Gaetano "Nino" d'Angelo (b. June 21, 1957) is an Italian singer. He was born in San Pietro a Patierno, a suburb of Naples. Nino had a very difficult childhood, and to help his family's poor financial condition he left the school and started working at a very young age.
Thanks to Alberto Lupo he was able to enter the good world but only after enormous sacrifices: his first album, "A Storia Mia" (Neapolitan for "My History") was published using personal and family funds. The album was a hit almost immediately, especially in Sicily where he quickly became one of the most acclaimed singers. He married at an early age: in 1979 he married Annamaria with whom he would have two sons: Antonio and Vincenzo. He also started acting in theater with the famous "Sceneggiata Napoletana" (a typical Neapolitan theatrical form), for which he receives public acclamation. After a while he also started a cinematographic career, with his first movie "Celebrità".
In 1982 he released the album "Un Jeans e Una Maglietta" ("A Pair of Jeans and a T-Shirt") and a film with the same title followed by a great success. The album sold over one million copies and the movie, although apparently simple and with generally low expectations, surpassed the Hollywood movie "Flashdance" at the box office. From this moment on the "D'Angelo Phenomenon" began: he participated in the Sanremo Festival in 1986 with the song "Vai" ("Go"). The critics totally ignored him but his album was the best seller at the time (although it didn't even show up in the official Hit Parade). He traveled the world to perform concerts: Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, United States.
In 1990 something seems to have changed. Following the deaths of both his parents he went through a period of severe depression, after which he decided to make some changes to his career. He didn't want to remain the "singer who sells CDs" but instead "try to find inside himself the heaviest emotions which he had been unable to write about until then". Thanks to his album "Tiempo" (Neapolitan for "Time") he was discovered by one of the major Italian musical critics: Goffredo Fofi, and became one of the critics' most appreciated singers.
On 1997 he wrote his first musical, "Core Pazzo" (Neapolitan for "Mad Heart"), obtaining much success, and also hosted the "Dopofestival" with Piero Chiambretti.
The following year he took part in Sanremo as singer with the song "Senza Giacca e Cravatta" ("Without Suit and Tie") reaching the 8th place. He also took part to Sanremo in 2002 and 2003 with the songs "Mari'" and "'A Storia 'E Nisciuno" (Neapolitan for "Nobody's Story"). He also went to sing at a concert in Brașov, Romania.
Recently he took part in the movie "Il Cuore Altrove" directed by Pupi Avati.