La Bionda were an Italian

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

duo consisting of siblings Carmelo (1949–2022) and Michelangelo La Bionda (born 1952). They are considered among the pioneers of the

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

music genre. The siblings were born in

Ramacca Ramacca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in a mountainous area in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region of Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. It lies west of the Plain of Catania. Ramacca ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

in 1954.

History

Beginnings

Carmelo was born on 2 February 1949, and Michelangelo on 25 August 1952 in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Their family moved to

in 1954.

Music career

They debuted as songwriters with "Primo sole, primo fiore", a piece the pop band

Ricchi e Poveri Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

presented at the Song Festival in Venice in 1970. They also wrote "Neve bianca, Amica, Gentile se vuoi" for the Italian female singer

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Piccolo uomo "Piccolo uomo" () is a 1972 Italian song composed by Dario Baldan Bembo (music), Bruno Lauzi and Michelangelo La Bionda (lyrics) and performed by Mia Martini. It was the singer's first significant commercial success. Background When Dario B ...

" with

Bruno Lauzi Bruno Lauzi (; 8 August 1937 – 24 October 2006) was an Italian singer-songwriter, poet and writer. Biography Bruno Lauzi was born in Asmara, then part of the Italian Eastern Africa, to a Catholic father, Francesco Lauzi and a Jewish mot ...

(lyrics). Michelangelo La Bionda also did some session work. In 1975 he played acoustic guitar on the album ''Volume VIII'' by

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pr ...

. Between 1972 and 1977 La Bionda recorded two albums of acoustic ballads, ''Fratelli La Bionda s.r.l.'' (1972) and ''Tutto Va Bene'' (1977). "Tutto va bene" was recorded at the Apple Studios in London, and features

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

on piano. La Bionda became popular when they turned to disco music. They moved to Munich, when they started recording under the pseudonym D. D. Sound (short for Disco Delivery Sound), a moniker that would accompany them for their entire recording career. Their first two disco singles, "Disco Bass" and "Burning Love", became international hits. They were followed by "Cafè" (1977) and "1, 2, 3, 4 Gimme Some More". In 1978, they released their album, ''

La Bionda La Bionda were an Italian disco duo consisting of siblings Carmelo (1949–2022) and Michelangelo La Bionda (born 1952). They are considered among the pioneers of the Italo disco music genre. The siblings were born in Ramacca, Sicily and moved ...

''. It included "Sandstorm" (produced by

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen, 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous German a ...

) and " There for Me", as well as the worldwide hit "One for You, One for Me". From 1978 to 1981, La Bionda continued to record more dance music, either under their name (as with the albums ''Bandido'', ''High Energy'' and ''I Wanna Be Your Lover'') or as D. D. Sound (as with the singles ''Cafe'', ''The Hootchie Cootchie'', and ''Wake Up in the Night''). Following the 1980s, La Bionda focused on writing, producing and publishing music.

Song writing and production

In the 1980s La Bionda scored the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s for many films directed by Sergio and Bruno Corbucci, including ''

Super Fuzz ''Super Fuzz'' ( it, Poliziotto superpiù), also known as ''Super Snooper'', is a 1980 superhero comedy film directed by Sergio Corbucci. The film stars Terence Hill and Ernest Borgnine. It is about Dave Speed, a bumbling Miami police officer w ...

'' (1980), ''

Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure ''Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure'' ( it, Chi trova un amico trova un tesoro also known as ''A Friend Is a Treasure'') is an Italian adventure- comedy movie directed in 1981 by Sergio Corbucci and starring the comedy team of Terence Hill an ...

'' (1981), starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, ''

My Darling, My Dearest ''My Darling, My Dearest'' ( it, Bello mio, bellezza mia) is a 1981 Italian comedy film directed by Sergio Corbucci. Plot Cast * Giancarlo Giannini: Gennarino Laganà * Mariangela Melato: Armida * Stefania Sandrelli: Clarabella * Massim ...

'' (1981), '' Cat and Dog'' (1983), ''

A tu per tu ''A tu per tu'' is a 1984 Italian comedy film directed by Sergio Corbucci. Plot summary In Milan, Emanuele is a rich owner who cheats finance; so he is hunted. As happened while he is running away, Emanuele meets poor and bungling taxi driver Gi ...

'' (1984), ''

Miami Supercops ''Miami Supercops'', in it, Miami Supercops (I poliziotti dell'8ª strada), is a 1985 Italian action comedy film starring the comedy team of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. It was their final non-Western film together. Synopsis In 1978, $20 milli ...

'' (1985) and ''

Roba da ricchi ''Roba da ricchi'' (''Stuff for rich people'') is a 1987 Italian anthology comedy film directed by Sergio Corbucci. It consists of three segments, all set in Monte Carlo. Plot Against the backdrop of Monte Carlo (where the film was shot) thre ...

'' (1987), as well as '' Virtual Weapon'' (1997), directed by

Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in th ...

. They also composed the theme from the television series ''Inspector Giusti'' with

Enrico Montesano Enrico Montesano (born 7 June 1945) is an Italian actor and showman. Career Montesano comes from a family involved in theatre, and he made his debut in 1966 in a show named ''Humor nero'', alongside of Vittorio Metz. Later he became a very ...

, and produced various commercial jingles, such as "Sorrisi is Magic for Smiles and Songs" (for the Italian magazine ''Sorrisi & Canzoni''), "Heart of Cream" (for Walls' Cornetto), "I'm Coming Home" (for Bayer Aspirin) and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. In 2009, they re-recorded "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Gimme Some More" for a

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

commercial and "One For You, One For Me" for the digital television channel Mediaset Premium. In parallel, in 1983 they began their collaboration with the dance duo

Righeira Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...

, writing their early hits " Vamos a la playa" and "No Tengo Dinero". In 1984, Carmelo La Bionda recorded a single as solo artist. "I Love You"/"You're So Fine" have been sampled by American Band

Neon Indian Neon Indian is an American electronic music band from Denton, Texas. The music is composed by Mexican-born Alan Palomo (born July 24, 1988), who is also known for his work with the band Ghosthustler, and as the solo artist VEGA. The project has b ...

Logic Studios

In 1985 La Bionda founded and started operating Logic Studios, a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

in Milan. Musicians who have recorded at Logic Studios over the years include

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Robert Palmer,

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

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as well as pop stars like

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...

Nek Filippo Neviani (born 6 January 1972), known by his stage name Nek, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Nek is popular in Italy and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and has performed and released most of his albums in both Italian ...

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and

Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Winn ...

Personal lives

Carmelo La Bionda died of cancer on 5 November 2022, at the age of 73.

Discography

La Bionda * ''Fratelli La Bionda s.r.l.'' (1972) * ''Tutto Va Bene'' (1977) * ''

'' (1978) * ''Bandido'' (1979) * ''High Energy'' (1979) * ''I Wanna Be Your Lover'' (1980) * ''In Beatween'' (1998) D. D. Sound * ''1-2-3-4 Gimme Some More!'' (1977) * ''Disco Delivery'' (1977) * ''Café'' (1978) * ''The Hootchie Cootchie'' (1979)

References

Citations

Sources

External links

* * {{Authority control Sibling musical duos Italo disco groups Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 2022 Musical groups from Milan Italian musical duos English-language singers from Italy Eurodisco groups 1970 establishments in Italy 2022 disestablishments in Italy