Renato Carosone (; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician. Carosone was a piano prodigy and prominent figure in the

Italian music In Italy, music has traditionally been one of the cultural markers of Italian national cultures and ethnic identity and holds an important position in society and in Italian politics, politics. Italian music innovationin scale (music), musi ...

scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called canzone napoletana, a traditional music genre from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. His biggest successes were: O sarracino/Caravan petrol", "

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", "Maruzzella" and "Pigliate 'na pastiglia". Carosone was one of the first post-war Italian artists (the other one being

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song " Nel blu dipinto di blu", for which he received the fir ...

) who sold records and toured in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

without singing in English.

Biography

Beginnings

Carosone was born on 3 January 1920 in

, in Vico dei Tornieri, near , to Antonio and Carolina Daino, along with sister Olga and brother Ottavio. His father, who worked in the box office at Teatro Mercadante, encouraged him to pursue music. At 14, he wrote "Triki-trak", his first composition for piano, and in 1935, he was hired by an '' opera dei pupi'' puppet theater to play music to the battles of Count

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

and

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (; born 11 May 1952 in Paris), known as Renaud, is a French singer-songwriter. With twenty-six albums to his credit, selling nearly twenty million copies, he is one of France's most popular singers. Several of h ...

. Subsequently, he worked at E. A. Mario's publishing house teaching new songs to singers. He studied piano and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

at the Naples Conservatory under , and obtained his diploma in 1937, when he was just 17. A few months later he signed a contract with comedian Aldo Russo to perform as a

band leader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

. The troup landed in

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, to work in a restaurant-theatre frequented by Italian workers. The act failed and after less than a week, Aldo Russo decided to dissolve the group and return to Naples. Carosone, however, decided to remain in East Africa, and he moved on to

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

in the Eritrean highlands, playing piano in an orchestra at the Circolo Italia. There he met and fell in love with Venetian dancer Italia Levidi, known as Lita. The two married in Massawa on 2 January 1938. Carosone adopted her son Giuseppe, known as Pino, born to Lita five years before the wedding. Shortly thereafter, Carosone moved to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

(now part of Ethiopia), where he spent a few months as conductor at the White Eagle. In June 1940, at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was called up and sent to the front in

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

. Following the surrender of the last regular Italian forces in the region in November 1941, Carasone returned to British-occupied Asmara, where his cousin Antonio was director of the Odeon Theatre. Carasone became the musical director of the theater and the adjoining nightclub. He was a prominent figure of the local music scene, performing a combination of big-band music, Neapolitan songs and Eritrean percussive elements. Carosone worked at the Odeon Club in Asmara, where he become a prominent figure of the local music scene, building his musical experience with a combination of

big-band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

music (including American

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

pieces, such as " Night and Day", " Begin the Beguine", "

Blue Moon A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects. The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...

" and " Tea for Two"), Neapolitan songs and Eritrean percussive elements. In July 1946, after the end of the war in Europe, he returned to Italy, to

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

, with his wife and son. Partially due to his long tenure abroad and inactivity caused by the war, Carosone was discovered to be virtually unknown in his home country. He started his career afresh, playing piano for small dance-hall bands. These new performances were strongly influenced by the new rhythms and music styles he had encountered during his ten years in East Africa and caught the attention of local promoters.

Success

In 1949 Carosone was asked to put together a band for a club's opening night. After some auditions, he signed the Dutch

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Peter van Houten and the Neapolitan

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Gegè Di Giacomo and formed the Trio Carosone. The trio would later become a quartet with the addition of the Hungarian romani musician Elek Bacsik on bass, guitar and violin. During the 1950s Carosone became more and more popular, his orchestra was in great demand both in Italy and abroad, and record sales were soaring high. His song "Torero", entered the pop charts in the United States in the summer of 1958 where it peaked at #18, making it his only Top 20 hit song for his one-hit wonder in the United States. "Torero" was translated into twelve languages and covered by almost thirty artists in the

alone, including versions by

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo ...

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

and The King Brothers. In 1957 Carosone and his band embarked on an American tour, kicking off in

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. This tour concluded with a triumphant performance at the prestigious

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. Carosone was then signed by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, which released his first two albums: ''Honeymoon in Rome'' (1957) and ''Renato Carosone!'' (1959). He then moved to

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

and recorded ''Blue Italian Skies'' (1958). His fourth studio album, ''Carnevale Carosone'' (1960) was released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

Retirement

At the height of his career, Carosone announced his retirement from music in 1960. He felt that the advent of

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

had the consequence of making his swing, big-band sound no longer popular: "I'd rather retire now on the crest of the wave, than being tormented later by the idea of rock and roll wiping away all that I have achieved in so many years of hard work". His decision to retire caused an uproar. Some observers even suspected obscure underworld threats. Away from the spotlight, Carosone turned to other interests, mainly

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. In 2007 the

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Museum in

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organized a large exhibition of his work.

Comeback

On 9 August 1975 Carosone made his comeback in a televised concert. He then resumed his musical career with live concerts, performances 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 ...

and TV appearances until the late 1990s.

Repertoire

The majority of Carosone's songs were the result of his long and fruitful collaboration with the

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

Nicola Salerno, who used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Nisa. O suspiro", "Torero", "

", " Mambo italiano", "Pigliate 'na pastiglia" and O sarracino/Caravan petrol" were among their greatest hits. A few famous songs not co-written by Nisa were "...E la barca tornò sola" (a parody of a song performed by Gino Latilla at Sanremo Music Festival in 1954); "Tre numeri al lotto"; "Maruzzella" (dedicated to his wife); and O russo e 'a rossa"

Death

Carosone died on 20 May 2001 at the age of 81 in

, Italy.

Discography

*''Honeymoon in Rome'' (1958) *''Blue Italian Skies'' (1958) *''Renato Carosone'' (1959) *''Carnevale Carosone'' (1960) *''Pianofortissimamente Carosone'' (1975) *''Sempre'' (1982) *''Nu' canzoncella doce doce'' (1982)