Celentano, gli esordi (1959-1960) playlist

Celentano: the beginnings (1959-1960)

The pop icon par excellence of Italian music began his singing career with rock and roll, even though he didn’t know a word of English. Still, he absorbed the sounds of this genre listening to the records of his idols, from Elvis to Little Richard, after making his entertainment debut as an impersonator of Jerry Lewis. The rebellious spirit of early rock would stay with Adriano Celentano (born in 1938) throughout his career, making him into an eternal Peter Pan, even as he entered his 80s. Cinema and television would sharpen his penchant for transgression, which he has always managed to pass off as no more than a wish to remain forever young. This anthology looks back at the first two years of his record production and includes all the singles that reached the charts, beginning with the cover of Louis Prima (in mangled English), which made it to sixth place. Original songs are also presented, such as ‘Il tuo bacio è come un rock’ and ‘Il ribelle’ (which immediately clinched his fame), together with other classics of a style that would soon become popular in Italy as well. The latter include ‘Impazzivo per te’ and ‘I ragazzi del juke-box’, from the 1959 film of the same title. Directed by Lucio Fulci, the film was the prototype of the musicarèllo, a genre of Italian musicals used to promote young singers. Indeed, in I ragazzi Celentano is joined by Fred Buscaglione, Betty Curtis, Tony Dallara and Gianni Meccia. Of note is also the song ‘Piccola’, a duet with a Charleston rhythm sung with Anita Traversi, the Swiss Italian Mina with whom Celentano recorded an entire album.