Song:Eh, Cumpari!
Album:Just Forever
Julius La Rosa is forgotten today. But he had success in the early 50s with hits like Eh, Cumpari!. He became a star on The Arthur Godfrey Show which was very popular at the time. He was born Jan. 2, 1930 in Brooklyn, NY. He sang in clubs while he was stationed in the US Navy in Pensacola, FL. One of his Navy buddies was on a plane with Arthur Godfrey and an audition was arranged. La Rosa got hired and he was on the Godfrey show for two years. It made him famous. Of course La Rosa wanted to do his own thing which Godfrey discouraged. But sure enough La Rosa hired a manager. And then Godfrey's musical director Archie Bleyer started Cadence Records and La Rosa was his first signing. Godfrey was so upset that he convinced CBS to let him fire La Rosa while on air. CBS later admitted that this was a bad idea. Then Godfrey fired Bleyer. The whole thing made La Rosa even more popular. He appeared on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town. And he scored two hit singles. Anywhere I Wander from the film Hans Christian Andersen reached #4 on the Hit Parade. And Eh, Cumpari! reached #2. This was a traditional Italian song reworked by La Rosa and Bleyer so it could be a pop song. Some of La Rosa's other songs charted but Eh, Cunpari! was his biggest hit. You can get all of La Rosa's hits on this 2CD comp from Jasmine. La Rosa continued to record and appear on TV. He hosted a summer replacement variety show for Perry Como. He also was a DJ on WNEW in New York for many years. And he was a regular on the 80s daytime soap Another World. Julius La Rosa continued to perform until his death on May 12, 2016 at age 86. Here's Julius La Rosa performing Eh, Cumpari! on a 2008 PBS special.
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