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AL
MARTINO (ARTIST BIOGRAPHY)
Al Martino
(born Alfred Cini, October 7, 1927, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is
an Italian-American singer and actor.
His Italian immigrant
parents ran a masonry business, and he worked alongside his brothers
as a bricklayer while growing up. However, he was more interested in
music, and was inspired by Al Jolson and Perry Como to try his own
hand at singing. When his boyhood friend Alfredo Cocozza changed his
name to Mario Lanza and became an international opera star, the
possibility of a career in music suddenly seemed plausible.
After service with the
U.S. Marines in World War II, including being a part of the Iwo Jima
invasion where he was wounded, he commenced his singing career.
Adopting the stage name Al Martino (after his maternal grandfather's
last name), he performed in local nightclubs for a time, and moved
to New York City in 1948 with Lanza's encouragement. He went on to
win first place on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show, thanks
to a rendition of Perry Como's "If." That exposure helped him land a
record deal with the Philadelphia-based independent label BBS.
In 1952, Martino
recorded a ballad called "Here in My Heart" as his debut single.
When he heard that Lanza was set to cut his own version, Martino
called him and begged him not to, knowing that Lanza's record would
immediately eclipse his own. Lanza relented, and "Here in My Heart"
became a breakthrough smash for Martino, selling over a million
copies and topping the charts in both the U.S. and U.K., where it
was number one in the first UK Singles Chart, published by the New
Musical Express in 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World
Records. The song stayed there for nine weeks. Its success earned
Martino a major-label deal with Capitol, and he released three more
singles — "Take My Heart," "Rachel," and "When You're Mine" —
through 1953, all of which hit the Top 40.
Unfortunately, a few of
Martino's new fans wanted in on the action; according to legend,
Martino's contract was forcibly taken over by a new, Mafia-connected
management team, which then ordered Martino to pay a 75,000 dollar
fee upfront, as a safeguard for their investment. Martino made a
down payment to ensure his family's safety, then fled to England,
where his popularity allowed him to perform successfully for a time;
he even headlined the London Palladium. He continued to record in
Britain with moderate success, but his work received no exposure
back in the U.S. In 1958, thanks to the intervention of a family
friend with the local Philadelphia boss, Martino was allowed to
return home and resume his recording career.
One of the most
successful Martino hits was "Spanish Eyes", achieving several gold
and platinum discs for sales. Recorded in 1965, the song reached
number 5 on the UK Singles Chart when re-issued in 1973. Even today,
this classic by composer Bert Kaempfert (his original title for the
song was "Moon Over Naples") is among the 50 most-played songs
worldwide. Another hit was "Volare", (also known as "Nel blu,
Dipinto di Blu"). In 1976, it reached number one on the Italian and
Flemish charts, and was in the Top Ten in Spain, The Netherlands and
France, as well as in many other European countries.
In the U.S., Martino
had eleven top 40 hits in the Billboard pop singles chart in the
1960s and 1970s, with 1963's "I Love You Because" (#3) and 1964's "I
Love You More and More Every Day" (#9) both reaching the Top Ten. He
also sang the title song for the film, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte
(1964), and is credited in the end titles of the film.
Apart from singing,
Martino played the role of Johnny Fontane in the 1972 film The
Godfather, as well as singing the film's theme, "Speak Softly Love".
He played the same role in The Godfather Part III and The Godfather
Trilogy: 1901-1980. He recently returned to acting, playing aging
crooner Sal Stevens in the short film Cutout, appearing in film
festivals around the world in 2006.
(info edited from
Wikipedia & AMG) |
