Alfredo Antonio Carlo Buongusto (6 April 1935 – 8 November 2019), known by his stage name Fred Bongusto, was an Italian light music singer, songwriter and composer who was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

Career history

Bongusto was born in

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobas ...

. He made his recording debut with the song "Bella Bellissima", a song written by Ghigo Agosti and produced by the

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

-based label Primary. It was released on phonographic record in 1960. Some of his most successful songs include "Amore fermati", "Una rotonda sul mare", "Spaghetti a Detroit" and "Prima c'eri tu", which won the 1966 edition of

Un disco per l'estate Un disco per l'estate (translation "A Record for the Summer") was an Italian Summer festival held from 1964 to 2003. It was organized and sponsored by the Italian record industry association, AFI, and by RAI, except for the editions between 1995 ...

. Bongusto's proclivity for exploring Latin American rhythms and American Big Band swing made him very popular in South America, especially in Brazil. He had collaborated with Toquinho,

Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed "O Poetinha" ("The Little Poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrig ...

and

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...

, who successfully covered Bongusto's song "Malaga" in his 1991 album

João João is a given name of Portuguese origin. It is equivalent to the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in t ...

. He composed the soundtracks of more than 30 films, including '' Day After Tomorrow'' (1968), '' Un Detective'' (1969), '' The Divorce'' (1970), '' Come Have Coffee with Us'' (1970), '' The Eroticist'' (1972), ''

Gli ordini sono ordini ''Gli ordini sono ordini'' ("''Orders Are Orders''") is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Franco Giraldi. Plot Giorgia is an unhappy housewife tired of her marriage to her husband Amedeo, when she begins to hear a voice that orders her t ...

'' (1972), '' White Sister'' (1972), '' Malicious'' (1973), ''

Lovers and Other Relatives ''Lovers and Other Relatives'', (, also known as ''Venial Sin''), is a 1974 Italian comedy film directed by Salvatore Samperi. During the family vacation in the summer of 1956 on the beaches of Versilia, pubescent Sandro is charged with looking ...

'' (1974), ''

I'll Take Her Like a Father I'll may refer to * "I'll", meaning "I will" or "I shall", a contraction (grammar) * ''I'll'' (manga) * "I'll", a song by Band-Maid from '' Unleash'' * "I'll", a song by Dir En Grey Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en ...

'' (1974), '' The Sex Machine'' (1975), '' Al piacere di rivederla'' (1976), '' Oh, Serafina!'' (1976), '' The Cricket'' (1980), '' Fantozzi contro tutti'' (1980), '' Fracchia la belva umana'' (1981) and '' Superfantozzi'' (1986). He also starred in ''

Obiettivo ragazze ''Obiettivo ragazze'' is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. Plot Four ex-soldiers meet and reminisce about the times they were in the military: a parachutist mistaking his sergean ...

'' (1961), and '' Questi pazzi, pazzi italiani'' (1965). In the 1990s, he was elected as a

PSI Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...

town councillor in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. On 18 March 2005, the President of the Council,

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

, presented him with a silver plate to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his musical debut. On 2 June 2005, he was awarded the title of Commendatore by President

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the President of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994. A World War II veteran, C ...

Personal life

He was married to Gabriella Palazzoli, an Italian

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

, who was famous in the 1950s and 1960s. She is known for starring in the film '' Buonanotte... Avvocato!'' with

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

. In 1960, before their marriage, Palazzoli had a previous marriage with American actor John Drew Barrymore, who is the father of her daughter Blyth Dolores. Blyth was raised by Bongusto. Bongusto spent much of his time in

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...

, in the village of Sant'Angelo. Bongusto died in Rome on 8 November 2019, after a long illness, at the age of 84.

Discography

*1963 - ''Fred Bongusto'' *1964 - ''La notte è fatta per ballare'' *1966 - ''...forse è colpa della musica...'' *1970 - ''Alla mia maniera'' *1971 - ''Un'occasione per dirti che ti amo'' *1972 - ''Alfredo Antonio Carlo Bongusto'' *1972 - ''Alla mia maniera n° 2'' *1974 - ''Malizia... un po'...'' *1974 - ''Doppio Whisky'' *1974 - ''Italian graffiti'' *1975 - ''Noi innamorati... d'improvviso'' *1975 - ''Napoli alla mia maniera'' *1976 - ''Flashback'' *1976 - ''La mia estate con te'' *1977 - ''Il giorno e la notte'' *1978 - ''Professionista di notte'' *1979 - ''Lunedì'' *1979 - ''Fred Brasil'' *1980 - ''Fred & Bongusto'' *1981 - ''Fortunatamente ancora l'amore'' *1982 - ''Freddissimo'' *1983 - ''Belle bugie'' *1984 - ''Appuntamento con la luna'' *1985 - ''...dillo tu'' *1986 - ''Guancia a guancia'' *1987 - ''Cioccolata'' *1988 - ''Paradiso perduto'' *1989 - ''Le donne più belle'' *1990 - ''Appena posso, torno'' *1991 - ''Una canzone per ballare'' *1992 - ''Io dopo i giorni degli azzimi'' *1992 - ''Ancora insieme/We'll Be Together Again'' *1992 - ''Bailemos'' *1994 - ''Facciamo finta di volerci bene...'' *1995 - ''Fred'' *1997 - ''E io le canto accussì'' *1997 - ''La luna''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bongusto, Fred 1935 births 2019 deaths Italian male singers Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers Crooners People from Campobasso Nastro d'Argento winners Clan Celentano artists