Alfredo Antonio Carlo Buongusto (6 April 1935 – 8 November 2019), known by his stage name Fred Bongusto, was an Italian light music singer, songwriter and composer who was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
Career history
Bongusto was born in
Campobasso
Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sann ...
. He made his recording debut with the song "Bella Bellissima", a song written by Ghigo Agosti and produced by the
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 ...
-based label Primary. It was released on phonographic record in 1960. Some of his most successful songs include "Amore fermati", "Una rotonda sul mare", "Spaghetti a Detroit" and "Prima c'eri tu", which won the 1966 edition of
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 ...
. Bongusto's proclivity for exploring Latin American rhythms and American Big Band swing made him very popular in South America, especially in Brazil. He had collaborated with
Toquinho
Antônio Pecci Filho (born July 6, 1946), better known as Toquinho (), is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. He is well known for his collaborations, as composer and performer, with Vinicius de Moraes.
Childhood and musical studies
Toquinho was b ...
,
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...
and
João Gilberto
João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was o ...
, who successfully covered Bongusto's song "Malaga" in his 1991 album
João
João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below.
Kings
* ...
.
He composed the soundtracks of more than 30 films, including '' Day After Tomorrow'' (1968), '' Un Detective'' (1969), ''
The Divorce
The Divorce was a rock band from Seattle, Washington, originally composed of Shane Berry, lead vocals, keyboard, guitar and tambourine, (bass) and Kyle Risan, drums.
History
The band's first full-length release was ''There Will Be Blood Tonig ...
'' (1970), ''
Come Have Coffee with Us
''Venga a prendere il caffè da noi'', internationally released as ''Come Have Coffee with Us'', is a 1970 Italian comedy film directed by Alberto Lattuada. It is based on the novel ''La spartizione'' by Piero Chiara. The film was awarded with tw ...
'' (1970), ''
The Eroticist
''The Eroticist'' ( it, Nonostante le apparenze... e purchè la nazione non lo sappia... all'onorevole piacciono le donne, lit=Despite Appearances... and Provided the Nation Doesn't Know... The Senator Likes Women) is a 1972 Italian commedia sexy ...
'' (1972), ''
Gli ordini sono ordini
''Gli ordini sono ordini'' ("''Orders Are Orders''") is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Franco Giraldi.
Plot
Giorgia is an unhappy housewife tired of her marriage to her husband Amedeo, when she begins to hear a voice that orders her to ...
Lovers and Other Relatives
''Lovers and Other Relatives'', also known as ''Peccato veniale'' and ''Venial Sin'', is a 1974 Italian comedy film directed by Salvatore Samperi. It was shot in Forte dei Marmi.Le farò da padre'' (1974), ''
Conviene far bene l'amore
''Conviene far bene l'amore'' (internationally released as ''The Sex Machine'' and ''Love and Energy'') is a 1975 sci-fi - sexy comedy film directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile. The film is based on a novel with the same name written by the same ...
'' (1975), ''
Al piacere di rivederla
''Al piacere di rivederla'' is a 1976 Italian giallo-comedy film directed by Marco Leto. It is based on the novel ''Ritratto di provincia in rosso'' by Paolo Levi.
Cast
* Ugo Tognazzi: Mario Aldara
* Françoise Fabian: Viviana Bonfigli
* Miou-Mi ...
'' (1976), ''
Oh, Serafina!
''Oh, Serafina!'' is a 1976 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Alberto Lattuada.
It is strictly based on the novel with the same name by Giuseppe Berto. For this film Fred Bongusto was awarded with a Nastro d'Argento for Best Score.
Cast ...
Fantozzi contro tutti
''Fantozzi'' is a 1975 Italian satirical cult film, based on in the saga of the unlucky Italian accountant employee Ugo Fantozzi, written and played by his creator Paolo Villaggio.
The film is a parody of middle class workers of the 1970s, ...
'' (1980), ''
Fracchia la belva umana
''Fracchia la belva umana'' (''Fracchia the fanatic'' or ''Fracchia The Human Beast)'' is a 1981 Italian comedy film directed by Neri Parenti. The film is loosely inspired by The Whole Town's Talking. It was screened at the 67th Venice Internat ...
'' (1981) and ''
Superfantozzi
''Superfantozzi'' is an Italian film from 1986. It is the fifth film in the saga of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio. This film portrays the "evolution" of Fantozzi in History, from the Creation of the World ...
'' (1986). He also starred in ''
Obiettivo ragazze
''Obiettivo ragazze'' is a 1963 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio.
Plot
Four ex-soldiers meet and reminisce about the times they were in the military: a parachutist mistaking his sergeant ...
'' (1961), and ''
Questi pazzi, pazzi italiani
''Questi pazzi, pazzi italiani'' is a 1965 Italian "musicarello" film directed by Tullio Piacentini.
Plot
The film takes place in Ferrari, Italy about two young pizza chefs named Mario and Luigi that traverse all around the town looking for ...
'' (1965).
In the 1990s, he was elected as a
PSI
Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to:
Alphabetic letters
* Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet
* Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek
Arts and entertainment
* "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...
town councillor in
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
. On 18 March 2005, the President of the Council,
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
, presented him with a silver plate to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his musical debut. On 2 June 2005, he was awarded the title of
Commendatore
Commendatore (singular), Commendatori (plural), is an Italian word originating from the latin phrase In commendam and meaning "Commander". It may refer to:
Position, rank, title
* Commander (order) ( it, Commendatore), the title of honour "Command ...
by President
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006.
Biography Education
Ciampi was born i ...
.
Personal life
He was married to Gabriella Palazzoli, an Italian
soubrette
A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".
Theatre
In theatre, a soubrette is a c ...
, who was famous in the 1950s and 1960s. She is known for starring in the film '' Buonanotte... Avvocato!'' with
Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter.
Early life
Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...
.
In 1960, before their marriage, Palazzoli had a previous marriage with American actor
John Drew Barrymore
John Drew Barrymore (born John Blyth Barrymore Jr.; June 4, 1932 – November 29, 2004) was an American film actor and member of the Barrymore family of actors, which included his father, John Barrymore, and his father's siblings, Lionel and E ...
, who is the father of her daughter Blyth Dolores. Blyth was raised by Bongusto.
Bongusto spent much of his time in
Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...
, in the village of Sant'Angelo. Bongusto died in Rome on 8 November 2019. He was 84.
Discography
*1963 - ''Fred Bongusto''
*1964 - ''La notte è fatta per ballare''
*1966 - ''...forse è colpa della musica...''
*1970 - ''Alla mia maniera''
*1971 - ''Un'occasione per dirti che ti amo''
*1972 - ''Alfredo Antonio Carlo Bongusto''
*1972 - ''Alla mia maniera n° 2''
*1974 - ''Malizia... un po'...''
*1974 - ''Doppio Whisky''
*1974 - ''Italian graffiti''
*1975 - ''Noi innamorati... d'improvviso''
*1975 - ''Napoli alla mia maniera''
*1976 - ''Flashback''
*1976 - ''La mia estate con te''
*1977 - ''Il giorno e la notte''
*1978 - ''Professionista di notte''
*1979 - ''Lunedì''
*1979 - ''Fred Brasil''
*1980 - ''Fred & Bongusto''
*1981 - ''Fortunatamente ancora l'amore''
*1982 - ''Freddissimo''
*1983 - ''Belle bugie''
*1984 - ''Appuntamento con la luna''
*1985 - ''...dillo tu''
*1986 - ''Guancia a guancia''
*1987 - ''Cioccolata''
*1988 - ''Paradiso perduto''
*1989 - ''Le donne più belle''
*1990 - ''Appena posso, torno''
*1991 - ''Una canzone per ballare''
*1992 - ''Io dopo i giorni degli azzimi''
*1992 - ''Ancora insieme/We'll Be Together Again''
*1992 - ''Bailemos''
*1994 - ''Facciamo finta di volerci bene...''
*1995 - ''Fred''
*1997 - ''E io le canto accussì''
*1997 - ''La luna''