Carlo Alberto Rossi (30 August 1921 – 12 April 2010) was an Italian composer and record producer.

Carlo Alberto Rossi
Born30 August 1921 (1921-08-30)
Rimini, Italy
Died12 April 2010 (2010-04-13) (aged 88)
Milan, Italy
Occupation(s)Composer
Record producer

Life and career

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Born in Rimini, when he was 8 years old Rossi started performing as a child actor and singer in operettas.[1] In 1936, he moved with his family in Milan, where he studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory and formed a vocal ensamble, I Barboni.[1] In 1939, he made his professional debut as a songwriter with "Tango di Manuelita".[1][2] During World War II, he served as an official in the infantry, also composing some military anthems and a musical comedy.[1]

After the war, Rossi began a full-time career as a composer; among his early hits were Natalino Otto's “Conosci mia cugina” and “Non ho più pace”, and Lidia Martorana's "Amore baciami", which success revamped in the early 1960s thanks to a Pat Boone cover version.[1][3][2] In 1949, he co-founded Ariston Group with his brother Alfredo and Ladislao Sugar.[4][5] In 1955, he left Ariston to found the label C.A. Edizioni, and in 1958 he founded another record company, CAR Juke Box, and a recording and dubbing studio, Fonorama.[1][2] He also ran two discotheques, Whisky Juke Box in Rimini and Tropicana Club in Ferrara.[6] He retired in 1974.[1][2][6]

Starting from its first edition in 1951, Rossi was a protagonist of the Sanremo Music Festival; among the hit songs he launched in the festival were Carla Boni's "Acque amare", Milva's "Stanotte al Luna Park", Joe Sentieri's "Quando vien la sera", Mina's "Le mille bolle blu", as well as Gene Pitney/Fausto Cigliano's "E se domani" and Peppino Gagliardi/Pat Boone's "Se tu non fossi qui", which were initially ignored before being brought to success by cover versions of Mina.[1][2] Rossi's hits also include the Canzone Napoletana classic "'Na voce, 'na chitarra e 'o poco 'e luna", Jula De Palma's "Mon Pays", Teddy Reno's "Trieste mia", Peppino di Capri's "Nun è peccato", Ornella Vanoni's "Fra tanta gente".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Antonio Virgilio Savona; Michele Lo Straniero (1990). "Rossi, Carlo Alberto". Gino Castaldo (edited by). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore. pp. 1050.
  2. ^ a b c d e Eddy Anselmi (2009). Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics. pp. 879–80. ISBN 8863462291.
  3. ^ Guido Vergani (23 October 2002). "Il ragazzo del Berchet che scrisse «Le mille bolle blu»". Corriere della Sera. p. 55.
  4. ^ "Morto Carlo Alberto Rossi autore di E se domani". Messaggero Veneto (in Italian). 14 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ^ Francisco De Mazzei Paradisi (31 October 2008). "Morto Alfredo Rossi, produttore discografico e fondatore delle edizioni musicali Ariston". Musical News. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dino Tedesco (26 January 1988). "La vita raccontata in cento canzoni". Corriere della Sera. p. 37.
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