Johnny Dorelli | |
|---|---|
) Johnny Dorelli in 1958 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Giorgio Guidi |
| Also known as | D.Johnny, Dorellik |
| Born | 20 February 1937 Meda, Milan, Italy |
| Genres | Easy listening, Jazz, Swing, Pop |
| Instruments | Vocalist, Piano, Double-Bass |
| Years active | 1951–present |
)
Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937, in Meda) is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Life and career
Dorelli was born in Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio (born Aurelio Guidi), found work as opera singer. Dorelli studied double bass and piano at the High School of Music and Art in New York. He returned to Italy in 1955.
He debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (also known as "Volare") and "Piove (Ciao ciao bambina)". "L'immensità" earned Dorelli a ninth place at the 1967 edition of the Sanremo Song Festival.[1]
His greatest success was the musical Aggiungi un posto a tavola, which was also performed at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End in an English version entitled Beyond the Rainbow in 1978.
After a period of absence, he returned to success in the 1980s. In 1983, he played St. Philip Neri in Luigi Magni's TV film State buoni se potete. Dorelli's latest feature film role is in Pupi Avati's Ma quando arrivano le ragazze (2004).
His Most Famous Songs are : Calypso Melody (1957), Julia (1958), Boccuccia Di Rosa (Pink Lips) (1958), Love In Portofino (1959), Lettera A Pinocchio (1959), Montecarlo (1961), Speedy Gonzales (1962), Era Settembre (1964), Probabilmente (1965), Al Buio Sto Sognando (1966), Solo Più Che Mai (Strangers In The Night) (1966), L'Immensità (1967), Arriva La Bomba (1967), E Penso A Te (1971), Aggiungi Un Posto A Tavola (1975).
As a (popular and jazz) crooner, he sang numerous songs live on television shows (mainly in the 60's), in Italian and in English. In 2007 he returned after 38 years to the stage of Sanremo as a participant with the song Meglio così, written by big names as Gianni Ferrio and Giorgio Calabrese, and accompanied by jazz pianist Stefano Bollani and the orchestra conducted by Ferrio.
For his typical singing style, Dorelli has often been imitated by musical comedians and impersonators.
After marriages to actresses Lauretta Masiero and Catherine Spaak (1972–1978), in 1981 he married Gloria Guida, a former model and actress in Italian comedy movies of the 1970s.
Selected filmography
- How to Kill 400 Duponts, directed by Steno (1967)
- Bread and Chocolate, directed by Franco Brusati (1973)
- Tell Me You Do Everything for Me (1976)
- Il mostro, directed by Luigi Zampa (1977)
- State buoni se potete, directed by Luigi Magni (1983)