Ornella Vanoni was born on
September 22, 1934 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. She started her artistic career
in 1960 as a theatrical actress of Bertolt Brecht works, under the direction of
Giorgio Strehler in his Piccolo Teatro of Milan. At the same time, she started
singing, recording for a high-class public. The folklore and popular songs she
reinvented in her recordings of this period, especially the ones connected with
organized crime, gave her the nickname cantante della mala ("Underworld
Singer").
Owing to the songs
"Senza fine" and "Che cosa c'è" written for her by Gino
Paoli, her popularity rose in 1963. Next year, she won the Festival of
Neapolitan song with "Tu si na cosa grande".
In the following years, she
took part in a series of Festivals of Italian Song in Sanremo, which resulted
in great successes with the songs; "Abbracciami forte" (1965),
"Io ti darò di più" (1966), "La musica è finita" (1967),
"Casa bianca" (1968), and "Eternità" (1970). "Casa
Bianca", which came second, was the subject of a copyright dispute between
the composer Don Backy and the Clan Celentano label.
Later in the period, Vanoni
released the hits "Una ragione di più", "Un'ora sola ti
vorrei", and "L'appuntamento". The Swinging Blue Jeans carried
Vanoni's song "Non Dirmi Niente" to the U.K. chart under the English
title "Don't Make Me Over". "L'appuntamento", which was
composed in 1970, is a cover of the Brazilian song "Sentado à Beira do
Caminho" (Sitting by the Roadside) by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos.
In 1976, Vanoni cooperated
with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho releasing the hit "La voglia, la
pazzia, l'incoscienza e l'allegria". During the 1980s, she released
"Ricetta di donna", "Uomini", and "Ti lascio una
canzone" (a duet with Gino Paoli). In 1989, she returned to Sanremo
Festival with the song "Io come farò". In 1999, she recorded
"Alberi", a duet with Enzo Gragnaniello. She was mostly active
performing live and as a guest singer in recordings. In 2004, she released a
duo album with Gino Paoli to celebrate her 70th birthday.
In addition to her singing
career, Ornella Vanoni was active in other arts, starring in stage and TV
shows, movies, and posing nude for the Italian edition of Playboy magazine. The
inclusion of her former hit "L'Appuntamento" (1970) on the Ocean's
Twelve soundtrack sparked a worldwide renewal of interest in Ornella Vanoni.
Ornella appeared in only
one Euro-western; “A Fistful of Songs”, (1966) as a singer.
Today we celebrate Ornella
Vanoni’s 80th birthday.
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