Rosario Umberto Balsamo, best known as Umberto Balsamo (born 10 March 1942) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer.

Umberto Balsamo
Born (1942-05-10) 10 May 1942 (age 82)
Occupationsinger-songwriter

Background

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Born 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

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Singles

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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

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  • 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

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  • 1989 L'angelo azzurro e altri successi
  • 1995 Umberto Balsamo - Le sue più belle canzoni

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Alessandro Dell'Orto (September 16, 2011). ""Per "Angelo azzurro" ho litigato con Mina"". Libero. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Dario Salvatori (1989). Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989. ISBN 8876054391.
  3. ^ a b c d Eddy Anselmi (2009). Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics, 2009. ISBN 978-8863462296.
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