Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

, and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, among others.

Career

In 1955, she was featured on '' The Colgate Comedy Hour'' with

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals '' Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who p ...

. In 1958, she filmed the musical comedy '' Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich'' (''Here I Am, Here I Stay'') which featured a guest appearance by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

. During Haley's segment, Valente sang a duet with Haley on a newly recorded version of his song "Vive la Rock and Roll". Her brother - Italian Musician, Singer and film actor Silvio Francesco (1927-2000) - performed with her, sang many duets, danced, and played the clarinet in the shadow of his famous sister. In the mid-1960s, Valente worked with

Claus Ogerman Claus Ogerman (born Klaus Ogermann; 29 April 1930 – 8 March 2016) was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall. Life and wor ...

and recorded material in both Italian and English that he arranged/conducted and/or composed on the Decca labels. and London Valente was a favorite of singer

, making eight guest appearances on his

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety program ...

television program from 1961 to 1966. In 1964–65, she was co-host (with

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

and initially Bob Newhart) of ''

The Entertainers ''The Entertainers'' is a one-hour American variety show which aired on CBS from September 25, 1964 through March 27, 1965. Produced by Joe Hamilton, the series featured three hosts: Hamilton's then-wife Carol Burnett, Bob Newhart, and Cater ...

'', a CBS

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a co ...

. She was a frequent guest on ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...

''. In Germany, she was a major performer of Schlager music. There, she recorded

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

's ''

I Love Paris "I Love Paris" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1953. The song was introduced by Lilo in the musical '' Can-Can''. A line in the song's lyrics inspired the title of the 1964 movie '' Paris When It Sizzles''. Notable re ...

'' under the German title '' Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe'', which sold more than 900,000 copies in 1954. Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Sy Oliver,

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

and Edmundo Ros. In 1959, she was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

. Valente was a principal on the CBS variety series ''

'' (1964–65). Valente also made three appearances on the ''

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

''. In 1970 she appeared in the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

singing Before the Parade Passes By, and The Breeze and I. ''A briglia sciolta'', the Italian jazz CD recorded in 1989 and re-released in later years under the titles ''Fantastica'' and ''Platinum deluxe'', was her best-selling CD worldwide. In 2001, she released a new album, ''Girltalk'', with harpist Catherine Michel. She retired in 2003. In 2019 her song " Bongo cha cha cha" was included in the soundtrack of '' Spider-Man: Far from Home'', directed by

Jon Watts Jonathan Watts (born June 28, 1981) is an American filmmaker. His credits include directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'', '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', and '' Spider-Man: No Way Home''. He was ...

, becoming viral and risen to new popularity. In 2021 the song went viral on social media platform

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version o ...

, thanks to its use for a trend that has collected over 250 million views, started from Latin countries and South America, and then popularized also in Italy and Germany.

Personal life

An ethnic Italian, Valente was born and raised in France, and is a French citizen. One of four children, she was born into a musical family; her father, Giuseppe, was an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

player, and her mother, Maria, was a musical comedienne. In 1952, Valente married German

juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...

Erik van Aro. The couple later divorced. Their son is singer Eric van Aro. In 1972, Valente married British pianist Roy Budd. They had a son before divorcing in 1980. A polyglot, Valente speaks six languages (French, Italian, German, English, Spanish and Swedish), and can sing in all of them. In addition, she is capable of singing in Dutch, Portuguese, Hebrew, Greek and Japanese. Valente is a longtime resident of Lugano, Switzerland.

Selected album discography

United States

* '' The Hi-Fi Nightingale'', 1956 * ''Olé Caterina'', 1957, (Decca DL-8436) * ''Plenty Valente!'', 1957, (Decca DL 8440) * ''A Toast to the Girls'', (Decca DL 8755) * ''Schlagerparade'', (Decca DL 8852) * ''More Schlagerparade'', (Decca DL 4035) * ''À la Carte'' - Caterina Valente Sings in French, (Decca DL 4050) * ''

Arriba! ''Arriba!'' is an album from Caterina Valente Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While sh ...

'', 1959 * ''The Greatest... in Any Language!'', (Decca DL 4052) * ''Golden Favorites'', (Decca DL-4504) * ''Rendezvous with Caterina'', (Decca) * ''Fire & Frenzy'' – Caterina Valente & Edmundo Ros Orchestra, 1960 * ''Classics with a Chaser'', 1960, (RCA Victor LPM-2119) * ''Super-Fonics'', (RCA LSP-2241) * ''Great Continental Hits'', 1962. Decca * ''South of the Border'', 1963. * ''Valente in Swingtime'', 1963. Teldec * ''Caterina Valente's Greatest Hits'', 1965. Decca * ''The Intimate Valente'', 1966. Decca * ''Strictly U.S.A.'', (London LL 3307) * ''

Songs I've Sung on the Perry Como Show ''Songs I've Sung on the Perry Como Show'' is an album from Caterina Valente. It is released in the United States and is today known as ''Valente on TV''. Track listing Side 1 # Make Someone Happy # You're Following Me # More Than Likely # Cou ...

'' * ''I Happen to Like New York'', (London LL 3362) * ''Valente & Violins'', 1964. (London 3363) * ''Sweet Beat'', (London PS 536) * ''Valente on T.V.'' * ''Love'', 1972. (London Phase 4), Stereo

Brazil

* ''Serenata d'Amore'' * ''A Poliglota da Canção'' * ''Caterina - A Cosmopolita'', Polydor 46065 * ''Caterina Valente com Edmundo Ros''

Peru

*''Caterina Cherie'', Polydor 46310

Argentina

*''Una Cita Con Caterina Valente'' (A Date With Caterina Valente), Polydor 24011, 10 inch LP *''Olé, Caterina!'', (Polydor 25019) *''Un Brindis para las Muchachas'', (Polydor 25048) *''Bueno... Clásico... y Popular!'' (Classics with a Chaser), (RCA Victor LPM-2119) *''Classics with a Chaser'', (RCA Victor LPM-2119)

Colombia

*''Cosmopolitan Lady'', (Polydor 46065) *''A Toast To The Girls'', (Polydor 46074)

United Kingdom

*''Caterina Valente & Edmundo Ros: Nothing But Aces'', Decca 4157 *''Great Continental Hits'', Decca LK 4508 *''Valente In Swingtime'', 1963. Decca SKL 4537 *''I Happen to Like New York'', Decca LK 4630 *''Caterina Valente's Greatest Hits'', 1965 *'' The World of Caterina Valente'', 1971. Decca SPA 192

Australia

*''I Happen to Like New York'', World Record Club S/4384, 196? *''Great Continental Hits'', World Record Club, 1967 *''The Best of Caterina Valente'', SUMMIT Karussell SRA 250-548 (on the cover)/2430 032 (on the label)

Germany

*''Plenty Valente!, 1957. Polydor LPHM 43.037 *''A Date With Caterina Valente'', Polydor 45 517 *''Olé Caterina!'', Polydor 46 029 LPHM *''Weltschlager mit Caterina Valente'', 1959. Polydor Sonderauflage Bertelsmann J 53503, 10 inch LP *''Ihre großen Erfolge'' *''Konzert für Frack und Petticoat - Classics with a Chaser'', RCA LSP-2119 *''Super-Fonics'', RCA LSP-2241 *''Caterina Valente & Edmundo Ros: Latein Amerikanische Rhythmen'', DECCA BLK 16184-P *''Caterina in Italia'', Decca BLK 16211-P *''Caterina on Tour'', Decca BLK 16213-P *''Caterina Valente & Silvio Francesco: Deutsche Evergreens'', Decca SLK 16 189 P *''Pariser Chic, Pariser Charme,'' Decca SLK 16266 P *''I Happen to Like New York'', Decca SLK 16 290 *''Wenn es Nacht wird in den Städten'', 1965. Decca SLK 16 345 *''Portrait in Music'', Decca SLK 16 420-P *''Happy Caterina, Decca'' SLK 16485-P *''Die großen Erfolge'' (Decca ND 103, Stereo) *''Schlager, Lieder & Chansons'', Decca ND 182 *''Schlager, Lieder & Chansons 2'', Decca ND 557 *''Caterina Valente & Edmundo Ros: Olé Mambo'', 1969. Decca 79 505 *''Caterina Valente & Edmundo Ros: Latin together'', Decca SLK 16849-P *''Ich wär so gern bei Dir'', Decca 6.22003 *''The Best Of Caterina Valente'', Polydor 184047 *''Tanz mit Catrin'', HÖR ZU TELDEC HZT 514 * ''Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe - Caterina Valente singt ihre Welterfolge'', 1970. * ''Bonjour Kathrin – Caterina Valente präsentiert ihre größten Erfolge'', 1965 *''Bonjour Kathrin, Karussell'' 635 106

Japan

* ''Cosmopolitan Lady'', 10 inch LP * ''Caterina Latin Album'', 1963 * ''De Luxe Latin Album'', 1966

South Africa

* ''Latein Amerikanische Rhythmen'', 1960 * ''Du bist Musik'', 1956 (45106 LPH - Polydor Sternchen)

Selected filmography

* ''

The Big Star Parade ''The Big Star Parade'' (German: ''Die große Starparade'') is a 1954 West German musical comedy film directed by Paul Martin and starring Adrian Hoven, Renate Holm and Gunther Philipp. The film's sets were designed by the art director Hans J ...

'' (1954) * '' Ball at the Savoy'' (1955) * ' (1955) * ' (1956) * '' Bonjour Kathrin'' (1956) * ''

The Simple Girl ''The Simple Girl'' (german: Das einfache Mädchen) is a 1957 West German musical comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and produced by Artur Brauner. It starred Caterina Valente, Rudolf Prack and Ruth Stephan. Production The film was directed ...

'' (1957) * ' (1958) * ''

Here I Am, Here I Stay ''Here I Am, Here I Stay'' (german: Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich) is a 1959 West German musical comedy film directed by Werner Jacobs and produced by Artur Brauner. It stars Caterina Valente, Hans Holt and Ruth Stephan. The film also feat ...

'' (1959) * ' (1959) * ''

Snow White and the Seven Jugglers ''Snow White and the Seven Jugglers'' (German: ''Schneewittchen und die sieben Gaukler'') is a 1962 Swiss-West German musical comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Caterina Valente, Walter Giller and Georg Thomalla.Bock & Bergfelder ...

'' (1962)

Awards

(''Incomplete list'') * 1961

Bravo Otto The Bravo Otto is a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music. Established in 1957, the award is presented annually, with winners selected by the readers of ''Bravo'' magazine. The award is presented in ...

, "Female singers“ Gold (also 1960, 1962 and 1963 in Silver) * 1964 "Europremio" European TV Award, Venice, Italy * 1965 "O Globo“ Award for Best Foreign Singer of Latin American music, Brazil * 1965 "FAME Award", USA * 1968 Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse ("1st Class Cross of Merit"), Germany * 1972 "Officier de l'éducation artistique" Officer of Artistic Education, Paris, France * 1986 "Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland“ Grand Cross of Merit, Germany * 1966

Goldene Kamera The Goldene Kamera ("Golden Camera") is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the Funke Mediengruppe. The award show is usually held in early February in Hamburg, but has also taken place in Berlin in the past. The gold-plat ...

, Germany * 1990

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

, Germany * 1991

Goldene Europa Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies. Since 1981, the gala was broadcast on television. The original sculpt ...

"Lifetime-Award“, Saarbrücken, Germany * 1995

"Lifetime-Award“, Germany * 1998 Platin Romy Lifetime Award, Austria * 2002

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

, "Lifetime-Award“ Germany * 2004 "Premio GABARDI", Lifetime Milano, Italy * 2005 Honorary Bambi, Germany

References

External links

* *
Caterina Valente recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

.
Discography
*
Photographs and literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valente, Caterina 1931 births Living people French women singers English-language singers from France German-language singers RCA Victor artists Polydor Records artists Decca Records artists Schlager musicians Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Singers from Paris Women guitarists French people of Italian descent