Al Bano and Romina Power

Al Bano and Romina Power
Al Bano and Romina Power at the Sanremo Music Festival 1984
Al Bano and Romina Power at the Sanremo Music Festival 1984
Background information
OriginItaly
GenresPop
Years active1975–1999
2013–present
Labels
Members

Al Bano and Romina Power are an Italian-American pop music duo formed in 1975 by then-married couple Italian tenor Albano Carrisi and American singer Romina Power, the daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power. They have recorded over 22 albums, which have sold 150 million copies across six decades.[citation needed] Their best known international hits include "Felicità", "Sharazan", "Tu, soltanto tu (Mi hai fatto innamorare)", "Ci sarà", "Sempre sempre", and "Libertà!". They participated twice in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 and 1985 and performed five times at the Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1984 with the song "Ci sarà". The couple also shot seven films, based on their songs, between 1967 and 1984. The two separated in 1999 and divorced in 2012, but reunited professionally in 2013.

Careers

[edit]

Albano Carrisi met Romina Power, daughter of American actor Tyrone Power, during the filming of the movie Nel sole, named after one of his songs, in 1967. He had already released a number of solo recordings and she by then had appeared in several Italian films. The two married in 1970 in Cellino San Marco. Their debut single, "Storia di due innamorati", was released the same year by the labels La voce del padrone and Odeon, and went on to become a minor hit in Italy. The song appeared on Al Bano's solo album A cavallo di due stili. Power also released three solo albums between 1969 and 1974.

Al Bano & Romina Power in 1976

In 1975, the couple released their first album as a duo, Atto I (also known as Dialogo and Arena blanca, mar azul), which included popular song "Dialogo". They represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "We'll Live It All Again", sung in Italian and English, and finished seventh.[1] They also recorded the song in Spanish and in French, as "Viviremos todo de nuevo" and "T'aimer encore une fois", respectively. The duo then made several recordings in French, including hits "Des nuits entières" and "Enlacés sur le sable" (French version of "Prima notte d'amore").

In 1981, they released the single "Sharazan", which went on to become their breakthrough international hit, and released a Spanish language album. In 1982, the duo broke Italian records by having four songs on the Italian hit parade at the same time.[citation needed] The same year, they participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Felicità", and finished second.[2][failed verification] The song became widely popular, selling in over 6 million copies and receiving "German Golden Globe 1982".[citation needed] It appeared on their next album, Felicità (released as Aria pura in some territories[3]), which was a chart success. The album was also recorded in Spanish and released as Felicidad. The duo would maintain the tradition of recording Spanish versions of their albums in the following years.

Al Bano and Romina released yet one more album in 1982, Che angelo sei, with another big hit "Tu, soltanto tu (Mi hai fatto innamorare)". Their 1983 compilation Amore mio was met with a great commercial success in German-speaking countries. In 1984, they won the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Ci sarà" from their album Effetto amore, gathering over 2 million votes.[4] In 1985, they participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the second and final time, with the song "Magic Oh Magic" and, again, took the seventh place.[5]

In 1986, Al Bano and Romina Power signed a contract with WEA and recorded the album Sempre sempre, which confirmed their international success. The song "Settembre" featured the voice of their baby daughter Cristel, while for "Lord Byron" they used recordings of Byron's poetry by Tyrone Power. In 1987, they participated in the Sanremo Festival with the song "Nostalgia canaglia" and came third.[6] The album Libertà! was released in the same year. The couple's daughter Ylenia sang a duet with Romina in "Abbi fede". In 1988, the couple released the album Fragile, and the following year, took part in Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Cara terra mia", placing at the third position.[6] The single was a minor chart hit in Italy.

In 1990, they released the album Fotografia di un momento, with the successful single "Donna per amore", followed by the Christmas album Weihnachten bei uns zu Hause released in Germany, which later appeared in Italy as Corriere di Natale. In 1991, Al Bano and Romina Power participated in the Sanremo Music Festival for the fifth and final time as a duo, this time around with the song "Oggi sposi", placing at the eighth position.[6] In the same year, they celebrated 25 years of their joint artistic career and released two greatest hits anthologies: Le più belle canzoni (in Italy) and Vincerai (in Europe). They also wrote an autobiography and released a video, both entitled Autoritratto dalla A alla R.

Their daughter Ylenia Carrisi disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1994 in New Orleans, which prompted Al Bano and Romina to withdraw from touring in order to dedicate themselves to the search for their daughter. Her case remains unsolved.[7] In 1995, the couple released their last studio album together, Emozionale, followed by a video version, Una vita emozionale. In 1996, Al Bano participated solo in the Sanremo Music Festival, singing "È la mia vita", while Romina took part in the television mini-series The Return of Sandokan. Together, they released the compilation Ancora... Zugabe. In 1997, he released a solo album Concerto classico, and she published a book about her father, entitled Cercando mio padre in 1998.

In 1999, the couple separated. In an open letter to the weekly magazine Oggi, Al Bano explained the reasons for their break-up as related to the disappearance of their daughter.[8] The two reunited in 2013, reportedly only on a professional basis, for a concert performance in Moscow (their first live performance together in sixteen years). They continued to perform live as a duo in 2014 and 2015, including at Sanremo 2015.[9]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Year Title Peak chart positions
ITA
[10]
AUT
[11]
GER
[12]
NLD
[13]
1975 Atto I
1977 1978
1979 Aria pura
1982 Felicità 4 17 39
Che angelo sei 34
1984 Effetto amore
1986 Sempre sempre 3
1987 Libertà! 10 35
1988 Fragile 28 53
1990 Fotografia di un momento 10 53
Weihnachten bei uns zu Hause
1993 Notte e giorno 31 58
1995 Emozionale 13 62

Compilation albums

[edit]
Year Title Peak chart positions
AUT
[11]
FRA
[14]
GER
[12]
NLD
[13]
1976 Io con te
Des nuits entières
1981 Cantan en español – Sharazan
1982 Ieri e oggi
16 chanson 16 succès 23
Al Bano e Romina Power
Al Bano e Romina
1983 Collection
Amore mio 6 3 37
1987 Romantica – Die großen Erfolge
1988 Felicità
1989 Al Bano & Romina Power
Super 20
1991 Star Collection
Le più belle canzoni
Vincerai 27 24
1993 Che amici
1994 The Collection
Sharazan
Golden Stars International
Golden Stars International Vol. 2
1995 Best Of
1996 Donna per amore
Storia di due innamorati
Ancora... Zugabe
1997 Prima notte d'amore
Sentire ti amo
Grandes exitos
I grandi successi – Ihre grossen Erfolge
1998 I successi – Volume 1
The Collection
2000 Collection
2002 Love Songs
2004 Największe przeboje
2005 Le più belle canzoni di Al Bano & Romina Power
2007 Italienische momente
2008 Le nostre emozioni
2011 Cantando in libertà... Le più belle canzoni
2012 Un'ora con...
2013 Vacanze Italiane
2015 The Very Best – Live aus Verona 71 82

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
ITA
[15][16]
AUT
[11]
BEL
[17]
FRA
[18]
GER
[12]
NLD
[13]
SWI
[19]
1970 "Storia di due innamorati" 7 A cavallo di due stili
1975 "Dialogo" 6 Atto I
1976 "We'll Live It All Again (Lo riviveri)" 2 1978
"Des nuits entières" 3 Des nuits entières
1977 "Prima notte d'amore" 19 1978
1979 "Et je suis à toi"
"Aria pura" Aria pura
1981 "Sharazan" 2 14 7 15 1 Felicità
1982 "Felicità" 1 9 7 10 6 18 3
"Tu, soltanto tu (Mi hai fatto innamorare)" 14 16 40 16 5 Che angelo sei
"Che angelo sei (Amore mio)" 35
1984 "Ci sarà" 1 13 51 7 Effetto amore
"Canzone blu" 57
"Al ritmo de beguine (Ti amo)"
1985 "Magic Oh Magic"
1986 "Sempre sempre" 47 3 33 Sempre sempre
1987 "Nostalgia canaglia" 4
"Libertà!" 10 36 Libertà!
1988 "Makassar" 20
"Fragile" 76 Fragile
1989 "Cara terra mia" 33
"Donna"
1990 "Donna per amore" 21 52 Fotografia di un momento
"Bussa ancora"
"Fotografia"
"Un altro Natale" Weihnachten bei uns zu Hause
1991 "Oggi sposi" 8 Le più belle canzoni
"Vincerai" 65 Vincerai
1993 "Domani, domani" 72 Notte e giorno
"(Torneremo a) Venezia"
"Sha-E-O"
1995 "Na na na" Emozionale
"Impossibile"
1996 "Anno 2000" Ancora... Zugabe
1997 "Ma il cuore no"

Filmography

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1976 Year page". www.eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  2. ^ "Festival di Sanremo 1982" (in Italian). www.sorrisi.com. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  3. ^ "Al Bano & Romina Power - Aria Pura at Discogs". www.discogs.com. 1982. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  4. ^ "Sanremo Story, 1984: Vincono Al Bano e Romina, fra i giovani trionfa Eros Ramazzotti" (in Italian). www.sorrisi.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1985 Year page". www.eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  6. ^ a b c "Albano e Romina tutta una vita al Festival di Sanremo" (in Italian). www.ansa.it. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  7. ^ Ortiz, Saúl (15 July 2021). "El expediente secreto de Ylenia Carrisi: ¿encontrada viva en un sótano de Nueva Orleans?". ABC (Spain) (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ^ "la Repubblica/sessi_stili: 'Non sono stato in grado di salvare il mio matrimonio'" (in Italian). www.repubblica.it. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  9. ^ "Al Bano e Romina tornano a Sanremo: "Sarà il nostro miglior festival"" (in Italian). www.repubblica.it. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  10. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1982" (in Italian). www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  11. ^ a b c "Discographie Al Bano & Romina Power" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  12. ^ a b c "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  13. ^ a b c "Discografie Al Bano & Romina Power" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  14. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  15. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: A" (in Italian). www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  16. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: P" (in Italian). www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  17. ^ "Discografie Al Bano & Romina Power" (in Dutch). www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  18. ^ "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  19. ^ "Al Bano & Romina Power" (in German). hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Wess and Dori Ghezzi
with "Era"
Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Tiziana Rivale
with "Sarà quel che sarà"
Sanremo Music Festival
Winner

1984
Succeeded by
Preceded by Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
1985
Succeeded by