Roberto Danova (born Giacinto Bettoni; 27 August 1937) is best known as a music composer,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

and producer, achieving

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include r ...

success - particularly in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the UK,

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and

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Producing, arranging and composing

During the 1970s 1980s and 1990s Danova produced, arranged, or had compositions covered by many popular performers, including

Joe Dolan Joseph Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish entertainer, recording artist, and pop singer. Chiefly known in Ireland for his association with showbands and for his innovative style and high pitched singing v ...

(with whom he made a key contribution in the mid-1970s), Johnny Logan (whose career was overseen in the late 1970s by Danova and

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was " In the Summerti ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; el, Αρτέμιος "Ντέμης" Βεντούρης-Ρούσσος, ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member he is best remembered for his work in ...

, Engelbert Humperdinck, and

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 ...

, Since the mid-1980s Danova has developed an instrumental project ''General Lafayette'', a series of albums and singles featuring some of his own compositions through the sound of the trumpet. From 1977 to 1980, Danova released an album and singles as Roberto Montecristo. The premiere of his musical ''The Phantom of the Opera on Ice'', featuring a cast of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

stars and live singers, played at various locations in the UK between 1995 and 1996. A VHS video was issued in 1999, and a CD/

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

with some modifications was released in 2006 by Plaza Records

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. In 1998 he produced ''Credo'', a musical celebration of the birth of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. The concept album was featured on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

in April 2001. Also the same year he guested on the Don Maclean

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

show. Danova was honoured in 2012 by the Irish Country Music Association at a ceremony in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland for his outstanding contribution to Irish Popular Music.

Record labels

*''Ritz Records''

: 1977–1981 - Established his first production company and label in 1977. *''Plaza Records''

: 1981–present - Runs independently alongside his publishing firm ''Quatermass Music'' *Also associated with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...

and Red Bus Music (International) Ltd.

Selected discography credits

* 1972: ''Hideaway'' - Pop Tops - peaked 22 German

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ta ...

- (co-music/lyrics) * 1973: ''All Because of You'' -

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...

featuring

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Ro ...

- peaked 6 UK charts - (co-producer) * 1973: ''Signorina Concertina'' - Shuki & Aviva - peaked 3 Swiss charts - (co-writer/producer) * 1974: ''Sweet Little Rock'n Roller'' -

Jerry Williams (singer) Erik Sven Fernström (15 April 1942 – 25 March 2018), known by his stage name Jerry Williams, was a Swedish singer and actor. He began his career as the lead singer of The Violents, before launching a solo career. Early life Williams grew u ...

- (co-writer) * 1974: ''Lady Laura'' -

Roberto Blanco Roberto Blanco (legal name: Roberto Zerquera Blanco), was born 7 June 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia. Of Afro-Cuban origin, Blanco is a German Schlager singer, actor, and entertainer. Early life Blanco is the son of Cuban folklorist and artist Alfonso ...

- (co-writer) * 1975: ''Lady in Blue'' -

- reported million seller - (co-writer/producer) * 1975: ''Crazy Woman''

- annual French charts 1975 - (co-writer/producer) * 1975: ''Träume Weiter Lady Blue'' - Bata Illic - (co-writer and producer) * 1976: ''Who's That Lady With My Man'' - Kelly Marie - peaked 4 French charts - (co-writer/producer) * 1976: ''When'' -

Red Hurley Brian "Red" Hurley (born 11 November 1949) is an Irish singer. Hurley's career includes singing lead for bands such as The Colours, The Wheels, and The Nevada (né The Nevada Showband). He had a series of number one records in the 1970s while p ...

- peaked 4 Irish charts - (producer) * 1976: ''Tennessee Special'' -

- peaked 3 Irish charts and 11 Netherlands charts - (producer) * 1976: ''Doktor Bernhard'' -

Bonnie St. Claire Bonnie St. Claire (born Bonje Cornelia Swart, 18 November 1949) is a Dutch singer and actress who has a recording history that began in the 1960s and went through to the 1990s. She was part of the trio Bonnie, Debbie & Rosy, and part of the duo ...

- peaked 11

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charts - (co-writer) * 1977: ''Who's That Lady With My Man'' -

Patricia Paay Patricia Anglaia Margareth Paaij (born 7 April 1949), best known as Patricia Paay, is a Dutch singer, radio host, glamour model and television personality. In the Netherlands, she is well known for her musical career, which spans over four deca ...

- peaked 2 Netherlands charts - (co-writer) * 1977: ''Hush Hush Maria'' -

- peaked 1 South African charts - (co-writer) * 1978: ''Où En Est Ma Vie'' -

Michel Louvain Michel Louvain, (July 12, 1937April 14, 2021) was a Canadian singer most popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

- (co-writer) * 1979: ''Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller'' -

- peaked 15 UK charts - (co-writer) * 1979: ''(Gonna Get Along) Without You Now'' (disco mix version) -

Viola Wills Viola Mae Wilkerson (December 30, 1939 – May 6, 2009), better known professionally as Viola Wills was an American pop and R&B singer, best known for her disco/dance/Hi-NRG covers of classics and other standards such as Patience and Pruden ...

- (mixer) * 1979: ''In London'' - Johnny Logan - peaked 29 Belgian charts - (co-writer/co-producer) * 1981: ''More and More'' -

- peaked 1 Irish charts - (producer) * 1981: ''Sister Mary'' -

- peaked 2 Irish charts - (co-writer/producer) * 1981: ''Fire Queen''

and

- (producer) * 1981: ''The Force'' -

Nancy Nova Carol Ann Holness, better known by her stage name Nancy Nova, is a singer and songwriter from London, who was largely active from 1978 to 1983. She is the daughter of former '' Blockbusters'' host Bob Holness and sister of Ros Holness, who was a ...

- (co composed/produced) * 1983: ''You Are No Angel'' -

, also covered by

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

. - (co-writer) * 1986: ''Loneliness'' -

Brendan Shine Brendan Shine (born 2 June 1947) is an Irish folk and country singer, television presenter and accordion player from Athlone. He has achieved 40 chart singles in Ireland and 5 Irish number one singles, and is best known for his songs about every ...

- (writer/producer) * 1986: ''You Are Temptation'' -

Miami Showband The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart. Band members Fran O'To ...

- (composed/produced/arranged) * 1989: ''I'll Never Stop Wanting You'' -

Dickie Rock Richard "Dickie" Rock (born 10 October 1936) is an Irish singer. He experienced much success on the Irish charts during the 1960s, but has continued on as a popular live act as well as occasionally hitting the charts ever since. Early fame Rock ...

- peaked 10 Irish charts - (producer) * 1989: ''Impossible To Do'' -

Linda Martin Linda Martin (born 27 March 1952) is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known as the winner of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest during which she represented Ireland with the song " Why Me?". She is also known within Irelan ...

& General Lafayette - (arranger/producer) * 1990: ''D-Day 50th Anniversary'' -

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

Central Band of the Royal Air Force The Central Band of the Royal Air Force is an RAF regular band and is part of Royal Air Force Music Services. The motto of the band is ''Aere Invicti'' (Latin for "Invincible with the Brass"). History The Central Band of the RAF was formed in ...

- (co-producer) * 1990: ''Voices Of The Highlands'' -

Karl Denver Karl Denver (16 December 1931 – 21 December 1998) was a Scottish singer, who, with his trio had a series of UK hit singles in the early 1960s. Most famous of these was a 1961 version of "Wimoweh", which showed off Denver's falsetto yodellin ...

- (composed/co-produced/arranged) * 1993: ''General Lafayette – Angel in Blue'', trumpet instrumental - arranged and produced by Danova * 1994: ''Nostradamus'' - Engelbert Humperdinck(re-mixed 2012), - (co-composer/producer) * 1995: ''Sister Mary'' -

- (co-writer) * 2006: ''Mr Midnight'' -

. - (writer/producer/arranger) *2009: ''Tu Per Me'' - La Voce Del Nord, by Angelo Camassa - over 20 million

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

views - (producer) *2010: ''It's Wonderful'' - Rock Mystery, composed by Angelo Camassa - over 25 million

views - (co-writer / producer) * 2014 'Pop Songs of the 70s, 80s, 90s, Vol. 3 Various Artists' ''It's Raining''

Richard Cocciante Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician. He acquired French citizenship. Personal life Cocciante was ...

* Further credits; Irish charts

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, ''45cat'' French charts

Film

* 1990: ''Undercurrents'', starring

Mary McGuckian Mary McGuckian (born 27 May 1963) is a film director, producer and screenwriter from Northern Ireland. Early life Born and brought up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, McGuckian completed her formal education in the Republic of Ireland ...

- soundtrack song ''The Woman in Me.'' - 1987 recording produced by Danova. * 2017: '' Hangman'', starring

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Al Pacino, numerous accolades: including an Aca ...

- soundtrack song "

House of the Rising Sun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

- 1974

recording produced and arranged by Danova.

Television

* 2009: '' :nl:'t Vrije Schaep'', featured song ''Doktor Bernhard'', performed by Loes Luca &

Hans Kesting Hans Kesting (born 6 October 1960) is a Dutch actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1987. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1996. In 2016 he was awarded the Louis d'Or.https://tga.nl/media/acteurs/persknipsels_acteurs_ivo/050625_volkskran ...

- ''Doktor Bernhard'' co-written by Danova.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danova, Roberto 1937 births Italian male composers Italian songwriters Male songwriters Italian record producers Italian music arrangers Living people