Jimmy Roselli

Michael John "Jimmy" Roselli (Hoboken, New Jersey, December 26, 1925 – Clearwater, Florida, June 30, 2011)[1][2] was one of the most significant Italian-American pop singers of his time,[3] during an era of formidable competition from such performers as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Vic Damone and Jerry Vale.[4]

Life

Jimmy Roselli's only pop hit was a remake of "There Must Be A Way", a song previously recorded by Joni James. It reached #93 pop (according to Billboard's pop charts). The song was recorded in 1964. The following year he had another hit with "Mala Femmena", rendered entirely in Italian, which sold over 3 million records[5]. It reached #43 easy listening (according to Billboard's easy listening charts). Those were his only U.S. hit singles, although his version of "When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New" twice appeared in the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at #51 in 1983, and #52 in 1987.[6]

At the beginning of his career, "with appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, with Jimmy Durante, and on the famous Copacabana, critics were calling him a 'miracle'"[7]. As the New Yorker Magazine[8] states, "...guys were trying to put a stranglehold on him. He pushed them all away... (although he)was in good terms with a number of mob chieftains". Jimmy Roselli claimed that he had "never done business with organized criminals, but he was resigned to the association between the Mafia and his music"[9] Indeed, Roselli at times was relegated to selling his music out of the trunk of his car parked in Little Italy in Manhattan (he was the founder and owner of M&R Records).

Jimmy Roselli is a favorite among Italian-Americans and his signature tune "Mala Femmina" is featured twice in Martin Scorsese's early classic Mean Streets. Roselli sang in perfect Neapolitan dialect[10]. Other Neapolitan songs recorded by Roselli include "Core 'ngrato", "Anema e core" and "Scapricciatiello". The known comedian Jerry Lewis said of him that "Roselli sings as an italian should sing"[11].

A book in the late 1990s entitled Making The Wiseguys Weep: The Jimmy Roselli Story, was published by David Evanier who also published a book on the life of Bobby Darin - Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin.

Plans to make a movie based on Making the Wiseguys Weep starring John Travolta never came to pass.

He died in 2011 at his home in Clearwater, Florida.

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Fox, Margalit (July 10, 2011) Jimmy Roselli, Italian-American Singer, Dies at 85
  3. ^ Cerbo, Toni-Ann (July 05, 2011) Mourners gather for Jimmy Roselli funeral in Hoboken
  4. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/27/reviews/981227.27patrict.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=jimmy%20Roselli&st=cse
  5. ^ David Evanier, The New Yorker Magazine, March 25, 1996
  6. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 470. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  7. ^ Italian Tribune News, August 8, 1991
  8. ^ David Evanier, The New Yorker Magazine, March 25, 1996
  9. ^ Timothy K. Smith, The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 1991
  10. ^ Tiziano Thomas Dossena, "Remembering the other voice from Hoboken", Queens Ledger, September 8, 2011
  11. ^ As quoted in: Las Vegas Magazine, November 4, 1966

External links