Song:Al Di La
Album:Hard To Find 45s On CD Volume 5: Sixties Pop Classics
Al Di La was a fluke top ten pop hit when Emilio Pericoli performed it in the 1962 film Rome Adventure. In Italy, Pericoli was known for participating in the Sanremo Festival. Song contests are very popular in Italy and success in them can lead to hit records. He was born Jan. 7, 1928 Cesenatico, Romagna, Italy. The son of a sailor, Pericoli started performing in a theater group while training to be an accountant in Milan. Then he started performing in nightclubs and he signed with Ricordi Records. Al Di La was written by Carlo Donida and Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. Mogol worked for Ricordi. His father was one of the owners. They also wrote the classic I (Who Have Nothing). Betty Curtis performed Al Di La in the 1961 Sanremo Festival. Warner Bros. were filming Rome Adventure in Italy. The film starred Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson and Suzanne Plushette. I guess they wanted a male singer to perform Al Di La in a nightclub scene. That was Emilio Pericoli. Upon the film's release, Pericoli's recording of Al Di La reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ervin Drake wrote English lyrics for Al Di La and Connie Francis charted with her recording later in 1962. There is a soundtrack for Rome Adventure but it's out of print. You can get Al Di La on this various artists comp from hard to find single specialists Eric Records. They only use original recordings. Of course Pericoli never had another hit in North America. But he continued to record in Italy and appear on Italian TV shows. His hits include Quando, Quando, Quando and the 1963 Sanremo Festival winner Uno Per Tutte. Emilio Pericoli died on Apr. 9, 2013 at age 85. Here's Emilio Pericoli performing Al Di La in the 1962 film Rome Adventure.
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