Romantica (song)

"Romantica" (English: "Romantic") is a song written by Italian singer-songwriter Renato Rascel with Dino Verde. It was performed for the first time during the tenth Sanremo Music Festival in January 1960, when two different versions of the song were sung by Rascel and Italian singer Tony Dallara. Rascel performed the song as a soft ballad, while Dallara, which was considered by Italian music critics as one of the "urlatori" (screamers), a music style popular in Italy during the 1960s, gave a more powerful rendition of "Romantica".[1] The song placed first in the competition.[2][3]

For other songs, see Romantica.
"Romantica"
Eurovision Song Contest 1960 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Renato Ranucci
As
Language
Composer(s)
Renato Rascel
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Cinico Angelini
Finals performance
Final result
8th
Final points
5
Entry chronology
◄ "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" (1959)   
"Al di là" (1961) ►
The 1960 San Remo Music Festival. Tony Dallara is singing Romantica. Guitarist Pino Rucher (first from left) with the Angelini Orchestra.

The song was also chosen as the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960, where it was performed in Italian by Renato Rascel. It was performed twelfth on the night, following Germany's Wyn Hoop with "Bonne nuit ma chérie" and preceding France's Jacqueline Boyer with "Tom Pillibi". At the close of voting, it had received 5 points, placing it 8th in a field of 13.

The song span three foreign versions in 1960. Dalida's version topped the French charts for a week.

The Estonian version by the Estonian Radio Male Quartet entitled "Romantika" altered the original by skipping the introduction. For two seasons of the Estonian hit comedy talk show "Rahva Oma Kaitse", the Estonian version was featured as the end title piece.[4][5] One of the editors, Mart Juur commented:"Honestly, meanwhile we haven't heard anything of the worth of Ringo Starr's "No No Song" and "Romantika" by the Male Quartet of the Estonian Radio. Look, there was a time when we used the so-called "bozo" songs, but recently we've started to pay attention at the quality of our featured music!"

Jane Morgan recorded an English version of the song just after the contest, in 1960.

In the late 1980s, early 1990s, the Norwegian vintage band "Lollipop" performed and released a version of Romantica. The song was performed by the Norwegian singer, Tor Endresen in Italian. "Lollipop" was a band that was constructed by Norwegian singer Rune Larsen for a vintage musicshow in Norway. It became very successful with 30 episodes on TV and two tours and also CD rekleases of music from the period 1955 to 1965.[6]

As the Italian representative, "Romantica" was succeeded at the 1961 Contest by Betty Curtis with "Al di là".

Charts
Tony Dallara version
Chart (1960) Peak
position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[7] 4
Dalida version
Chart (1960) Peak
position
France (IFOP) 1
Belgium (Wallonia) 1
Belgium (Flanders)[8] 8
Spain 11

References
  1. Mario Serenellini (1 July 2012). "Giornata nel segno di Rascel omaggio al torinese per sbaglio". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  2. "Festival di Sanremo 1960" (in Italian). RAI. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  3. Marcello Giannotti (2005). L'enciclopedia di Sanremo. Gremese Editore, 2005. ISBN 8884403790.
  4. Rahva Oma Kaitse on tagasi! (Rahva Oma Kaitse Is Back!. In Estonian). r2.ee
  5. Jutusaade «Rahva Oma Kaitse» sai kümneaastaseks (Talk Show Rahva Oma Kaitse Ten Years Anniversary. In Estonian). postimees.ee
  6. http://www.platekompaniet.no/Musikk.aspx/CD/Diverse_Artister/Lollipop_-_50_Beste_2CD/?id=MCCD157
  7. "Best Selling Pop Records in Italy". Billboard. 18 April 1960. p. 4. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  8. "Billboard". 1960-11-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.