to buy programmes in exchange for votes.[11][12].This has not been proved beyond doubt, but it is thought likely. The story was widely covered and featured on UK Channel 4 News as a main story, with Jon Snow interviewing author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor about the matter.[13] Eurovision later ended voting by national juries in a bid to eradicate such alleged scams. Nevertheless, "Congratulations" was a huge hit throughout Europe and yet another No.1 in April 1968.
In 1973 he sang the British entry Power to All Our Friends; the song finished third, close behind Luxembourg's "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" and Spain's "Eres Tú". This time, Richard took Valium in order to overcome his nerves and his manager was almost unable to wake him for the performance.[14] Richard also hosted the BBC's qualifying heat for the Eurovision Song Contest, "A Song for Europe," in 1970, 1971 and 1972 as part of his BBCTV variety series. He presented the Eurovision preview programmes for the BBC in 1971 and 1972.
After the Shadows split in 1968, Richard continued to record. He had already become accustomed to the Shadows' absence, and was able to record in a variety of settings. Although many of his earliest fans regretted that Richard had tried out songs which were not strictly in the rock 'n roll genre, most had got used to his habit of recording rockier material with the Shadows, while producing more middle-of-the-road material at other times; this versatility extended Richard's career prospects.
During the 1970s, Richard took part in television shows, such as It's Cliff, many of which also starred Hank Marvin and Una Stubbs, and which included A Song for Europe. These shows, for a time, branded Cliff Richard as a television personality more than a recording artist. He began 1970 by appearing on the BBC's highly rated review of the sixties music scene Pop Go The Sixties, performing Bachelor Boy with The Shadows and Congratulations solo, live on the show broadcast across Europe and BBC1, on January 1, 1970. In 1972, he made a short BBC television comedy film called The Case with appearances from comedians and his first-ever duets with a woman, Olivia Newton-John. In 1973 he starred in the film Take Me High.
[edit]1976–1994: Comeback
In 1976 the decision was made to repackage Cliff Richard as a "rock" artist. That year he produced the landmark album I'm Nearly Famous, which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track "Devil Woman" (Richard's first true hit in the United States) and the ballad "Miss You Nights". Richard's fans were excited about this revival of a performer who had been a part of British rock from its early days. Many music names such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Elton John were seen sporting I'm Nearly Famous badges, pleased that their boyhood idol was getting back into the heavier rock in which he had begun his career.
Notwithstanding this, Richard continued to release Gospel-tinged albums in parallel with his rock and pop albums, for example: Small Corners from 1978 contained the single "Yes He Lives". Despite his 1976 comeback, this single failed to chart in the United Kingdom. In 1980, the singer officially changed his name by deed poll from Harry Webb to Cliff Richard.[15]. On December 31, 1976, Cliff performed his latest single Hey, Mr. Dream Maker on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver jubilee.
In 1979, Richard teamed up with the producer Bruce Welch for the pop hit single "We Don't Talk Anymore", which hit #1 in the UK and #7 in the U.S. Brian Ferry added the backing vocals to the song, however, he only hummed the backing vocals, he didn't actually ever sing. The record gave Richard the distinction of becoming the first act to reach the Hot 100 in the 1980s who had also reached the Hot 100 in each of the three previous decades. The song was quickly added onto the end of his latest album Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single ever. The accompanying music video was the sixth to appear on American cable channel MTV when it débuted Aug. 1, 1981.
At long last he had some extended success in the United States following "Devil Woman". The follow-up "Dreaming" also reached the top ten, peaking at #10. His 1980 duet "Suddenly" with Olivia Newton-John, from the film Xanadu, was a Top 20 hit in America, peaking at #20. Richard continued with a string of top ten albums, including I'm No Hero, Wired For Sound, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, and, marking his 25th year in show business, Silver. The singles chart also saw his most consistent period of top twenty hits since the mid 1960s, with three of them on the Hot 100 at the same time at the end of 1980. His 1985 single "She's So Beautiful" reached No.17 in the UK. 1987 saw Richard record his Always Guaranteed album, which became his best selling album of all new material. It contained the two top ten hit singles, "My Pretty One" and "Some People". Richard concluded his thirtieth year in music in spectacular chart style, reaching number one on the British singles chart with "Mistletoe and Wine", while simultaneously holding the number one positions on the album and video charts with the compilation Private Collection summing up his biggest hits from 1979-1988. "Mistletoe and Wine" was his biggest seller to that point.
In 1986, Richard teamed up with The Young Ones to re-record his smash hit "Living Doll" for the charity Comic Relief. Along with the song, the recording contained comedy dialogue between Richard and The Young Ones. The release went to no.1. That same year he opened in the West End as a rock musician called upon to defend Earth in a trial set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the multi-media Dave Clark musical Time. Two Richard singles: "She's So Beautiful" and "Born To Rock 'n Roll" were released respectively in 1985 and '86 from the concept album recorded for "Time".
Further top ten albums included Stronger in 1989, which included the UK No.2 hit "Best Of Me", and UK No.3 "Just Don't Have The Heart" written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman , From a Distance in 1990. Later that year, Richard scored his second UK Christmas No. 1 single with Saviour's Day. Richard unsuccessfully bid for the Christmas No.1 spot again with We Should Be Together and Healing Love in 1991 and 1993 respectively - the latter being taken from his No.1 studio album Cliff Richard - The Album. The next few years saw Richard concentrate on bringing the musical Heathcliff to the stage. The production was a resounding success, but the time it took seemed to take a toll on his reinvigorated chart status. Back in the UK during the next years and throughout the 1980s, Richard remained one of the best-known music artists in the country. In the space of a few years he worked with Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Julian Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Phil Everly, Janet Jackson, Sheila Walsh, and Van Morrison. Richard also reunited with Olivia Newton-John. In 1989, he filled the Wembley Stadium for a few nights with a spectacular titled "The Event". Meanwhile, the Shadows later re-formed (and again split). They recorded on their own, but also reunited with Richard in 1978, 1984, and 1989-90 for some concerts. On 14 June 2004 Cliff Richard joined the Shadows on-stage at the London Palladium. The Shadows had decided to re-form for one final tour of the UK, with this concert heralded as their final ever concert as "Cliff and the Shadows."

Besame Mucho

Tino Rossi


Elvis Presley



Placido Domingo



Andrea Bocelli



Besame,
besame mucho
como si fuera ésta noche
la última vez

Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte después

Besame,
besame mucho
como si fuera ésta noche
la última vez

Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte después

Quiero tenerte muy cerca
mirarme en tus ojos
verte junto a mi
Piensa que tal vez mañana
yo ya estaré lejos,
muy lejos de ti

Besame,
besame mucho
como si fuera ésta noche
la última vez

Besame, besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte después

Besame,
besame mucho
que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte despues

que tengo miedo a perderte
perderte despues...

(gracias a Yolanda por esta letra)
[ Besame Mucho Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Frank Sinatra:

Besame, besame mucho,
Each time I cling to your kiss, I hear music divine,
Besame mucho,
Hold me my darling and say that you'll always be mine.
This joy is something new, my arms enfolding you,
Never knew this thrill before.
Whoever thought I'll be holding you close to me,
Whispering it's you I adore.
Dearest one, if you should leave me,
Each little dream would take wing and my life would be through,
Besame mucho, love me forever and make all my dreams come true..
Besame, besame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez.
Besame, besame mucho,
Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte depues.
Quiero tenerte muy cerca mirarme en tus ojos estar junto de ti.
Pienso que tal vez ma¤ana estarte muy lejos muy lejos de ti.
Besame, besame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez.
Besame, besame mucho,
Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte despues.


ino Rossi (29 April 1907–26 September 1983) was a singer and film actor of Corsican origin.

Born Constantino Rossi in Ajaccio, Corsica, France, he became a tenor of French cabaret and one of the great romantic idols of his time. Gifted with an operatic voice, a "Latin Lover" persona made him a movie star as well. Over his career, Rossi made hundreds of records and appeared in more than 25 films, the most notable of which was the 1953 production, Si Versailles m'était conté directed by Sacha Guitry. His romantic ballads had women swooning and his art-songs by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Reynaldo Hahn (1875-1947), and other composers helped draw sold out audiences wherever he performed.
[edit] Biography

As a young man, he played guitar and sang at a variety of small venues in his hometown of Ajaccio before going on to perform in Marseilles and at resort clubs along the French Riviera. In the early 1930s he went to Paris and within a few years achieved enormous success, joining a Columbia Records roster that included the biggest stars of the day such as Lucienne Boyer, Damia, Pills et Tabet, Mireille, and Jean Sablon. He is one of the most selling artist of all time, with more than 300 millions records sold, and his albums keep selling today.

Rossi's success was greatly aided by songwriter Vincent Scotto (1876-1952), who wrote his first hits and collaborated with him for many years, composing and arranging many Rossi songs. Prior to World War II Rossi was a major box office attraction in the French speaking world but expanded his audience to America with a 1938 visit followed up by wartime tours across the USA and Canada. Tino Rossi began his film career in Nuits moscovites, Les (1934) but his first real success came with Marinella (1936). All his films were musicals and capitalised on his success as a singer.

In 1946, his song "Petit Papa Noël" sold more than thirty million copies worldwide. A Christmas classic for the family, the song still sells by the thousands each Yuletide season. The recipient of many musical awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque, Tino Rossi is the most popular personality to ever come from Corsica other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

During the Occupation of France by Nazi Germany Rossi's film career reached its peak, notably with Mon amour est près de toi (1943) and L'Île d'amour (1944). At the Liberation, the French authorities reproached him for associating with the French Gestapo, but most importantly for actively supporting collaborationist causes such as the LVF (Légion des Volontaires Français) who sent French volunteers to work in German factories. He was arrested in October 1944 and spent three weeks in Fresnes prison (near Paris). Following a trial in 1945, his sentence was relatively light. Unlike his fellow entertainers Arletty, Mireille Balin, Josseline Gaël and Robert Le Vigan), Rossi received a retrospective and largely symbolic work suspension. He subsequently appeared only sporadically in films, concentrating on his singing career.

In 1947 he married Lilia Vetti, a young dancer he met while making a film. They had a son together and the marriage lasted a lifetime. A star of film and the operetta scene, Tino Rossi's career also evolved into the television era, appearing in a number of popular variety shows. Age, and the advent of rock and roll in the 1960s saw him take backstage with the new generation of music lovers but he remained enormously popular with a following built up over fifty years of performing.

In 1982, for his contribution to France and its culture, President François Mitterrand named Tino Rossi a Commander of the Legion of Honor. That same year Rossi gave hislast public performance at the Casino de Paris, a show that popular demand turned into a three month stint.

Tino Rossi died of pancreatic cancer in 1983 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. His body returned to his native Ajaccio for burial in the family plot at the local cemetery. His hometown named a street and the sailing harbor in his honor and at Nogent-sur-Marne, on the River Marne in Paris, there is a square named Tino Rossi Square. He's also referenced in the comic book Asterix in Corsica.

Mambo Italiano

Dean Martin



Rosemary Clooney



Bette Midler





(A girl went back to Napoli because she missed the scenery)
(The native dances and the charming songs)
(But wait a minute something's wrong)
('cause now it's)
Hey mambo, mambo Italiano hey hey mambo mambo Italiano
Go go go you mixed up Siciliano
All you Calabrese do the mambo like-a crazy with the
Hey mambo don't wanna tarantella
Hey mambo no more mozzarella
Hey mambo mambo Italiano try an enchilada with a fish baccala
Hey goomba I love how you dance the rumba
But take some advice paisano learn-a how to mambo
If you're gonna be a square you ain't-a gonna go anywhere
Hey mambo mambo Italiano hey hey mambo mambo Italiano
Go go Joe shake like a tiavanna
E lo che se dice you get happy in the pizza when you
Mambo Italiano

Hey chadrool you don't-a have to go to school
Just make it with a big bambino
It's like vino
Kid you good-a looking but you don't-a know what's cooking 'til you
Hey mambo mambo Italiano
Hey hey mambo mambo Italiano
Ho ho ho you mixed up Siciliano
E lo che se dice you get happy in the pizza when you
Mambo Italiano


Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress and comedian, also known (by her informal stage name) as The Divine Miss M. During her more than forty year career, she has been nominated for two Academy Awards; and won four Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award.

Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the daughter of seamstress/housewife Ruth (née Schindel) and house painter Fred Midler, who worked at a Navy base in Hawaii.[1][2] Her parents were from Paterson, New Jersey and moved to Honolulu before Midler was born. She was named after the actress Bette Davis, though Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one, /ˈbɛt/. Midler's family was one of the few Jewish families in a mostly Asian neighborhood[3]. She was raised in nearby Aiea and attended Radford High School [4] in Honolulu. She was voted in Hoss Election 1961 "Most Talkative" and in her Senior Year (Class of 1963) "Most Dramatic".[5] She majored in drama at the University of Hawaii (though she only attended for three semesters) [6] and earned money in the film Hawaii (released in 1966) as an extra, playing a seasick passenger named Mrs David Buff in the film.
[edit] Career
[edit] The theater actress

In the summer of 1965, Midler relocated to New York City, using the money from having worked as an extra in the film Hawaii. She landed her first professional onstage role in Tom Eyen's Off-Off-Broadway plays in 1965, Miss Nefertiti Regrets and Cinderella Revisited, a children's play by day and an adult show by night.[7] From 1966 to 1969, she played the role of Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway; tragically, during this period, her sister Judith, visiting New York to see her perform, was killed by a taxi cab[citation needed].

In the summer of 1970, Midler began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the city, where she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow. He later produced her first album, 1972's The Divine Miss M. It was during her time at the Continental Baths that she built up a core following. In the late 1990s, during the release of her album Bathhouse Betty, Midler commented on her time performing there:

"Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride." [8]

In 1971, Midler starred in the first professional production of The Who's rock opera Tommy with director Richard Pearlman and the Seattle Opera.[9] It was during the run of Tommy that Midler was asked to appear on the The Tonight Show. She proved to be so popular that her career immediately skyrocketed.
[edit] 1970-1980 Success

Midler released her debut album The Divine Miss M on Atlantic Records in December 1972. It streaked into Billboard's Top 10 and became a million-selling Platinum-certified album, making her a star in the process and earning Midler the 1973 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. It featured three hit singles with "Do You Want To Dance?", "Friends", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" which became Bette's first #1 Adult Contemporary hit. Bette's self titled follow-up album was released at the end of 1973. It also zoomed into Billboard's Top 10 and eventually sold close to a million copies in the United States alone. Midler continued the success of her first album with the self-titled Bette Midler (1973), Songs For The New Depression (1976) and Broken Blossom all of which established her as one of the most diversified and versatile talents in the industry at that time.
Bette Midler at the premiere of The Rose.

In 1975, she received a Special Tony Award for her contribution to Broadway with Clams on the Half Shell Revue playing at the Minskoff Theater. From 1975–1978, she also provided the voice of Woody the Spoon on the PBS educational series Vegetable Soup.

In 1977, Midler's first television special, Ol' Red Hair is Back, premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special - Comedy-Variety or Music.

In 1979, Midler made her first motion picture, starring in the 1960s-era rock and roll tragedy The Rose, as a drug-addicted rock star modeled after Janis Joplin. That year she also released her fifth studio album; Thighs and Whispers. Midler's first foray into disco did not however match her previous successes and went on to be her all-time lowest charting album, peaking at #65 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. Soon afterwards she left to go on a world concert tour, with one of the shows (in Pasadena) being filmed and released as the concert film Divine Madness. Also in 1980, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Rose, for which she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Comedy or Musical). The film's acclaimed soundtrack album sold over two million copies in the United States alone, earning a Double Platinum certification. The single version of the song held the #1 position on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for five consecutive weeks and reached #3 on Billboard's Hot 100. It earned Midler her first Gold single, and won the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.

That's Amore

Dean Martin



When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore

(When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That's amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That's amore
Lucky fella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That's amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That's amore, (amore)
That's amore

All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners.
All lyrics provided for educational purposes only.
"That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren[1] and lyricist Jack Brooks.[1] It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953.[citation needed] Amore means "love" in Italian, giving a general translation in English "that's love".
The song first appeared in the soundtrack of the Martin and Lewis comedy film The Caddy, released by Paramount Pictures on August 10, 1953. In the film, the song is performed mainly by Dean Martin, with Jerry Lewis joining in and then followed by the other characters in the scene. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song of that year, but it lost to "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane starring Doris Day.[1]

VOLARE

Domenico Modugno



Dean Martin



Gypsy Kings



Luciano Pavarotti



Volare, oh oh
Cantare, oh oh oh oh
Let's fly way up to the clouds
Away from the maddening crowds
We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of
Where lovers enjoy peace of mind
Let us leave the confusion and all disillusion behind
Just like bird of a feather, a rainbow together we'll find

Volare, oh oh
E contare, oh oh oh oh
No wonder my happy heart sings
Your love has given me wings
Penso che un sogno cosi non ritorni mai piu
Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu
Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito
E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito

Volare, oh oh
E contare, oh oh oh oh
Nel blu, dipinto di blu
Felice di stare lassu
E volavo, volavo felice piu in alto del sole ed ancora piu su
Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiu
Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me

Volare, oh oh
E cantare, oh oh oh oh
No wonder my happy heart sings
Your love has given me wings
Nel blu, dipinto di blu
Felice di stare lassu

ITALIAN VERSION:

Penso che un sogno cosi` non ritorni mai piu`,
mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu.
Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito,
e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito.

Volare, oh oh,
cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Nel blu dipinto di blu,
felice di stare lassu`.

E volavo volavo felice
piu` in alto del sole ed ancora piu` su
mentre il mondo pian piano spariva
lontano laggiu`.
Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me.

Volare, oh oh
cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Nel blu dipinto di blu
felice di stare lassu`.

Ma tutti i sogni nell'alba svaniscon perche`
quando tramonta la luna li porta con se`.
Ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli
che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle...

Volare, oh oh
cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
felice di stare quaggiu`.

E continuo a volare felice
piu` in alto del sole ed ancora piu` su
mentre il mondo pian piano scompare
negli occhi tuoi blu
La tua voce e` una musica dolce che suona per me...
Volare, oh oh
cantare, oh oh oh oh.
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
felice di stare quaggiu`.
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
felice di stare quaggiu`.

Ritorna


"Nel blu dipinto di blu" ("In the Blue Painted Blue"), popularly known as "Volare" (Italian for the infinitive form of the verb "to fly"), is Domenico Modugno's signature song. It is the only song that originated in Italy to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[1]
Modugno's recording became the first Grammy winner for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1958. It is the only foreign-language recording to achieve this honor. It spent six weeks atop the Hot 100 in August and September 1958 and was Billboard's number-one single for the year. It is one of only three one-hit wonders to become single of the year in the history of the Hot 100 (followed by "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk in 1962 and "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter in 2006).

Written by Domenico Modugno (music and lyrics) and Franco Migliacci (lyrics), "Nel blu dipinto di blu" was presented by Domenico Modugno and Johnny Dorelli at the 1958 Sanremo Music Festival, winning the contest and achieving instant popularity. It was then chosen to represent Italy at the 1958 Eurovision Song Contest, where it came third.
The song is a ballad in a dramatic chanson style, in which Modugno describes the feeling he has, which resembles flying when with his lover. The song opens with a surreal prelude which the cover versions often left out: "Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più. Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu; poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito, e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito." ("I think that a dream like that will never return; I painted my hands and my face blue, then was suddenly swept up by the wind and started to fly in the infinite sky.")
The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish. Alternative English lyrics were written in 1958 by Dame Gracie Fields, and they were used in most concerts she performed in from then until her death in 1979. She often changed the words to suit her performance and age.
[edit]At Eurovision

The song was performed first on the night (preceding the Netherlands' Corry Brokken with "Heel De Wereld"). At the end of the voting, it had received 13 points, placing 3rd in a field of 10.
Due to a transmission fault, the song was not heard in all countries transmitting the event, so it was performed at the end as well, before the voting took place.
It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1959 contest by "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)," also performed by Modugno.
[edit]Popularity

The song became widely known as "Volare", from its refrain, and reached the top of the charts all over the world through translations into various languages: "Воларе (Volare)" in Russian[2]; "Dans le bleu du ciel bleu" in French, "En el azul del cielo" in Spain, "Jouw ogen" in Belgium, "Taivaan sinessä" in Finland and "Azul pintado de azul" in Brazil and Latin America.
A year after the Eurovision, the 1st Grammy Awards ceremony was held, and Modugno received awards for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Billboard awarded Modugno a prize for best song of the year, and he received three gold records from the recording industry: best singer, best song, best-selling album.

The song's popularity endures, and it was voted as the second favourite entry in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest at the 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2005.
The song has been covered at least 100 times over the years. Versions were quickly recorded after the initial success - partly in English, partly in Italian - by The McGuire Sisters and Dean Martin. Bobby Rydell had a hit with his version, reaching #4 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1960 (this version was later played over the end credits of the 1986 movie Vamp). An up-tempo Spanish version (partly in Italian) was recorded by the Gipsy Kings in 1989.
The Argentinian music composer Bebu Silvetti arranged a disco version of this song.
Sergio Franchi sang the song, with modified lyrics, as the television spokesman for the Plymouth Volaré in the 1970s.
A version was used by fans of Arsenal to serenade the midfielder Patrick Vieira, and Manchester United fans have created versions for cult heroes Diego Forlan and Nemanja Vidić, as well as a parody of Arsenal's song for Vieira, mocking the midfielder's error in the 1999 FA Cup Semi-Final replay which led to Ryan Giggs' famous extra-time winner.
It is also present in the video game Counter-Strike, within the map "de_volare."
In the first season of Quantum Leap in the episode "Double Identity", the character Dr. Sam Beckett is shown singing the song.
The 6th season of the American version of Dancing with the Stars featured Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas dancing Samba to the Gipsy Kings version of the song.
The 1980 comedy classic film Hollywood Knights referred to the song in a witty version performed by Newbomb Turk (Robert Wuhl) to the delight of a High School Pep Rally audience, albeit with adverse reactions from the sponsoring adults at the scene.
Kevin Kline sings an excerpt from this song in the movie A Fish Called Wanda.