Albano Carrisi

Biography

Carrisi was born in the town of Cellino San Marco in the province of Brindisi, Apulia, where he still lives. His mother Iolanda Ottino named him Albano because, when he was born, his father Carmelo Carrisi was fighting in Albania for the Royal Italian Army during World War II. He has one brother, Franco Carrisi (known as Kocis).

Having moved to Milan for work, he was noticed by a producer. He made his debut in 1966 both as a singer, at the Festival delle Rose, and on television. He won the Un disco per l'estate, an Italian song contest, with "Pensando a te" in 1968. He recorded some major hits such as "La siepe" and "Nel sole" at that time. "Nel sole" sold 600,000 copies in Italy within three months of release in 1967, and eventually over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in July 1968. | url-access= registration

Al Bano returned to his solo career in 1996 with "È la mia vita" which was followed by "Verso il sole" in 1997 and "Ancora in volo" in 1999 (that year, his duo – and his marriage – with Romina broke up). He also played in "Herşeye Rağmen" ("Nonetheless" in Turkish) music video of Sima (full name was Sima Sarıkaya), a Turkish singer in 1997. In 2000, Al Bano returned to the Eurovision stage, providing backing vocals for the Swiss entry (performed in Italian) "La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert. This song placed 20th out of 24 in the contest. On 16 October 2001, Carrisi was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In 2005, he starred in the Italian reality show L'isola dei Famosi (Italian version of Celebrity Survivor) with his daughter, Romina Carrisi. Al Bano returned to Sanremo Music Festival in 2007, where he sang "Nel perdono" which came in second place.

Al Bano still tours all over the world. He is a constant on Italian television and has a large number of fans who follow his career very closely. To date Al Bano has sold 165 million albums around the world. Al Bano has visited Albania a number of times. He was there for a concert in 1989 and has been enjoying great popularity there.

In June 2016 Al Bano was granted Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country and career successes in Albania.

In March 2019 Al Bano was included in the blacklist of the Ukrainian website "Myrotvorets" and the Ukrainian government banned him from entering Ukraine because of his support of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.

In April 2020 Al Bano released a dual-language song in Italian and English praising the natural beauty of Latvia. Terra d'Ambra e di Emozioni / Land of Amber was written and composed by Charles Goodger with Italian lyrics by Alberto Zeppieri. The Latvian Tourist Board used it in a promotional video.

Opera

Al Bano grew up listening to opera for which he had a great passion. He has released several opera albums and is a tenor. In 1997, he released an opera solo album 1997 entitled Concerto Classico, which went double platinum in a short time. Songs he sang on that album include "Una furtiva lagrima", "Va, pensiero", "La nostra serenata", "E lucevan le stelle", and "Ave Maria".

Filmography

Personal life

On 26 July 1970, Al Bano married Romina Power (daughter of the American actor Tyrone Power), who had already started to share her musical career with him, and remained his stage partner for about 30 years.

Carrisi and Power separated in 1999. Their divorce was finalized in 2012. They have a son, Yari (1973), and three daughters: Ylenia Maria Solle (1970 – went missing in New Orleans in 1994), Cristel Chiara (1985; starred in the Reality TV show La Fattoria, an Italian version of The Farm) and Romina Iolanda (1987). He has one daughter and one son from girlfriend and showgirl Loredana Lecciso, Jasmine Caterina (2001) and Albano Giovanni (2002).

In the summer of 2013, Al Bano and Romina Power reunited, reportedly only on a professional basis and for one final time, for a concert performance in Moscow. They later performed as guests at the Sanremo Festival 2015. They also performed together in Atlantic City, USA, in April 2015, and following that, in Los Angeles.

On 30 May 2015, Al Bano produced a show at the Arena di Verona, before a sold-out audience of 11,000, in which he starred with Romina Power. The show, featuring Tyrone Power Jr. and other special guests was transmitted by the Italian national TV network RAI, and was watched in over eight countries by 51,000,000 viewers around the globe, a 37 ratings share.

Notes

References

References

1. (30 July 2013). "Al Bano Carrisi: l'agronomo da 25 milioni di dischi venduti convola a nozze con Loredana Lecciso". mauxa.com.
2. (28 December 2017). "Le Voci Delle Aquile Italiane". The Voice of the Italian Eagles.
3. "Albano Carrisi - singer". Italy On This Day.
4. (2023-02-07). "Al Bano: «Vi racconto i miei 16 Sanremo»". [[La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno]].
5. "Italian singer Al Bano receives Albanian citizenship".
6. (27 January 2015). "Festival di Sanremo 1982". www.sorrisi.com.
7. "Eurovision Song Contest 1976 Year page". www.eurovision.tv.
8. "Eurovision Song Contest 1985 Year page". www.eurovision.tv.
9. [http://www.izlesene.com/video/sima-herseye-ragmenekoc/524878 Music video of Sima] {{Webarchive. link. (28 August 2011 . Izlesene.com. Retrieved on 26 July 2015.)
10. (16 October 2001). "Al Bano Carrisi". [[Food and Agriculture Organization]].
11. (2019-03-11). "L'Ucraina mette al bando Al Bano: una "minaccia per la sicurezza nazionale"".
12. [https://www.unian.info/politics/10475352-ukraine-blacklists-singer-al-bano-as-national-security-threat.html Ukraine blacklists singer Al Bano as national security threat], [[UNIAN]] (11 March 2019)
13. "Al Bano e Romina si separano". La Repubblica.
14. (February 3, 2020). "Albano e Romina Power se la meritano una timeline con tutte le tappe della loro storia d'amore". Cosmopolitan.
15. [http://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/leute/al-bano/und-romina-power-versoehnung-nach-14-jahren-31405624.bild.html Bild.de: ''Al Bano and Romina Power: Reunion after 14 Years''] (German). Retrieved 12 May 2013.
16. [http://www.express.de/promi-show/-felicit---comeback-al-bano-und-romina-power-singen-wieder-zusammen,2186,23761030.html Express.de: ''Comeback: Al Bano and Romina Power Singing Together Once More''] {{Webarchive. link. (12 December 2013 (German). Retrieved 12 May 2013.)
17. [http://www.creativeanddreamsmusicnetwork.com/romina-power#.VYTczPlViko Romina Power – A Message Now Available from]. Creative and Dreams Music Network (30 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-07-26.