Al Martino

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Al Martino, 2005

Al Martino (born October 7, 1927 as Jasper Cini in Philadelphia , † October 13, 2009 in Springfield , Pennsylvania) was an American singer . It had its greatest successes from the early 1950s to the mid 1970s. His best-known songs are Here in My Heart (1952) and the evergreen Spanish Eyes from 1965. In his role as Johnny Fontane in Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather , he also became popular as an actor in 1972 .

Life

Al Martino, 1952

He was born Jasper Cini in Philadelphia in 1927 to Italian immigrants. His first name is the anglicized form of his father's name Gasparino. He followed his father professionally and worked in the family business as a bricklayer and made his way through part-time jobs as a boxer and in bars. He befriended the six years older singer Mario Lanza . After his breakthrough as a celebrated opera star at the latest, he decided to start a career as a singer under the stage name Al Martino.

Initially, he performed in a few bars in Philadelphia. During the Second World War he fought with the Marines in the Pacific and took part, among other things, in the Battle of Iwojima , in which he was wounded. In 1948 Mario Lanza brought him to New York City . After winning a talent competition, he got a contract with the small record label BBS in 1950 . In 1952, Martino's first single, Here in My Heart, was released . It became a worldwide hit and was the first number one hit on the newly created British charts on November 14, 1952 . Then Capitol Records , at that time one of the largest record companies in the USA, offered him a contract. Other hits such as Take My Heart , Now and Rachel appeared on Capitol .

These successes made the American Cosa Nostra aware of Martino:

"The mob came to Philadelphia from New York and told him they wanted to buy my contract, first in a gentlemanly way and then forcefully ..."

“The mob came to Philadelphia from New York to tell him [the manager] they wanted my contract; first friendly, then emphatic. "

- Al Martino

Al Martino bought himself free for $ 75,000, but preferred to spend the next seven years in England, which initially broke off his US career. Only after the death of the involved Mobsters he could continue his career in the US. In 1965 he landed another international success and evergreen with Spanish Eyes , a composition by Bert Kaempfert .

He was able to process his experience with the Cosa Nostra in 1972 in his role as Johnny Fontane in Francis Ford Coppola's feature film The Godfather , in which he played a singer who wants to make a film career with the help of the Mafia . In 1974 he played the same role in The Godfather - Part II and 1990 in The Godfather - Part III . In September 1993 he was again successful with the album The Voice to Your Heart produced by Dieter Bohlen .

Al Martino was married to his wife Judi for 41 years and has two daughters and a son. He died of heart failure in Springfield, Pennsylvania in 2009 at the age of 82 ; he was buried in Culver City .

reception

  • The German pop singer Kristina Bach dedicated the title Do you hear still Al Martino to Martino and his songs .

Discography

Albums

  • 1959: Al Martino
  • 1960: Swing Along With Al Martino
  • 1962: The Exciting Voice of Al Martino
  • 0000: The Italian Voice of Al Martino
  • 1963: I Love You Because
  • 0000: Painted, tainted rose
  • 0000: Love Notes
  • 1964: A Merry Christmas
  • 0000: I Love You More and More Every Day / Tears and Roses
  • 0000: Living a Lie
  • 1965: My Cherie
  • 0000: Somebody Else is Taking My Place
  • 0000: We could
  • 1966: Spanish Eyes
  • 0000: Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep
  • 0000: This is love
  • 1967: Daddy's Little Girl
  • 0000: This love for you
  • 0000: Mary in the Morning
  • 1968: Love is Blue
  • 0000: This is Al Martino
  • 1969: Jean
  • 0000: Sausalito
  • 1970: Can't Help Falling in Love
  • 0000: My Heart Sings
  • 1972: Love Theme from 'The Godfather'
  • 1975: To the Door of the Sun
  • 1976: In Concert: Recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (live)
  • 0000: Sing My Love Songs
  • 1977: Time after Time
  • 1978: Al Martino Sings
  • 0000: Al Martino
  • 1982: All of Me
  • 1993: The Voice to Your Heart (produced by Dieter Bohlen )
  • 2006: Come Share the Wine
  • 2011: Thank you

Web links

Commons : Al Martino  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gangster Rap. (Al Martino tells of personal experiences with the 'mob') (Brief Article) in Los Angeles Magazine from July 1, 2000 by Scott Huver (English)
  2. ↑ Are you still listening to Al Martino ... last.fm , accessed on May 25, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Kristina Bach - Are you still listening to Al Martino on Discogs (English)
personal data
SURNAME Martino, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cini, Jasper (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 7, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, USA
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 2009
Place of death Springfield , Pennsylvania, USA