Umberto Balsamo
Umberto Balsamo (born March 10, 1942 in Catania ) is an Italian cantautore .
Career
Balsamo learned guitar as a teenager and moved to Milan in 1964 , where he met the songwriter Luciano Beretta , with whom he wrote the song La prima lettera d'amore for Orietta Berti . In 1968 he was signed to Ricordi as a songwriter and subsequently wrote a. a. Songs for Milva , Mal , Peppino di Capri , and Domenico Modugno . He also tried his hand at the Ri-Fi label under the pseudonym Bob Nero as an interpreter, but his first single Il mio cuore riposa / Tutte was completely ignored.
Success as a soloist came for Balsamo in 1972 when he took part in the Un disco per l'estate competition , where he competed with Se fossi diversa . The following year he wrote three songs at the Sanremo Festival , all of which made it to the finals: he sang Amore mio himself, Dolce frutto Ricchi e Poveri and Tu, nella mia vita Wess and Dori Ghezzi . After another Un disco per l'estate , Balsamo reached the top three of the charts for the first time in 1974 with Bugiardi noi . In 1975 (again as part of the competition) he published Natalì , which went unnoticed in Italy, but was covered several times abroad , for example by Shirley Bassey . With L'angelo azzurro the musician was able to land a number one hit in 1977 , Balla (1979) was also a success.
After that only a few singles by Balsamo appeared, in 1988 he again had three contributions as an author at the Sanremo Festival: Nun chiagnere (Peppino di Capri), Nascerà Gesù ( Ricchi e Poveri ) and Italia ( Mino Reitano ). His own publications over the next few decades went relatively unnoticed and in 2005 he moved back to his hometown of Catania.
Discography (selection)
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
IT | |||
1974 | Passato presente futuro |
IT23 (3 weeks) IT |
Polydor
|
1977 | Malgrado tutto ... l'angelo azzurro |
IT12 (16 weeks) IT |
Polydor
|
1978 | Crepuscolo d'amore |
IT14 (8 weeks) IT |
Polydor
|
- Natalì (Polydor, 1975)
- Balla (Polydor, 1979)
- Pianeti (Polydor, 1980)
- Mai più (Fonit Cetra, 1982)
- Respirando la notte luna (1990)
- Un pugno nella notte (1992)
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
IT | |||
1972 | Se fossi diversa Passato presente futuro |
IT24 (1 week) IT |
Las Vegas, LVS 1057
B-side: Cosa vuoi mai pensare a poi |
1974 | Bugiardi noi Passato presente futuro |
IT3 (20 weeks) IT |
Polydor, 2060 070
B-side: Conclusioni |
1977 | L'angelo azzurro Malgrado tutto ... l'angelo azzurro |
IT1 (23 weeks) IT |
Polydor, 2060 141
B-side: Malgrado tutto |
1978 | Crepuscolo Crepuscolo d'amore |
IT20 (4 weeks) IT |
Polydor, 2060 170
B-side: Amore |
1979 | Balla Balla |
IT4 (14 weeks) IT |
Polydor, 2060 203
B-side: Donna |
- Il mio cuore riposa / Tutte (Ri-Fi, RFN-NP 16292; 1968, as Bob Nero)
- Piangerei / Non sei dolce non sei bella (Dischi Ricordi, SRL 10585; 1971)
- Amore mio / Quando parlo con te (Polydor, 2060 048; 1973)
- O prima, adesso o poi / In un negozio di giocattoli (Polydor, 2060 082; 1974)
- Natalì / Volente o nolente (Polydor, 2060 094; 1975)
- Se ... / Pace (Polydor, 2060 112; 1976)
- Il giorno / Celestina (Polydor, 2060 224; 1980)
- Mai più / Vivi come vuoi (Fonit Cetra, SP 1776; 1982)
- Io vivrò / L'estate (WEA, 24 9388-7; 1984)
- Favole / Cavalieri (L'angelo Azzurro; 1985)
Web links
- Works by Umberto Balsamo in the catalog of the German National Library
- Official website (Italian)
- Umberto Balsamo at Rockol.it (Italian)
supporting documents
- ↑ a b M&D chart archive. Musica e dischi , accessed on November 14, 2017 (Italian, paid subscription access).
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Balsamo, Umberto |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian songwriter |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1942 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Catania , Italy |