Mino Reitano

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mino_Reitano

Beniamino "Mino" Reitano (December 7, 1944 – January 27, 2009) was an Italian singer, songwriter and actor.

Reitano was born in Fiumara, a small village in Calabria. His father, an employee at the local railway station, was very passionate about music, and encouraged all his sons to learn to play an instrument. After a spell in the local brass band, Reitano moved to Reggio Calabria, where he studied at the Francesco Cilea Conservatory for eight years, learning piano, trumpet, and violin. In the late 1950s, Reitano moved with his brothers to Hamburg, where they formed a rock'n'roll band, Benjamin & His Brothers. They often played at the Star-Club, sharing the bill with Rory Storm, Tony Sheridan and The Beatles. After a couple of years, Reitano returned to Italy, where he recorded his first single, Twist Time. After a successful performance at the Castrocaro Music Festival, he was offered a contract with the Italian label Dischi Ricordi, and in 1967 he participated for the first time at the Sanremo Festival. His first commercial hit was Avevo un cuore (che ti amava tanto) (1968).

Reitano was an actor and starred in such films as Povero Cristo, I'm Crazy About Iris Blond and Long Lasting Days.

Reitano died in Agrate Brianza, aged 64, of intestinal cancer, after a long period of illness.

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mino_Reitano

Mino Reitano, all'anagrafe Beniamino Reitano (Fiumara, 7 dicembre 1944 – Agrate Brianza, 27 gennaio 2009), è stato un cantautore, compositore e attore italiano.

Artista conosciuto per la sua vitalità e per l'esuberanza interpretativa, ha portato spesso nelle sue canzoni i temi dell'amore romantico, del Mezzogiorno e della condizione dell'emigrante.

Autore delle musiche di quasi tutte le canzoni da lui incise (spesso in collaborazione con i fratelli Franco e Mimmo), ha scritto anche brani per altri artisti, di cui il più noto è Una ragione di più scritta insieme a Franco Califano per Ornella Vanoni, considerato un evergreen della musica leggera italiana, e anche canzoni per bambini molto note, come "La sveglia birichina"