Lugano – When Europe was still rolling up its sleeves and rebuilding after the Second World War, Caterina Valente brought the flair of the big wide world into the cramped living room: The Italian singer with a French passport sang about Paris, Honolulu and the Fiesta Cubana. Now Valente has died on September 9th at the age of 93 in Lugano, Switzerland, where she had lived for a long time. Her press spokesman Günther Huber told the German Press Agency this, citing her sons.
“At the request of the deceased, the funeral was held in strict privacy and there will be no further ceremonies or memorial services,” he reported. The family asked that their privacy be respected.
One of Germany’s biggest pop stars
Valente became one of the biggest pop stars in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s and had an international career: in 1976, Canada celebrated her as “Europe’s answer to Doris Day, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli.”
Glamour in everyday life
“Signora Wirtschaftswunder” sang in German, Italian, French, English and many other languages. She danced and acted and with a mixture of exoticism and elegance made it possible to escape from everyday life in the lower middle class.
Germany became aware of the world-experienced singer in the early 1950s when her German husband sent tape recordings of his wife singing to various broadcasters.
Many of their evergreens have become familiar sayings in the German language: “Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe” from 1954, for example, their version of the Cole Porter song “I love Paris” and their biggest hit. “Tschau, Tschau, Bambina” (1959), “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu Strandbikini” (1960) and “Quando, quando, quando” (1962) were also huge successes.
Jazz, chanson and hits
Valente captivated with her versatile voice: musically, she could both yearn with longing and master sensual chanson depths and jazzy heights – and just as mischievously lift the party mood. She kept her infectious optimism and humor well into old age. She agreed with Bette Davis, she wrote on Facebook in 2019: “Old age is not for weaklings.”
In 1999, she recorded her last CD (“Girltalk”) and retired. In 2005, she made her last public appearance at a “Bambi” awards ceremony in Munich, where she received an honorary award for her life’s work.
Still on Facebook at over 90
But she remained active on Facebook even after her 90th birthday: she often posted memories of moments from her career or other stars from the past. In April 2023, she showed a photo of herself from her younger years.
Her work went far beyond music. In the hit film “Love, Dance and 1000 Hits”, Valente radiated sex appeal as an actress alongside entertainer Peter Alexander. This film was even shown in the GDR in 1955 – but the censors cut out rock ‘n’ roll scenes and other overly “decadent-western” sequences.
In addition, she hosted New Year’s Eve parties in German-speaking countries, had a “Caterina Valente Show” and was a guest on shows such as “Music is Trump” and “The Golden Shot”. In 1986, the Guinness Book of Records listed her as the most successful European singer with more than 1,350 published recordings.
Child of a family of artists
Valente was born in Paris in 1931 to Italian artists. She first appeared on stage in Paris at the age of five, and later sang chansons that Gilbert Bécaud had composed for her in clubs there.
At 21, she married the German juggler Erik van Aro, who also became her manager. The marriage lasted almost 20 years. From 1972 to 1980, she was married to the British pianist and composer Roy Budd. From each marriage she had a son, Eric (1958) and Alexander (1974).
“I enjoy every day I wake up in the morning,” she said in 2019 in a conversation with a friend that she posted on Facebook. “I have two crazy sons who take care of me and make me laugh.” She looked back on her life with satisfaction: “I did everything I wanted to do, some things better, some things worse.”
Valente brought a touch of the big wide world into German living rooms (archive photo)
picture alliance / dpa
All of Paris dreams of love: Valente sang evergreens that are still known today (archive photo)
picture alliance / dpa
Even after her 90s, Valente communicated a lot with her fans on Facebook.
caterinavalente.com/huber-communication/dpa
In the 1960s, Valente and Peter Alexander were considered the dream couple of German pop music (archive photo)
picture alliance / dpa
