Lou Monte
Lou Monte ( born April 2, 1917 in New York; † June 12, 1989 in Pompano Beach, Florida; actually Louis Scaglione ) was an American pop singer and guitar player of Italian descent. He is known for his novelty songs with an Italian reference.
Biography
Growing up is Lou Monte in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, where he worked as a singer and entertainer made a name before the Second World War. After his time as a soldier, he got a local radio station, a radio show and later at the same station, a television show.
In the 1950s he also began with recordings. With a humorous version of the jazz standards Darktown Strutters ' Ball in 1954 he had a first hit. Other big hits were Lazy Mary, an English- Italian version of the Italian song Luna Mezzo Mare, and The Sheik of Araby, a version of the book and film The Sheik. Both were 1958 in the U.S. charts. A Novelty Song about the Italian mouse Pepino was finally in 1962 his biggest hit and earned him a number - five ranking. 13 studio albums published Monte in his career.
In 1982 he retired to Florida, where he died at the age of 72 years, seven years later.
Dominick the Donkey
In the 2000s, the British radio presenter Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1 discovered the popular especially among the Italian -born Americans Christmas classic Dominick the Donkey by Lou Monte and used the song about the Italian Christmas Donkey as a jocular Einspieler for the performances of newscaster Dominic Byrne. Over the years it became a running gag. In 2011 Moyles finally called on his listeners, the song of the week to buy before Christmas, to bring it into the Christmas charts to every year there is a big competition in England, as far as possible to the front. It eventually reached behind the favorite, a charity single by the Military Wives and the debut song by the band Casting Little Mix, # 3 on the UK Top 40
Discography
Singles
- Darktown Strutters ' Ball / I Know How You Feel (1954 )
- Elvis for President / If I Was a Millionaire (1956 )
- Lazy Mary ( Luna Mezzo Mare) / Angelique (1958 )
- The Sheik of Araby (Italian Style) / Eh, Marie, Eh, Marie! (1958)
- Pepino the Italian Mouse / What Did Washington Say ( When He Crossed the Delaware ) ( 1962)
- Pepino 's Friend Pasqual ( The Italian Pussy -Cat ) / I Like You, You Like Me, Eh Paisan (1963 )