Antonio Morese (9 December 1935 – 5 December 2021), known professionally as Toni Santagata, was an Italian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer, composer, comedian, and actor. He was sometimes credited as Tony Santagata.

Life and career

Born in

Sant'Agata di Puglia Sant'Agata di Puglia ( Pugliese: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. Its territory borders the municipalities of Accadia, Anzano di Puglia, Candela, Deliceto, Lacedonia ( AV), Mont ...

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also know ...

, Santagata debuted as a comedian at the

Derby Club Derby Club was a musical and comedy club located in Milan, Italy. The club was founded in the late 1950s by Gianni Bongioanni as a restaurant named "Gi-Go" in which live jazz music was occasionally played.Bassignano, Ernesto; Cantore, Lalla (1990 ...

in Milan, with the show ''Toni Santagata e il suo cabaret'', later also released as an album. In the following years he embraced

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, both recording some classics of the Apulian tradition and composing songs. In 1973 Santagata won the folk section of

Canzonissima ''Canzonissima'' was an Italian musical variety show broadcast by Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's fl ...

with "Lu maritiello"; the song was also his major hit, peaking at the sixth place on the Italian hit parade. Santagata died on 5 December 2021, at the age of 85.Addio a Toni Santagata, il cantante di "Quant'è bello lu primm'ammore"

Discography

;Album * 1968 - ''La vita di Padre Pio '' * 1969 - ''Ciccillo Provolone '' * 1970 - ''Toni Santagata, le sue canzoni, il suo cabaret '' * 1975 - ''Lu maritiello ed altre canzoni '' * 1975 - ''Vino Vino '' * 1976 - ''Festa grande '' * 1977 - ''Lu maritiello ed altri successi '' * 1982 - ''Squadra Grande '' * 1982 - ''Quant'è bello lu primm'ammore '' * 1983 - ''Unicus '' * 1984 - ''Ti mando un fax '' * 1994 - ''Storie italiane'' * 2002 - ''Padre Pio '' * 2006 - ''Idee da cantare '' * 2010 - ''Quant'è bello lu primm'ammore e altri successi ''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santagata, Toni 1935 births 2021 deaths People from the Province of Foggia Italian folk singers Italian male singer-songwriters Italian singer-songwriters Italian comedians Italian male film actors Italian male stage actors