This is the story of a musician who one day left for America from Meda, a municipality in the Brianza area. It was October 1946, the war had been over for a year but in Italy there was no food. Especially for Mr. Giovanni Guidi, known as Nino D’Aurelio, singer and father of Giorgio, a nine-year-old boy who was about to board the Sobieski ship. Destination: New York, even though grandma Pasquina was crying desperately because she thought America was in Africa.
The path that will lead little Giorgio to become Johnny Dorelli is told in «What a fantastic life», the first autobiography of the musician, actor and presenter today 83 years old, written together with Pier Luigi Vercesi. His life, to read it, looks like a movie: the America of the 40s and 50s, the Broadway theaters, the mess. “I’m a happy man: I’ve always done everything I thought was right.” In the words of Frank Sinatra, «I did it my way». “Funny. But I didn’t know Sinatra well, I frequented many others like for example Giuseppe Di Stefano, great tenor, unfortunately ruined by the game ».
Not only. She tells an incredible scene: a dinner with Lucky Luciano.
«Thinking about it today seems absurd to me, but it went like this: I was 13 and we were forced to return to Italy, passing through Naples. Here lived Igea Lissoni, a friend of her mother, who invited us to dinner. At the table I immediately recognized Luciano: he lived there, extradited from New York in 1946 after being pardoned, on condition that he leave American territory, for the “services” rendered during the Second World War ».
And in America he had also met Joe Barbàra.
«Don Paolino Palmeri introduced him to us and we were entrusted to him after the death of dad’s agent. He insisted on having me drive an expensive car but when I tried to park it I smashed it. “Don’t worry, he told me, he’ll get it fixed” ».
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Back in Italy, he began a very long apprenticeship for her. Not everyone knows that one of the biggest obstacles to his career was the “r”.
«And how! At the time there was not all this fascination for the exotic that exists today and that was a flaw, period. Giulio Razzi, director of radio pop music at the time, broke my records in two when they arrived in his hand and didn’t let my songs “pass” ».
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And how did he solve the problem?
“Then there were no speech therapists, so we went to the older actors who had solved the problem. I consulted three. The most effective method was to learn to pronounce the “r” by replacing it with the “d”: “chasing” became “dincoddede” ».
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Then two consecutive victories at the Sanremo Festival, together with Domenico Modugno, in 1958 and in ’59.
«I remember the debut: I got a fever for the emotion, I was determined not to go on stage. Then Modugno came up to me, gave me a slap in the face and dragged me onto the stage ».
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The song was “In the blue, painted blue”, by Modugno and Migliacci.
«Few imagine the battles that were fought and are still fought today behind the scenes of the festival. I remember well what Ladislao Sugar, a great publisher and record producer, fought to help me emerge ».
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Once you Sanremo also presented him.
«Yes and I will never forget the skill of an extraordinary artist like Mia Martini».
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Reading his life is like retracing the history of gossip. They attributed all kinds of flirtations to her.
«With a lot of scenes on the part of grandmother Pasquina: for her, I was either marrying a girl from Meda, or no one else could go well. I’m afraid he had bet one of Seregno. Let alone when they wrote that I was going to marry Connie Francis! ‘
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-kIxH-U3210756734880KGE-593x443@Corriere-Web-Sezioni.jpg?w=900&ssl=1 "Dorelli with Catherine Spaak")
Dorelli with Catherine Spaak–
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But then, after Lauretta Masiero and Catherine Spaak, Gloria Guida arrived.
“We’ve been together for 41 years, we have a daughter and that’s all I say about my private life.”
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Dorelli with Gloria Guida–
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Can you tell me what father was Johnny Dorelli?
“I had three children (Gianluca, Gabriele, and Guendalina, ed). I’ve often been away on business, but I don’t think I’ve been a bad father. In any case, we should ask them ».
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And which of his songs do you think back with the greatest yearning?
«The knife grinder. Also why do you want to see how it comes with the “r” fly? ».
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15 September 2020 (change September 15, 2020 | 08:26)
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