Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is an Italian-French
multilingual singer, guitarist and dancer. She speaks six languages and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside
Bing Crosby,
Dean Martin,
Perry Como, and
Ella Fitzgerald, among others.
Career
She was born in Paris to Italian parents Giuseppe and Maria Valente.[1] In 1955, she was featured on The Colgate Comedy Hour with
Gordon MacRae. In 1958, she filmed the musical comedy Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich (Here I Am, Here I Stay) which featured a guest appearance by
Bill Haley & His Comets. During Haley's segment, Valente sang a duet with Haley on a newly recorded version of his song "Vive la Rock and Roll".[2]
Her brother—Italian musician, singer and film actor
Silvio Francesco [
de] (1927–2000)—performed with her, sang many duets, danced, and played the clarinet in the shadow of his famous sister.
In Germany, she was a major performer of
Schlager music. There, she recorded
Cole Porter's "
I Love Paris" under the German title "
Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe", which sold more than 900,000 copies from its release in November 1954 to December 1958, according to Der Spiegel's report of January 1959.[3] By a report from 1978, Valente's single, "
The Breeze and I", has sold more than one million copies,[4]
making it her best-selling record. Both songs were published by the German
Polydor label; their success made Valente a
star. At the end of 1958, this collaboration was terminated and she changed to
Teldec Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH.[5]
In the mid-1960s, Valente worked with
Claus Ogerman and recorded material in both Italian and English that he arranged/conducted and/or composed on the Decca[7] and London
labels.[8] Valente was a favorite of singer
Perry Como, making eight guest appearances on his
NBCKraft Music Hall television program from 1961 to 1966. In 1964–65, she was co-host (with
Carol Burnett and initially
Bob Newhart) of The Entertainers , a
CBSvariety show for which she was awarded the recognition of best female vocalist on American television.[9] She was a frequent guest on The Dean Martin Show.[10]
Valente also made three appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.
A briglia sciolta, the Italian jazz CD recorded in 1989 and re-released in later years under the titles Fantastica and Platinum deluxe, was her best-selling CD worldwide. In 2001, she released a new album, Girltalk, with harpist Catherine Michel.[21] She retired in 2003.
In 2019, her hit song from 1959, "
Bongo cha cha cha" was included in the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Far from Home, directed by
Jon Watts, becoming viral and risen to new popularity.[22][23][24][25] In 2021, the song went viral on social media platform
TikTok, thanks to its use for a trend that has collected over 250 million views, started from Latin countries and South America, and then popularized also in Italy and Germany.[22][23][24][25]
^"Good bye, Caterina". Der Spiegel (in German). No. 3/1959. Hamburg: SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG. 1959-01-13. Retrieved 2023-04-24. Die Valente zählte unbestritten zu den Spitzenstars des Polydor-Repertoires, obgleich bislang kein Valente-Titel die legendäre Auflage von einer Million überschreiten konnte - den Verkaufsrekord hält die Nummer "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe" mit einer Auflage von über 900 000 Platten.
^Der Spiegel Nr. 3/1959: „Noch am gleichen Tage (Dezember 29, 1958) verlautbarte der Sekretär der Sängerin, Günter Arendt, die Valente habe »nach streng geheimen Verhandlungen in den Weihnachtstagen« bereits mit der »Teldec Telefunken -Decca Schallplatten GmbH« den »bedeutendsten Schallplattenvertrag« geschlossen, »der einem deutschen Gesangsstar nach 1945 angeboten wurde«.“
^Caterina Valente '86 & The Count Basie Orchestra, 1986, Global Records And Tapes – 43 838 2 (Vinyl, LP, Album)
^
abbei der Kellen, Ralf (2021-01-14).
""Meine erste Liebe: Jazz!"" ["My first love: Jazz!"]. deutschlandfunkkultur.de (in German). Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
^Caterina Valente + Chet Baker (1956).
"I'll Remember April (Song)". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
^
abcBondt, René (March 2012).
"Caterina Valente und der Jazz" [Caterina Valente and the Jazz] (PDF) (in German). swissjazzorama Jazzletter. Retrieved 2023-04-24. Billie Holiday hat mich beeinflusst - Billie Holliday influenced me