La Bionda
La Bionda is an Italian musical duo, formed by the brothers Carmelo and Michelangelo La Bionda, who are considered among the inventors of Italo disco music.[1]
Biography
They grew up in Milan. The two brothers began in 1970 as composers, artists, record producers and publishers. They debuted as songwriters in 1970 with "Primo sole, primo fiore" to be interpreted by Ricchi & Poveri for the Song Festival in Venice. In the early 1970s they recorded two acoustic albums, Fratelli La Bionda srl and Tutto va bene (recorded in the Apple Studios in London) where they used Nicky Hopkins as their pianist. They wrote for the Italian female singer Mia Martini "Neve bianca, Amica, Gentile se vuoi", and Michelangelo La Bionda was the co-writer with Bruno Lauzi of "Piccolo uomo". In 1975, he also played acoustic guitar on the album Volume VIII by Fabrizio De Andre, on which Francesco De Gregori also participated.
The popularity came after turning to the disco scene. They moved to Munich, and their first successes came under the pseudonym, D. D. Sound, that accompanied them for their entire recording career.
"Disco Bass", and "Burning Love" were their first international successes. This culminated in the production of "Cafè" (1977), and "1, 2, 3, 4... Gimme Some More".
In 1978, they released the album La Bionda with the ballad "Sandstorm", "There for Me" (recorded over the years by Sarah Brightman in a duet with Josh Groban, Dalida, Patty Pravo, and by Paul Potts), and the worldwide hit "One For You, One For Me". This latter track reached number 54 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1978 and a cover by Jonathan King was number 29.[2]
From 1978 to 1981, La Bionda released the albums Bandido, High Energy and I Wanna Be Your Lover. Other albums were released under the D. D. Sound name such as Cafe and The Hootchie Cootchie, followed by Boxes and Wake Up in the Night. Since the early 1980s, the brothers La Bionda focused on composition and music production, and in the activity of music publishers.
They composed soundtracks for films, including one by the film director Sergio Corbucci, and starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill - Supersnooper. "Who finds a friend finds a treasure", "Face to Face" with Johnny Dorelli, "Rich", "My Beautiful, My Beauty" with Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato and Bruno Corbucci Cats and Dogs, Miami Supercops plus television series such as Inspector Giusti with Enrico Montesano. They also composed and produced various advertising jingles, such as the "Sorrisi is Magic for Smiles and Songs", "Heart of Cream" (for Cornetto Algida), "I'm Coming Home" (for Bayer Aspirin) and released the Italian versions of various Coca Cola commercials. In 2009, they re-recorded "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Gimme Some More", for Vodafone and "One For You, One For Me" for the digital television channel, Mediaset Premium.
In parallel, in 1983 they began their collaboration with Righeira, with which they wrote "Vamos a la playa" and "No Tengo Dinero". In 1984, Carmelo recorded as solo artist the song "I Love You," and "You're So Fine". The brothers opened, and continue to manage today, Logic Studios, a recording studio in Milan, where they recorded Ray Charles, Robert Palmer and Paul Young. Depeche Mode recorded Violator there. The more recent artists who used the facility include Laura Pausini, Rihanna, Pooh, Nek and Alessandra Amoroso.
Discography
- 1975 - Tutto va bene
- 1978 - La Bionda (Baby Records, LPX 24)
- 1979 - Bandido (Baby Records, LPX 30)
- 1979 - High Energy
- 1980 - I Wanna Be Your Lover
- 1998 - In Between[3]
References
- ↑ "La Bionda". Sonyatv.com. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 58. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "La Bionda Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-05-03.