It is always difficult to draw clear divisions in the evolution of music, but there are some clear differences that jump out in the 60’s.
If we look at the past we find that the central figure was that of the famous composer who, as soon as he published a song, was revisited. It was very easy, for example, to find the same song remade by three or four different singers on the record sales chart.
The roles of the composer, the arranger and the conductor of the orchestra were at the top.
From their work a process of reinterpretation began, which however did not add great elements of novelty. The importance of the melodic part of the piece prevailed over the singing.
In the second post-war period, however, we witness two revolutions:
- the singer becomes more important than the orchestra. Perhaps the first and certainly the most famous is Frank Sinatra, who in his long career has been accompanied by several musicians, composers and conductors. His name shines like an absolute icon; for everyone, he is The Voice.
But when his solo career began, in the 1940s, things were very different. To get out of the most famous orchestra in America, Tommy Dorsey’s, Sinatra had to break free from a contract that obliged him to pay 43% of all his earnings in the entertainment world for life. Only after a long legal battle did Sinatra win and start the career of the most emblematic solo singer of modern times. Unfortunately, the relationship between Dorsey and Sinatra, which had once been very close, never returned to what it once was. And the urban legends about how Sinatra got rid of that contract have never been dormant. - composers / musicians bands begin to play their own repertoire only.
A striking case are the Beatles, the first successful band on a global scale that focused only on their own songs. Already from the first recordings, it was clear that they preferred to record songs written by them rather than by others, but you’ll have to wait until 1964, with the album “A Hard Day’s Night”, to find only original pieces composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Under the careful supervision of George Martin, in the following years the Fab Four devoted themselves more and more to experimentation, using unusual instruments (such as the Indian sitar) or technical innovations in studio recordings. While inspired by other bands already established for the Rock And Roll sound of the early years, theirs is a path towards an original and personal style, rather than the reinterpretation of the already existing music.
Los Carosones celebrates the composers of the second post-war period
In our show is hidden a tribute to the lyricists and composers of the Dolce Vita: in addition of course to Nisa (author of some of the most famous lyrics of Carosone’s songs) there is a special tribute to Gian Carlo Testoni, one of the most important lyricists of that period in Italy.
“In Cerca di te” (whose text he wrote) is considered the first Italian post-war swing piece; his also are the words of “Mambo Italiano” and “Io sono il vento”. This last song – which we play with an arrangement by Marino Marini – is by Giuseppe Fanciulli, the author of the music for “Guaglione“, one of Carosone’s biggest hit.
From this dense interweaving of music and words it is clear that, in reality, it is not possible to isolate an artist from his contemporaries, in the 60’s and in any other era; they must be studied and listened to as a whole. There are many mutual influences and a shared musical heritage, to which the composer / musician and his interpretation can give a unique color.