Link to the blog that is intended to make available recordings made by Italian performers in the early 20th Century. The majority of these recordings were made in New York by Italians who had immigrated to the U.S. Despite the fact that these discs are literally a record of the history of Italian Americans, they have largely been ignored by record collectors and scholars. The hope is that by bringing some of these recordings into the light, we can uncover some of our history.
I’m very pleased to present the compilation, Paese Mio Bello, which I produced for the JSP label along with the help of Henry “Hank” Sapoznik. This is the first collection of it’s kind, featuring 44 historic Italian-American recordings, 40 of which have been previously unreleased, at least since the original 78rpm records were issued. The selections were recorded between 1915 and 1939 and vary from traditional rural folk recordings to elegant divas singing the popular music of 1920’s and 30’s Italian-America. The discs have been expertly transferred and mastered by Adrian Cosentini.
The 2 CD set is available for purchase for $22. To order online and pay via PayPal, just click the link on the right. If you would like to order via US mail, please contact me at italian78s@gmail.com .
The 2 CD set is available for purchase for $22. To order online and pay via PayPal, just click the link on the right. If you would like to order via US mail, please contact me at italian78s@gmail.com .
This work has been made by the contribution of Todd Cambio a guitar maker, record collector and musician with an interest in Italian music from the early 20th Century.
Todd Cambio was in Lucoli last year and wrote this worlds for our blog:
I am visiting Lucoli and L’Aquila from the United States to discover the history of my great grandparents, who immigrated from here in the early 1900’s. Part of my trip has been to obtain documents pertaining to my great grandparent’s, primarily their birth certificates, the other part of my trip is to see the land where part of my family came from and to hopefully understand more about what their lives were like. From the beginning of our trip in Rome, I have been blown away by the friendship and hospitality extended to my family and I.
Our friend Fabrizio picked us up in Rome and we made the trip to Lucoli. Our first stop was to the municipality, where I had the chance to meet and thank some of the people who have helped to uncover my family history. Next we stopped at the shop of a local cheese maker, where we ate fresh mozarella made that morning. The cheese was incredible, still warm and squeaky on the teeth, a quality which we use to judge the freshness in my home Wisconsin (a region of America known for its cheese)……..
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| Todd Cambio in Lucoli |