Renato Carosone

Renato Carosone (Italian pronunciation: [reˈnaːto karoˈzoːne]; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician.

Carosone was a piano prodigy and prominent figure in the Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called canzone napoletana, a traditional music genre from Naples. His biggest successes were: "'O sarracino/Caravan petrol", "Tu vuò fà l'americano", "Maruzzella" and "Pigliate 'na pastiglia".

Carosone was one of the first post-war Italian artists (the other one being Domenico Modugno) who sold records and toured in the United States without singing in English.

Biography

Beginnings

Carosone was born on 3 January 1920 in Naples, in Vico dei Tornieri, near Piazza del Mercato, to Antonio and Carolina Daino, along with sister Olga and brother Ottavio. His father, who worked in the box office at Teatro Mercadante, encouraged him to pursue music. At 14, he wrote "Triki-trak", his first composition for piano, and in 1935, he was hired by an opera dei pupi puppet theater to play music to the battles of Count Roland and Renaud. Subsequently, he worked at E. A. Mario's publishing house teaching new songs to singers. He studied piano and composition at the Naples Conservatory under Alberto Curci, and obtained his diploma in 1937, when he was just 17.