[Kid Shelleen]

"Amore: The Story of Italian American Song," by Mark Rotella. Farrar

[the invisib1e hand]

Joe Vitale's book, "Backstage Pass" might support this theory.

As my old friend Geno once said, "Jew control half of everything, Italians, the other half."

[XEHRpa]

Is that because the mafia controlled payola and the nightclubs?

[Sacajaweau]

And there were no bad words...and they weren't disgusting...and they didn't have the noisy background...They were real singers and entertainers!!!

We had the best of the best...both in music and the theater.

[Revolting cat!]

[LibFreeOrDie]

Very true. Pop music in the ‘50s (before rock-n-roll) was dominated by Italian-Americans. Even operatic voices such as Mario Lanza and Ezio Pinza were popular. Part of it was immigration. Part of it was American GIs returning from WW2 Italy.

[blam]

[dfwgator]

What about the guy that sang:

What’s a matta you, Hey ya gotta no respect
Whatta you think you do Why you looka so sad
It’sa not so bad, it’s a nice-a place
Ah Shuddupa ya face!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

"Two of the giants, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, in 1961"

[Migraine]

Nino Tempo and April Stevens, Niagara Falls Italians. Wow!

This article makes me wonder if Steffano Maggadino's mob helped them along. Can't see why, though; they were spectacular.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHjq4venrCM

[Bon mots]

Actually, it was mostly Neopolitans... most of the well-known Italian singers and songs are from Naples...

Even when Dean Martin sings, “When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool...” he is using the Neopolitan dialect word for ‘beans’ instead of the Italian word, “Pasta e fagioli”.

[Bon mots]

ok... before someone comes along and points it out, YES, I know that Pavarotti was from Modena...

:)