Birth Name

  Alfred Cini

  Born

  October 7, 1927
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

  Genre

  Jazz, Swing, pop

  Occupation

  Singer, actor

  Instruments

  Vocals

  Years Active

  1951 - present

  Labels

  Capitol

  Website

  www.almartino.com

Al Martino is an Italian-American singer and actor. After service with the U.S. Marines in World War II, including being a part of the Iwo Jima invasion where he was wounded, he commenced his singing career.

His single "Here In My Heart" was number one in the first UK Singles Chart, published by the New Musical Express in 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records. The song stayed there for nine weeks.

One of the most successful Martino hits was Spanish Eyes, achieving several gold and platinum awards for sales. In 1965, the song reached number 15 on the British single charts. Even today, this classic by the late composer Bert Kaempfert is among the 50 most-played songs worldwide.

Al Martino was one of the great Italian-American pop crooners, boasting a string of hit singles and LPs that stretched from the early '50s all the way into the mid-'70s. However, he is perhaps even better known for his role in The Godfather as singer Johnny Fontane.

He also scored a highly unlikely dance-club hit in the 70s with a disco-fied version of the Italian pop standard "Volare," which was especially popular in Europe. Martino toured the nightclub circuit extensively during the '70s, and managed one more easy listening hit in 1978's "The Next Hundred Years." Faced with diminishing returns, he and Capitol finally parted ways in 1982. Martino continued to perform in clubs, lounges, and casinos for some time afterward, and returned to recording in 2000 with the album "Style".


*Reference Wikipedia & All Music