Some alternative, Less heard Italian Music
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Rome had been Europe's cultural capital of the 1950s and, as a result, was slower to adapt as London took its place the following decade. Italy danced to its own beat in the 1960s -- or more accurately, it swayed to the sound of emotionally charged ballads.

While the rest of western Europe shook to the beat of British bands, the Italian record-buying public preferred the sentimental sounds of home-grown pop. Neither the Beatles nor the Rolling Stones, for instance, scored a number one hit in Italy. Though that isn't to say that as the decade rolled on, Italian music wasn't influenced by the beat boom, as artists such as Caterina Caselli and Brunetta e i suoi Balubas.

But the musical traffic was two-way. International singers scored massive hits with anglicized versions of Italians hits. Britain's Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black enjoyed some of their greatest successes with covers of Italian songs, and some of Italy's biggest girl stars of the 1960s, including Mina, Rita Pavone, Patty Pravo, Iva Zanicchi and Milva, launched international careers on the back of their success at home.

The San Remo song festival -- the contest that inspired the Eurovision song contest -- acted as a springboard for a number of Italy's most successful female singers, including Gigliola Cinquetti and Anna Identici. Game girls from across Europe also clamored to take part in the prestigious contest -- among them, Mary Hopkin, France Gall, Sandie Shaw and Petula Clark -- as a means of scoring further hits.

Courtesy of:
http://www.readysteadygirls.eu /#

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