Natalino Otto, stage name of Natale Codognotto (24 December 1912 – 4 October 1969) was an Italian singer. He started the swing genre in Italy.

Biography

Early years

Natalino Otto was born at Cogoleto, province of Genoa, in northern Italy. His career as a singer and musician started in the clubs of his native region,

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. During the 1930s he worked as an entertainer on board transatlantic liners on the routes between Europe and North America, which gave him the opportunity to get to know American music genres, especially

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and swing. In 1935, he was hired by an Italian-American radio station in New York. Back in Italy in 1937, Otto presented an innovative repertoire, strongly influenced by American music of that era. But he had to face Italian

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

censorship, that banned anything foreign. He was forced to translate song titles and lyrics into Italian. The Italian state radio company

EIAR Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR, "Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting") was the public service broadcaster in Fascist Italy and the only entity permitted to broadcast by the government. History The company was established in 1 ...

did not broadcast his songs, and labelled them as "barbaric negro antimusic". Banned from the radio, Natalino Otto worked for recording companies instead, together with two great Italian bandleaders, Gorni Kramer and Pippo Barzizza. In a short while he won the audience with his records – one of the few Italian singers of those times, if not the only one, to achieve success without his songs playing on the radio. Italian people danced to his swing tunes, which earned him the nickname "King of Rhythm".

Cinema and Sanremo Festival

Thanks to his popularity, also the movie industry wanted him. He was offered singer roles in a few films. He was the leading character in ''

The Whole City Sings ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' directed by

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing '' I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became ...

in 1945. He also starred in '' La casa senza tempo'' and '' Carosello del varietà''. During the 1950s, Natalino Otto took part for five times to 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 ...

. His best result was a third place in 1955 with a song titled "Canto nella Valle". In that year he married Flo Sandon's, also an Italian singer.Natalino Otto And Flo Sandon'S On The Day Of Their Wedding
gettyimages.co.uk They had a daughter Silvia born in 1956.Massimo Emanuelli

storiaradiotv.it In the early 1960s, Otto retired from the public scene, but he continued to be involved in show organization, recordings and musical research. He died in

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 ...

in 1969.

Overview

Natalino Otto was a very prolific singer. He recorded over two thousand songs during his career. His greatest hits were "Ho un sassolino nella scarpa", "Mamma voglio anch'io la fidanzata", "Mister Paganini", "Polvere di stelle", "Op op trotta cavallino", "Natalino studia canto", "Il valzer del boogie-woogie", "La classe degli asini". Natalino Otto and his wife Flo Sandon's are credited with the discovery of one of Italy's greatest singers of all times – Mina. On the night of 24 September 1958 the Happy Boys, a band of teen-age students was playing in the Rivaloro del Re dance hall, Cremona. Otto and his wife were present, and were greatly impressed by the singer of that group. They went to meet her at the end of the concert and proposed her a trial recording session. One month later, Mina's first single was out.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1945)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Natalino 1912 births 1969 deaths Musicians from the Province of Genoa Italian jazz singers Swing singers 20th-century Italian male actors 20th-century Italian male singers Male jazz musicians