Originally from Naples, he had great success in our country during the ’70s and 80s with songs like Ah! How beautiful it is and in my way
Harsh news shook the world of music in the last hours. The Italian singer Gianni Nazzaro died in Rome at the age of 72, a victim of lung cancer that had affected him for several years, but kept it a secret until the last days. A native of Naples, he built his popularity during the 70s, with his participation in traditional Italian festivals and maintained a particular bond with the Argentine public.
It was in the middle of the 70s that the name of Gianni Nazzaro spread among the Argentine public. His regular performances, both in television studios and in various theaters in the city of Buenos Aires, were supported by the edition of his material in Spanish. In 1978, the compilation The Greatest Hits De Gianni Nazzaro was published in Spanish, which did not coincidentally open with “Ah! How beautiful it is ”, (“ Quanto é bella lei ”in the original) its biggest global success.
“I don’t want to fall in love anymore”, and “More than tonight tonight” and “In my own way”, also came in the long play that did justice to one of the most popular Italian singers in the golden age of Italian music both in the peninsula as in other parts of the world. Argentina was naturally one of its main markets. His last concert in this land was in 2015 at the Broadway Theater, sharing the stage with Silvana Di Lorenzo in the show Canta Italia.
Biography
Gianni was born in Naples on October 27, 1948, and when he was just a teenager he made his first weapons in music under the pseudonym Buddy. At that time, he stood out in the imitations of the most famous voices of Italian and English songs in the mid-60s, animating the repertoire of names such as Gianni Morandi, Joe Cocker, or Adriano Celentano. In 1968, his name was already better known when he participated in a show on radio and television with his song “Solo noi”.
Simultaneously, he began a race for the most recognized festivals of the song. He started in his small homeland, Naples, where in 1970 he won the top prize thanks to “Me ammore chiamme”, while his name was already a fixture on radio and television. Thus, he came to present his hits at the prestigious San Remo Festival, where in 1983 he received a standing ovation with “Mi sono innamorato di mia moglie”. Years later, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the contest by not considering his version “Perdere l’amore”, which the following year was the winner.
He never stopped singing, but over time his artistic restlessness led him to try himself in acting, where he exploited that seductive demeanor with which he walked the stages and television studios. It was only in 2016 that he left the scene after suffering a car accident in which he suffered severe injuries and lost a kidney.
On the sentimental level, he lived his great love story with Nada Ovcina, the mother of two of his four children. He was estranged for a long time, until they reconciled after the aforementioned accident and remarried, in a marriage celebrated at three in the morning in a hospital room. In addition, Gianni had two other children as a result of his relationship with Catherine Frank.
The death of Nazzari mourns again Italian music that comes from suffering two very heartfelt losses. On July 5, the Italian singer, actress, and presenter Raffaella Carrà passed away at the age of 78. Meanwhile, on May 18, Franco Battiato had died at the age of 76 in his native Sicily, where he had been away from the stage for the last time.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
