For those of us who grew up in a world of Italian American music – from Guy Lombardo ringing in every New Year and TV shows hosted by Perry Como or Dean Martin- pride came in more forms than just cuisine.  Sinatra was our gold standard, using the name he was born with.  But we instinctively knew pop stars like Tony Bennett and Connie Francis were Italian, despite their names.  Neither could Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell hide behind their stage names.  In some cases like Connie’s, she recorded whole albums in Italian, proud of her roots.

But there were quite a few singing paesani who escaped notice.  Some of us knew that James Darren, who just passed away this month, was Italian.  We just didn’t know his real surname was Ercolani, but we were proud that he was a movie idol (Gidget series) a pop singer (“Goodbye Cruel World”) and TV co-star (T.J. Hooker). 

And that other singing Darin (Bobby Darin) was born Walden Robert Cassotto.  How many knew his roots?  His litany of hits included Mack the Knife and Dream Lover, classics that are identified solely with him.

The other day on a 60s radio program a DJ recalled that Timi Yuro got her start singing in her family’s Italian restaurant.  I always thought Yuro was Black.  Her famous songs, Hurt and All Alone Am I were passionate and ‘soulful’, the hallmark of female Black vocalists.  Indeed, Rosemarie Timotea ‘Aurro’ (or was it Iorio?) captured that Black technique so well that critics labelled it “blue-eyed soul.”  She, like many other vocalists we grew up on, were hidden gems in the Italian community.  Go to this link for Yuro’s hits:  Timi Yuro – All Alone Am I (The Very Best Of) (youtube.com)

Another interesting fact about Timi Yuro is she received free singing lessons at age 12 by Frankie Laine’s vocal coach.  Frankie Laine (Mule Train, Raw Hide) was born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio.  Paying it forward, Yuro’s family came to the aid of a struggling country composer with free meals at their restaurant, his name was Willie Nelson.

Remember Lou Christie (The Gypsy Cried, Two Faces Have I)?  Real name:  Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco.  How about Freddy ‘Boom-Boom’ Cannon (Palisades Park, Way Down Yonder in New Orleans)?  Real name: Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr.  Then there’s Johnny Rivers (Secret Agent Man, Memphis, Poor Side of Town)?  Born: John Henry Ramistella.  Johnny Maestro (16 Candles, Worse That Could Happen) wasn’t a ‘maestro’ but he was John Peter Mastrangelo.

All of the above is ancient history to the newer generations.  Their favorite vocalists are undercover “Italians.”  Madonna (Ciccone), Suzy Quatro (Stumblin’ In), Lady Gaga (Germanotta), Cyndi (Gallo) Lauper, Alicia (Augello) Keys, Steven Tyler (Tallarico) of the group Aerosmith, even Taylor Swift is partly Italian on her father’s side. 

Unlike our older generations, kids today don’t have the depth of italianità we had.  We mostly began life with Italian surnames (marriage to other ethnics may have buried some vowels of our lady folk and their offspring), or raised in Italian neighborhoods.   Italian pride today varies by family and personal interest.  Pop music and sports no longer support Italian pride the way they used to; so, the young ones are left to ingest pride by the plate or by the media—a very limited source.  In this regard, I recently learned that the ‘actor’ playing mob character Silvio in The Sopranos, Steven Van Zandt, was born Steven Lento.  He adopted his stepfather’s surname.  His real profession is playing in the back-up band for Bruce (Zerilli) Springsteen.  Clearly, this musician has had a negative effect on heritage.

Gems are in short supply nowadays. -JLM