Rosario Umberto Balsamo, best known as Umberto Balsamo (born 10 March 1942) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer.
Umberto Balsamo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 May 1942 |
| Occupation | singer-songwriter |
Background
editBorn in Catania, Balsamo was the youngest of five brothers.[1] In 1964 he moved to Milan, where he started working together with the lyricist Luciano Beretta, composing songs for, among others, Iva Zanicchi and Orietta Berti.[1] In 1968 he made his debut as a singer with the song " Il mio cuore riposa", released under the pseudonym Bob Nero.[1] Balsamo obtained his first success in 1972 with the song "Se fossi diversa", which ranked nineteen in the Italian hit parade.[2] The following year he entered the competition at the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Amore mio".[3] In 1977 he topped the hit parade with the song "L'angelo azzurro", selling over a million of copies[1][2][3] In 1979 he had one another major success with the song "Balla", a mixture of tarantella and disco music.[1][2][3] In the eighties Balsamo focused on composing, achieving a significant success with the 1988 song "Italia", sung by Mino Reitano at the Sanremo Music Festival.[1][3]
Discography
editSingles
edit| Year | Title | IT[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Piangerei | - |
| 1972 | Se fossi diversa | 19 |
| 1973 | Amore mio | 28 |
| 1974 | Bugiardi noi | 3 |
| 1974 | O prima o adesso o poi | 23 |
| 1975 | Natali | 34 |
| 1976 | Se | 16 |
| 1977 | L'angelo azzurro | 1 |
| 1978 | Crepuscolo | - |
| 1979 | Balla | 4 |
| 1980 | Il giorno | - |
| 1982 | Mai più | - |
| 1984 | Io vivrò | - |
| 1985 | Favole | - |
Studio albums
edit- 1974 Passato presente e futuro
- 1975 Natalì
- 1977 Malgrado tutto...l'angelo azzurro
- 1978 Crepuscolo d'amore
- 1979 Balla
- 1979 Auto Music
- 1980 Pianeti
- 1982 Mai più
- 1990 Respirando la notte luna
- 1992 Un pugno nella notte
- 2003 Vorrei aprire il cielo sabato sera a spina di rosa
Compilation albums
edit- 1989 L'angelo azzurro e altri successi
- 1995 Umberto Balsamo - Le sue più belle canzoni
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Alessandro Dell'Orto (September 16, 2011). ""Per "Angelo azzurro" ho litigato con Mina"". Libero. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d Dario Salvatori (1989). Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989. ISBN 8876054391.
- ^ a b c d Eddy Anselmi (2009). Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics, 2009. ISBN 978-8863462296.
External links
edit- Official website
- Umberto Balsamo at AllMusic
- Umberto Balsamo discography at Discogs