Al Martino

Jasper Cini (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009), known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and standards singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and became known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.

Early life Jasper Cini was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Gasparino (also anglicised as "Jasper"; 1905–1958) and Carmela M. Cini (; 1905–1998), one of five siblings. His father and maternal grandfather were immigrants from Nereto in the Italian region of Abruzzo. He aspired to become a singer, emulating artists such as Al Jolson and Perry Como, and seeing the success of a family friend, Alfredo Cocozza, who had changed his name to Mario Lanza. Encouraged by Lanza, he adopted the stage name Al Martino, based on the name of his good friend Lorraine Losavio's husband Alfred Martin Cianfrani, and began singing in local nightclubs; coincidentally Martin of Tours is also the patron saint of Martino's ancestral hometown of Nereto in Italy. The following year, he won first place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television program with a performance of Como's hit "If".

As a result, he won a recording contract with the Philadelphia-based independent record label BBS, where he recorded "Here in My Heart". Lanza's label, RCA Victor, had asked Lanza to record the song, but Martino called Lanza and pleaded with him to let Martino's version have a clear chance. and later in the year, it was number one in the first UK Singles Chart, published by the New Musical Express on November 14, 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records. "Here in My Heart" remained in the top position for nine weeks in the UK. his deal scored him two albums, and four singles released, none of which was a major hit. The success of his 1962 album The Exciting Voice of Al Martino secured him a new contract with Capitol, and was followed by a mostly Italian-language album, The Italian Voice of Al Martino, which featured his version of the then internationally popular song "Al di là". He also made several high-profile television appearances, helping to re-establish his visibility. Recorded in 1965, the song reached number five on the UK Singles chart when reissued in 1973.

Martino's run of chart success faded after the mid-1960s, although many of his records continued to reach the U.S. Hot 100. Another later hit was a disco version of "Volare" (also known as "Nel blu, Dipinto di Blu"). In 1976, it reached number one on the Italian and Flemish charts, and was in the top 10 in Spain, the Netherlands, and France, as well as in many other European countries. In 1993, Martino recorded a new studio album with German producer Dieter Bohlen (former member of pop duo Modern Talking, producer of international artists such as Chris Norman of Smokie, Bonnie Tyler, Dionne Warwick, Engelbert or Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate). The single "Spanish Ballerina" (written in Bohlen's europop sound) reached number 93 in the German single charts.

Acting Apart from singing, Martino played the role of Johnny Fontane in the 1972 film The Godfather, as well as singing the film's theme, "Speak Softly Love". Martino had been told about the character by a friend who had read the eponymous novel and felt Martino represented the character of Johnny Fontane. Martino contacted producer Albert S. Ruddy, who initially gave him the part.

Death Martino died from a heart attack on October 13, 2009, at his home in Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, six days after his 82nd birthday. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Awards and honors 2009 – inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Guinness Book of Records for first No. 1 record in the U.K.

Filmography Year Title Role1972 The Godfather Johnny Fontane 1990 The Godfather Part III

Discography

Studio albums

Album list: Chart positions: 1959: Al Martino (20th Century Fox) 1960: Swing Along With Al Martino (20th Century Fox) 1962: The Exciting Voice of Al Martino (U.S. No. 109) Capitol Records 1962: The Italian Voice of Al Martino (U.S. No. 57) 1963: When Your Love Has Gone (20th Century Fox) 1963: I Love You Because (U.S. No. 7) 1963: Painted, Tainted Rose (U.S. No. 9) 1963: Love Notes 1963: Sings Great Italian Love Songs 1964: A Merry Christmas (U.S. Christmas No. 8) 1964: I Love You More and More Every Day/Tears and Roses (U.S. No. 31) 1964: Living a Lie (U.S. No. 13) 1965: My Cherie (U.S. No. 19) 1965: Somebody Else is Taking My Place (U.S. No. 42) 1965: We Could (U.S. No. 41) 1966: Spanish Eyes (U.S. No. 8) 1966: Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep (U.S. No. 116) 1966: This is Love (U.S. No. 57) 1967: Daddy's Little Girl (U.S. No. 23) 1967: This Love for You (U.S. No. 99) 1967: Mary in the Morning (U.S. No. 63) 1968: Love is Blue (U.S. No. 56) 1968: This is Al Martino (U.S. No. 129) 1968: Wake Up to Me Gentle 1969: Jean (U.S. No. 196) 1969: Sausalito (U.S. No. 189) 1970: Can't Help Falling in Love (U.S. No. 184) 1970: My Heart Sings (U.S. No. 172) 1972: Love Theme from 'The Godfather''' (U.S. No. 138) 1972: Summer of '42 (U.S. No. 204) 1973: Country Style 1974: I Won't Last a Day Without You 1975: To the Door of the Sun (U.S. No. 129) 1976: In Concert: Recorded With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (live) RockyRock 1976: Sing My Love Songs 1978: The Next Hundred Years 1978: Al Martino Sings (20th Century Fox) 1978: Al Martino 1982: All of Me (MovieTone) 1990: Quando, Quando, Quando (Dynamic) 1991: Al Martino: In Concert (Prestige) 1993: The Voice to Your Heart; produced by Dieter Bohlen in Germany (Dino Music) 2000: Style (Varèse Sarabande) 2006: Come Share the Wine (Sin-Drome) 2011: Thank YouCompilations 196?: Romantic World of Al Martino (Capitol) 1965: That Old Feeling (MovieTone) 1966: Don't Go to Strangers (Pickwick) 1968: Al Martino (Guest Star) 1968: The Best of Al Martino (U.S. No. 108) 1970: Here in My Heart/Yesterday 1971: I Wish You Love/Losing You 1971: Al Martino (3 LP Set) 1978: Time After Time (Springboard) 1990: Greatest Hits (Curb) 1992: Capitol Collectors Series 1996: 20 Great Love songs (Disky) 1998: Touch of Class (Disky) 1999: The Legendary Al Martino (Metro) 1999: The Al Martino Collection: I Love You Because (Razor & Tie) 1999: I Love You Because/My Cherie 2000: Hits of Al Martino 2004: Essential Al Martino (Fuel 2000) 2005: Ultimate Al Martino 2006: We Could/Think I'll Go Somewhere And Cry Myself to Sleep 2006: Very Best of Al Martino 2007: An Introduction to Al Martino (Varèse Sarabande) 2012: Makin' Whoopee (Sepia) 2013: Take My Heart (Jasmine) 2018: The Singles Collection: 1952-1962'' (Acrobat)

Singles

A "Spanish Eyes" reached No. 5 in the UK on re-issue in 1973. B "I Started Loving You Again" also peaked at No. 69 on Hot Country Songs.