Giuseppe "Pino" Mango (6 November 1954 – 8 December 2014), better known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Mango, was an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He was known for his style which fuses

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and for his extensive vocal range. He is best known for the song "

Oro Oro or ORO, meaning gold in Spanish and Italian, may refer to: Music and dance * Oro (dance), a Balkan circle dance * Oro (eagle dance), an eagle dance from Montenegro and Herzegovina * "Oro" (Mango song), 1984 * "Oro" (Jelena Tomašević son ...

", from his 1986 breakout album release ''

Odissea ''Odissea'' ("Odyssey") is the fifth studio album released by Mango, in 1986. The album contains some of his most known songs - " Lei verrà" and "Oro" - and two songs in English language - "Love is just a melody" and "Modern love" co-written wi ...

''. Other hits include " Lei verrà", "Mediterraneo", " Bella d'estate", "Amore per te", "Come Monnalisa", "Nella mia città" and "

La rondine ''La rondine'' (''The Swallow'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and . It was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo (or the Thé� ...

". Mango has been defined by Italian music author Mario Luzzatto Fegiz as an "authentic innovator of Italian pop music" and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

considers him an "Italian rock fusion innovator". He wrote songs for Italian artists such as

Patty Pravo Nicoletta Strambelli (born 9 April 1948), known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in p ...

Loredana Bertè Loredana Bertè (; born 20 September 1950) is an Italian singer, songwriter and actress. She has worked with prominent Italian songwriters such as Pino Daniele, Ivano Fossati, Mario Lavezzi, Mango and Enrico Ruggeri, among others; her sister M ...

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

Mietta Daniela Miglietta (born 12 November 1969), known by her stage name Mietta, is an Italian singer, actress and novelist. She has released 11 albums in total. Biography In 1988, Mietta took part in the Sanremo Music Festival in the Newcomers ca ...

. Part of his repertoire was performed by Italian and foreign musicians, including Mina,

Mia Martini Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè (; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995), known professionally as Mia Martini (), was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

Hélène Ségara Hélène Ségara (, born ''Hélène Aurore Alice Rizzo''; 26 February 1971), is a French singer of Armenian and Italian descent, who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical ''Notre Dame de Paris''. She has sold o ...

and

Eleftheria Arvanitaki Eleftheria Arvanitaki (Greek: Ελευθερία Αρβανιτάκη) (born 17 October 1957 in Piraeus) is a Greek folk singer. She originates from the island of Icaria. Arvanitaki has worked with musicians such as Cesária Évora, Arto Tunç ...

Biography

Beginning and early career

Mango was born in

Lagonegro Lagonegro ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italy region of Basilicata. It is part of the Valle del Noce and has (2017) a population of 5,471. Geography The municipality, located southwest of it ...

province of Potenza The province of Potenza (; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There are 100 ''comuni'' (singular: ''com ...

. He grew up listening mainly to

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

music, his favourite musicians included

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

. He began his musical activity as a teen, playing in a cover band with his older brother Michele. Mango was not into Italian music at the time, stating he only performed some

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums from 1969 ...

's songs. He started to study sociology at the

University of Salerno The University of Salerno () (in acronym UNISA) is a university located in Fisciano and in Baronissi, Italy. Its main campus is located in Fisciano while the Faculty of Medicine is located in Baronissi. It is organized in ten faculties. H ...

but he left after deciding to move to Rome trying to enter the music business. In 1976 Mango recorded his first album, ''La mia ragazza è un gran caldo''. Two songs from the album, "Per te che mi apri l'universo" and "Tu pioggia io mattino", attracted the attention of

, who put them on her album ''Tanto'' (1976), though, the title of the second song was changed in "Per amarti d'amore".

Breakthrough and success

His breakthrough came in 1985 with the album ''Australia'', from which the single "Il viaggio" was performed by Mango at the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

of the same year. In 1986 he released ''

'', a turning point in his career containing some of his most famous songs, " Lei verrà" and "Oro". The album saw the collaboration of

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric B ...

on the keyboards. 1987's '' Adesso'' includes the successful single "Bella d'estate", co-written with

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of "Caruso (song), Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enri ...

. Other notable records are ''

Sirtaki Sirtaki or syrtaki () is a dance of Greek origin, choreographed for the 1964 film '' Zorba the Greek''. It is a recent Greek folkdance, and a mixture of " syrtos" and the slow and fast rhythms of the hasapiko dance. The dance and the accompa ...

'' (1990), from which famous singles such as the title-track, "Nella mia città" and "Come Monna Lisa" were extracted, and '' Come l'acqua'' (1992), known for the song "Mediterraneo". The album featured the involvement of musicians like drummer

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusio ...

and bassist

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

. Around this time, Mango also recorded three albums in Spanish: ''Ahora'' (1987), '' Hierro y Fuego'' (1988) and a Spanish version of ''

'' (1991). On 30 April 1988 the single "Flor de Verano", Spanish version of "Bella d'estate" from ''Ahora'', peaked at number No. 1 on the Spain's

Los 40 Principales Los 40 (stylized as LOS40, formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', ) is a Spanish Top 40-themed music radio station that broadcasts current and recent music, primarily focusing on genres such as pop, dance, electropop, Electro Latin, and Reggaeton. Th ...

. Mango participated at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Dove vai", accompanied by

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

musician

Ayub Ogada Job Seda (1956 – 1 February 2019), better known as Ayub Ogada, was a Kenyan singer. He was a singer favoring the nyatiti (an eight-stringed lyre with its origins credited to the Luo, a tribe in Nyanza Kenya) as his characteristic instrument. ...

. ''Credo'' (1997) contains the single "Luce" which was performed by Mango along with Zenîma at the 1998 Sanremo Music Festival; an English version of the song called "Light" was included in the 1998 reissue.

's guitarist David Rhodes and

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

's drummer

Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, singer and recording artist, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Gaynor has also released a solo album titled ''Come With Me'', released as a digital cop ...

played on the record. The track "Amore per te", from the album ''Visto così'' (1999), was used as the Italian theme of the telenovela ''

El Privilegio de Amar ''El privilegio de amar'' (Literal English translation: ''The Privilege to Love'', International English title: ''The Right to Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Carla Estrada for Televisa. It aired on Canal de las Estrellas from July ...

''. Another successful album, '' Disincanto'' (2002), was supported by the singles "

" and the title track. In 2004 he released ''Ti Porto in Africa'', which went double platinum. His last work is ''La terra degli aquiloni'', released in 2011. The album featured a

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inter ...

cover of the song "Volver".

Death

On evening 7 December 2014, Mango suffered a heart attack during a concert in

Policoro Policoro ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. With some 18,000 inhabitants, is bounded by the towns of Rotondella, Scanzano Jonico and Tursi. Situated on the coast, i ...

province of Matera The province of Matera (; Materano: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains ...

. While performing the song "Oro", he raised an arm and said "excuse me" in Italian to the crowd. He then raised his arm again and collapsed. Mango was taken off stage, and the rest of the concert was canceled. He died before arriving at the hospital in the early hours of the following day. He was 60. On 9 December, his older brother Giovanni felt sick during the wake and died at the hospital, aged 75. He is believed to have also died from a heart attack.

Personal life

A very reserved person who rarely appeared in mass media, Mango was married to Laura Valente, known for her tenure as vocalist with the pop band

Matia Bazar Matia Bazar () is an Italian pop band formed in Genoa in 1975. The original members of the group were Piero Cassano (keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Carlo Marrale (guitar, vocals), Giancarlo Golzi (drums), and Antonella Ruggiero (vocals ...

. From their marriage two children were born: Filippo (b. 1995) and Angelina (b. 2001). They both collaborated with their father—Filippo as a drummer, and Angelina as a singer.

Songwriting

Mango wrote songs that were performed by other artists:

Cover

Some of his songs were rearranged by Italian and foreign artists, including:

Discography

Studio albums

* ''La mia ragazza è un gran caldo'' (1976) * ''Arlecchino'' (1979) * ''È pericoloso sporgersi'' (1982) * ''Australia'' (1985) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Adesso'' (1987) * '' Inseguendo l’aquila'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * '' Come l'acqua'' (1992) * ''L'Oro Di Mango'' (1993) * ''Mango'' (1994) * ''Credo'' (1997) * '' Disincanto'' (2002) * ''Ti porto in Africa'' (2004) * ''Ti amo così'' (2005) * ''L’albero delle fate'' (2007) * ''La terra degli aquiloni'' (2011)

Live albums

* ''Dove vai'' (1995) * '' Gli amori son finestre'' (2009)

Compilations

* ''Visto così'' (1999) * ''Tutto Mango: oro e platino'' (2006)

Albums recorded in Spanish

*'' Ahora'' (1987) *'' Hierro y Fuego'' (1988) *''

'' (1991)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mango 1954 births 2014 deaths People from Lagonegro 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian male singers Filmed deaths of entertainers Italian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian singer-songwriters 21st-century Italian singer-songwriters Musicians who died on stage