Raoul Casadei (15 August 1937 – 13 March 2021) was an Italian bandleader, composer and musician. The leader for about 40 years of Orchestra Casadei, he was nicknamed "Re del Liscio" ('King of

Liscio Liscio or ballo liscio ("smooth" or "smooth dance" respectively in Italian) is a genre of music originating in the 19th century in the northern Italian region of Romagna under the influence of Viennese ballroom dances including the mazurka, waltz ...

').

Life and career

Born in

Gatteo Gatteo ( rgn, Gatì) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italy, Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Forlì. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,2 ...

, the nephew of the composer Secondo, Casadei started performing in the late 1950s in his uncle orchestra, which a few years later was renamed "Orchestra Secondo e Raoul Casadei". In 1971, with the death of Secondo, Casadei became the bandleader of the orchestra, improving in a few years its success with the hit "Ciao mare" and with the participation in the major festivals of the time, including

Festivalbar The Festivalbar was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by RAI. ...

Un disco per l'estate Un disco per l'estate (translation "A Record for the Summer") was an Italian Summer festival held from 1964 to 2003. It was organized and sponsored by the Italian record industry association, AFI, and by RAI, except for the editions between 1995 ...

and the 24th edition of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

. Also a television theme songs composer, because of his popularity he played himself in films and starred in commercials and fotoromanzi. In 2006 he took part in the reality show '' L'isola dei famosi''. In 2013, in collaboration with Paolo Gambi, he released his memoirs, ''Bastava un grillo (per farci sognare)''. A graduate of the

Istituto Magistrale Liceo delle scienze umane (literally ''Human Sciences lyceum'') is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is designed to give students the skills to progress to any university or higher educational institution, but specifically devoted to human ...

, besides his musical activities he served as a school teacher for seventeen years. Casadei died in the

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...

hospital of complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

on 13 March 2021, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Raoul Casadei
at

Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casadei, Raoul 1937 births 2021 deaths People from the Province of Forlì-Cesena Italian bandleaders Italian male composers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Emilia-Romagna