Italian music in Brazil 1963 to 1969: May 2013

Nico Fidenco's breakthrough album...

The album liner notes tell a little story of how Nico Fidenco became a famous singer:

O sucesso de Nico Fidenco se projetou da trilha-sonora de um filme e das 'juke-boxes'. Sua interpretação de 'Sul nel cielo' do filme 'I Delfini', de Francesco Maselli, figura atualmente como um dos maiores êxitos da música popular italiana.

Em 1951, após finalizar o Curso Científico, Nico Fidenco, cujo verdadeiro nome é Domenico Colarossi, ingressou no Experimental Movie Center a fim de se tornar astro cinematográfico, porém, após 1 ano de experiência, deixou para cursar a Universidade de Direito pela Universidade de Roma. Reside nessa capital com o progenitor que é construtor.

Nico não deixou sua paixão pelo cinema, escrevendo argumentos e participando da 'nouvelle vague' italiana. Por puro acaso veio a cantar o tema 'Su nel cielo' (Cassia-Maselli-Fusco) no famoso filme que descreve a vida social dos bem afortunados jovens das cidades italianas.

No ano passado (1961) Nico foi agraciado com um Disco de Ouro pela vendagem de 1.000.000 de 'Legata a un granello di sabbia'.

listen to Nico Fidenco album at: http://www19.zippyshare.com/v/36243519/file.html

Revista do Radio shows the list of best-selling albums in the city of São Paulo in its 1st December 1962 issue. Nico Fidenco and its 'modern sound' was considered the best from Europe and played at only the best night-clubs in town. 'Legata a un granello di sabbia' soon entered the Hit Parade being followed afterward by Emilio Pericoli's 'Al di là' which had been featured in 'Rome Adventure' (Candelabro Italiano), a popular 1962 Warner Brothers production set in Rome, starring Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, Angie Dickinson and Rossano Brazzi.

Albums released by RCA Victor with the serial number BBL-000

064 - Saeta (A canção do Rouxinol) - Joselito

098 - Escucha mi canción - Joselito
109 - El triundador - Joselito

1962

124 - Nico Fidenco

1963

130 - Rancheiras - Miguel Aceves Mejia
133 - Italia moderna - various
134 - Joselito canta os sucessos de seus últimos filmes
140 - Sin palabras - Libertad Lamarque
142 - Sergio Endrigo
147 - Rita Pavone
148 - Gianni Meccia
149 - Canta Nico Fidenco

150 - Alta Pressione - various artists

1964

152 - Clavelitos - Joselito
153 - Tangos imortales - Libertad Lamarque
154 - Io sono Edoardo Vianello
157 - Gioventù - various
159 - Meus 18 anos - Rita Pavone
160 - Michele
161 - Twiste et chante - Sylvie Vartan
162 - Diário de uma adolescente - Donatella
163 - Gino Paoli
164 - Via Tiburtina Km 12 - various
165 - Endrigo - Sergio Endrigo (Annamaria)

1965

168 - Palito Ortega
169 - Benissimo - various
170 - Ti amo - various
171 - O mio Signore - Edoardo Vianello
173 - Cantagiro - various
174 - Ritratto di Gianni - Gianni Morandi
175 - A casa d'Irene - Nico Fidenco
177 - Alain Barrière
178 - Ritorna - Rita Pavone
181 - La plus belle - Sylvie Vartan
182 - A nous amours - various
183 - Se non avessi più te - Gianni Morandi
184 - Chanson - Alain Barrière

1966

185 - Il mondo - Jimmy Fontana
188 - Musica per innamorati - Nico Fidenco
190 - Stasera Rita - Rita Pavone
191 - ... E più ti amo - various
193 - The Rokes - Há algo de novo nos The Rokes
194 - Lo Mejor de Miguel Aceves Mejia
198 - Fortissimo - various

1967

202 - Fortissimo Volume II - various
203 - Rita, o mosquito - Rita Pavone
206 - Tenco - Luigi Tenco
210 - Più Fortissimo - various

Nico Fidenco's 'Legata a un granello di sabbia' (Imprisoned in a grain of sand) was Italy's first they would eventually call 'summer hits'. It was huge in Europe and it spearheaded the Italian invasion in Brazil and South America. Nico Fidenco's album was released in late 1962 and played a lot at night-clubs and radio stations.

'Itália moderna' was the very 1st compilation album of Italian acts released by RCA in Brazil, featuring Nico Fidenco, Flavio Carraresi, Jimmy Fontana, Donatella, Pierfilippi and Sergio Endrigo.

'Italian Moods' is the original compilation-album released in Italy in 1961, featuring Endrigo's 'Aria di Neve' (the only song that made the transition to the Brazilian album) and Miranda Martino's 'Stringiti alla mia mano', that was included in 'Alta Pressione'.

Brazilian release of Sergio Endrigo's 1st album for RCA Italiana - 1963 - BBL-142.

Italian original release

Rita Pavone's 1st album was released in November 1963 in Brazil - BBL-147.

Gianni Meccia - BBL-148 - released early in the 'invasion' but it didn't actually come up to expectations.

Nico Fidenco's 2nd album in Brazil had the same picture as his 1st album in Italy - BBL-149.

sleeve of Nico Fidenco's first album released in Italy in 1962.

Edoardo Vianelllo's Brazilian release had a different cover from the Italian original - BBL-154.

'Gioventù' (BBL-157) was RCA's most popular compilation album. It had a Brazilian model on the cover.

Rita Pavone's 'Meus 18 anos' was released in Brazil in March 1964; it went on to become the best selling album of the year. .

As you can see the negative was developed the wrong way for the Brazilian cover. This is the real thing.

the album 'Non è facile avere 18 anni' was released in Italy in November 1963.

this is the Brazilian 'Meus 18 anos' back-cover - BBL-159

this was RCA Italiana before they put up signs and flag poles.

Michele's Brazilian album cover - BBL 149

Michele's original Italian sleeve.

Sylvie Vartan's original French sleeve of 'Twiste et chante'

Brazilian release of Donatella's 'Diário de uma adolescente' BBL-162; it had 2 additional tracks not related to the original Loredana Ognibene's 12 compositions. This was a 'concept album' long before The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's.

this is the original Italian release of Donatella Moretti's 'Diario di una sedicenne'.

a much better resolution of the original cover.

Gino Paoli's Brazilian release (BBL-163)

Paoli's album back-cover

'Via Tiburtina, Km 12' was RCA's address in Rome. Where they had their state-of-the-art studios. This is perhaps the best compilation released by RCA Victor in Brazil.

This was La Crica's only photo available then. There was no information about the group except the 2 songs contained in the album. 'Il ballo delle matonelle' was like 'Datemi un martello'-revisited. It was such a great song and we hungered for more info.

Endrigo's Italian release

Endrigo's Brazilian release

Endrigo's 2nd album back-cover

Palito Ortega, Argentine pop king could not break through Brazilian indifference to Spanish language hits.

Palito's original Argentine album sleeve.

'Benissimo' had a Brazilian model on the cover again. Album-compilations were very popular among the record buying public.

'A casa d'Irene' was made up from bits & pieces left over from earlier albums & singles.

The Brazilian RCA arts-departmen botched the original sleeve developing the negative on the reverse and getting too much lipstick on the girl's lips.

Italian back-cover of 'Per noi due' released in 1963 in Italy.

Alain Barrière was the most successful French act in this 1965 little French invasion. 'Ma vie' was #1 for the longest time and sold a lot of singles, EPs and LPs. Barrière visited Brazil and sang at TV Tupi in São Paulo.

French original album

'Ritorna' (Return) was made up of bits & pieces left over from other albums. It was hurried along to coincide with Pavone's return to Brazil in 1965.

even though Sylvie Vartan was gorgeous and so successful in France, she could never get a hold of Brazilians. Her records never played on the radio and she was only known as Johnny Halliday's wife.

Sylvie Vartan's 2nd album back-cover.

'A nous amours', a compilation-album of French hits with Alain Barrière ('Tant'; 'A nous amours'; 'Chanson' & 'La maison vide'), Sylvie Vartan ('Sha la la'; 'C'est une drôle de façon' & 'Historie ancienne'), Pierre Alain ('Elle mattend' & 'On allait bien ensemble'), Chriss Argelies ('Apres la pluie le beau temps' & 'Reste') and Marianne Mille (Ce que tu chantes).

Chriss Angeliès was a French rocker included in this compilation, but never played on the radio.

'Chanson', Alain Barrière's 2nd album had some Italian-language songs too.

Barrière's original recording back-cover shows him arriving in Brazil in early 1966 fying Varig Airlines.

Gianni Morandi was at his best in 'Se non avessi più te' and 'Si fa sera'. It is almost beyond comprehension RCA splashing a photo of a Brazilian model on the album cover instead of Morandi's face.

'Il mondo' was perhaps Italy's greatest 1966's hit.

'Musica per innamorati' was Nico Fidenco's 4th album released in Brazil.

After one year far from the public view, RCA releases Pavone's 'Stasera Rita', adding the atrocious 'Supercalifragilistic-espiralidoso' as the main track. A poor career move for a singer whose following was made up mainly of teen-agers. It turned out to be the least popular of Pavone's albums. Teens turned away by the thousands.

'Stasera Rita' back-cover.

'...E più ti amo' is an Italian translation of Alain Barrière's 'Plus je t'attends', originally recorded in French. It showed a certain relationship between the French and the Italian. The model this time is Italian and it is the original cover of Michele's 2nd album for RCA Italiana.