Adriano Celentano

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Adriano Celentano
Celentano 1961 Salsomaggiore Terme.jpg
Celentano in 1961
Born (1938-01-06) 6 January 1938 (age 88)
Greco, Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • actor
  • film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • television presenter
Years active1957–present
Spouse
(m. 1964)
Children3, including Rosalinda Celentano
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • drums
Labels
Website ilmondodiadriano.it

Adriano Celentano (Italian: [adriˈaːnotʃelenˈtaːno] ; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed Il Molleggiato ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. [2] [3]

Contents

Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and critical success. With around 150 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling Italian musical artists. [4] [5] Often credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs, according to his wife Claudia Mori, some were written in collaboration with others. Due to his prolific career, both in Italy and abroad, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music.

Celentano is recognized for being particularly perceptive of changes in the music business and is credited for having introduced rock and roll to Italy. As an actor, Celentano has appeared in 39 films, mostly comedies.

Early life

Celentano was born on 6 January 1938 in Greco, Milan, Italy, at 14 Via Cristoforo Gluck, a street close to the Central Station and this address later became the subject of the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" ('The boy from Gluck Street'). His parents, Leontino Celentano and Giuditta Giuva, were from Foggia, Apulia, and had moved north for work. [6] His career as a singer started in 1959. Before his debut as an artist, he was working as a watchmaker. [7]

Career

Celentano with an Eko Guitar Piginicelentano.jpg
Celentano with an Eko Guitar
Celentano with Mina in 1967 Mina Celentano 1967.jpg
Celentano with Mina in 1967

Heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene as well as by American actor Jerry Lewis, [8] Celentano started playing in a rock and roll band with Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Jannacci. Along with Gaber and Jannacci, he was discovered by Jolly Records A&R Executive Ezio Leoni, who signed him to his first recording contract and co-authored with Celentano some of his greatest early hits, including "24.000 baci", "Il tuo bacio è come un rock", and "Si è spento il Sole". He first appeared on screen in Ragazzi del Juke-Box , a 1959 Italian musical film directed by Lucio Fulci with music by Ezio Leoni. In 1960, Federico Fellini cast him as a rock and roll singer in his film La dolce vita (1960).

In 1962, Celentano founded the Italian record label Clan Celentano (which is still active) with many performers such as Don Backy, Ola & the Janglers, Ricky Gianco, Katty Line, Gino Santercole, Fred Bongusto and his wife Claudia Mori.[ citation needed ]

As a film director, Celentano frequently cast Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. He and Mori have three children, Rosita, Giacomo and Rosalinda Celentano. Rosalinda is most notable to worldwide audiences for playing Satan in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ . Celentano has also hosted several Italian television shows.

Celentano has retained his popularity in Italy for over 50 years, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies. As part of his TV and movie work, he created a comic genre, with a characteristic walk and facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful; indeed, in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, his low-budget movies were top of Italian box office rankings. As an actor, critics point to Serafino (1968), directed by Pietro Germi, as his best performance.

Celentano (right) in 2012 with Gianni Morandi Chelentano Morandi.jpg
Celentano (right) in 2012 with Gianni Morandi

He has released 40 albums, consisting of 29 studio albums, three live albums, and eight compilations. Among his most popular songs there are "La coppia più bella del mondo", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc; [9] "Azzurro" (1968), written by Paolo Conte, "Svalutation" (1976), and "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (1972), which was written to mimic the way English sounds to non-English speakers despite being almost entirely nonsense. [10]

Celentano was referenced in the 1979 Ian Dury and the Blockheads song and single, "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3", as one of the aforementioned "reasons to be cheerful", and in Fellini's 1986 film Ginger and Fred .

After 18 years without live performances, Celentano's 2012 live concert was broadcast on Mediaset channel Canale 5, attracting over 9 million viewers. [11]

Personal life

Celentano has been a vegetarian since 2005 and has defended animal rights. [12] [13] A football fan, Celentano is a well-known Inter Milan supporter. [14] In 2009, Celentano told la Repubblica that, for years he wanted to learn English but could not commit, and not knowing English is a "real pain". [15]

When the Barilla pasta company introduced a corkscrew pasta in the 1970s, it was named cellentani for Celentano. As Barilla trademarked the name, other companies call the shape cavatappi. [16]


Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
1959 Ragazzi del Juke-Box AdrianoSupporting role
1959 Go, Johnny, Go! HimselfCameo appearance
1959 Juke Box: Urli d'amore SingerCameo appearance
1960 Urlatori alla sbarra AdrianoLeading role
1960 La Dolce Vita SingerCameo appearance
1960Sanremo - La grande sfidaHimselfLeading role
1961Io bacio... tu baciHimselfCameo appearance
1963 The Monk of Monza AdrianoSupporting role
1963 Uno strano tipo PeppinoLeading role
1964Super rapina a MilanoSergioLeading role, directorial debut
1964I malamomdoHimselfDocumentary film
1966Per un pugno di canzoniSingerCameo appearance
1968 Serafino Serafino FiorinLeading role
1968 The Most Beautiful Couple in the World HimselfCameo appearance
1971 Er Più: Storia d'amore e di coltello Ninetto PatroniLeading role
1972 White Sister Annibale PezziLeading role
1973 The Five Days Meo CainazzoLeading role
1973 Little Funny Guy Peppino CavalloLeading role
1973 Rugantino RugantinoLeading role
1975 Yuppi du Felice della PietàLeading role; also director and writer
1976 The Con Artists Felix BrianzaLeading role
1976 Lunatics and Lovers Sprint BossSupporting role
1977 L'altra metà del cielo Father VincenzoLeading role
1977 Ecco noi per esempio Clic ColomboLeading role
1978 Loggerheads Herman/ GustavLeading role
1978 Geppo il folle GeppoLeading role; also director and writer
1979 Velvet Hands Guido QuillerLeading role
1980 The Taming of the Scoundrel Elia CodognoLeading role
1980 La locandiera Ripafratta KnightLeading role
1981 Asso Asso/ Varesino/ GodMultiple roles
1981 Madly in Love Barnaba CecchiniLeading role
1982 Grand Hotel Excelsior TaddeusLeading role
1982 Bingo Bongo Bingo BongoLeading role
1983 Segni particolari: bellissimo MattiaLeading role
1983 Sing Sing Alfredo BoghiLeading role
1984 Lui è peggio di me LeonardoLeading role
1985 Joan Lui: Ma un giorno nel paese arrivo io di lunedì Joan LuiLeading role; also director and writer
1986 Il burbero Tito TorrisiLeading role
1992 Jackpot FurioLeading role; also writer

See also

References

  1. Kouvarou, Maria (2015). "American Rock with a European Twist: The Institutionalization of Rock'n'Roll in France, West Germany, Greece, and Italy (20th Century)". Historia Crítica (57): 75–94. doi: 10.7440/histcrit57.2015.05 . ISSN   0121-1617.
  2. Engelmann, Jennifer (21 October 2015). "MINA e CELENTANO: la tigre e il molleggiato di nuovo insieme nel 2016 » » aLLMusicItalia". allmusicitalia.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. Di Pasqua, Emanuela (21 December 2009). "L'inglese inventato di Celentano spopola negli Usa e su Internet - Corriere della Sera". corriere.it. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. "L'inglese inventato di Celentano spopola negli Usa e su Internet – Corriere della Sera". Corriere della Sera. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  5. Paolo Giordano (22 December 2009). "Toh, gli Usa scoprono il Celentano rapper – Spettacoli" (in Italian). ilGiornale.it. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  6. "BIOGRAFIE: Adriano Celentano" (in German). Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  7. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "High Five: 5 European stars with first jobs you probably wouldn't have expected | DW | 24.06.2016". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. Clancelentano.it Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine .
  9. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  217. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  10. "It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something". NPR Music. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  11. "Celentano a Verona: il pubblico fischia i sermoni – Il Gazzettino". Gazzettino.it. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  12. "Adriano Celentano". Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  13. "Adriano Celentano’s fake English song explained: What does Prisencolinensinainciusol mean?". thefocus.news. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  14. Zullo, Leo (17 December 2021). "Adriano Celentano in Serie A: non indovinerai mai quale calciatore imita il cantante". CalcioToday.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  15. Fallows, James (24 December 2009). "A musical Christmas treat". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  16. This story was related to chef Davide Oldani on his TV show Alle origini della bontà (24 November 2018) by Italo Bardiani, at the time one of the technicians at Barilla research lab. – http://www.acfans.it/blog/minipost/barilla-da-un-errore-e-nata-la-pasta-cellentani/