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Mantovani

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Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (Italian pronunciation: [anˈnuntsjo ˈpaːolo mantoˈvaːni]) (15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980), known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.

The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before the Beatles...the first act to sell over one million stereo albums and [have] six albums simultaneously in the US Top 30 in 1959".

Mantovani was born in Venice, Italy, into a musical family. His father, Bismarck, served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house's orchestra in Milan, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham. He married Winifred Moss in 1934, and they had two children: Kenneth (born 12 July 1935) and Paula Irene (born 11 April 1939). By the time World War II broke out, his orchestra was one of the most popular British dance bands, both on BBC radio broadcasts and in live performances.

He was also musical director for a large number of musicals and other plays, including Noël Coward's Pacific 1860 (1946) and Vivian Ellis's musical setting of J. B. Fagan's And So to Bed (1951). After the war, he concentrated on recording, and eventually gave up live performance altogether. He worked with arranger and composer Ronald "Ronnie" Binge, who developed the "cascading strings" effect (also known as the "Mantovani sound").

His records were regularly used for demonstration purposes in stores selling hi-fi stereo equipment, as they were produced and arranged for stereo reproduction. He became the first person to sell a million stereophonic records.  In 1952, Binge ceased to arrange for Mantovani but the distinctive sound of the orchestra remained.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__tm_j8FPl0

"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Ernö Rapée and Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913.

The song was originally in waltz time, but later versions were in common time.

The song was originally composed for the 1926 silent movie What Price Glory?, and most notably, the best-selling version, recorded by Guy Lombardo & his Orchestra, spent seven weeks at the #1 position in 1927. It was also featured in the movie Two Girls and a Sailor. It was recorded by the Harry James orchestra in 1944.

An instrumental version arranged by Ronald Binge and performed by the Mantovani orchestra was his first hit on the United States charts in 1951. This recording was released by London Records as catalog number 1020. It first reached the Billboard charts on November 9, 1951 and lasted 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at #10.

Another recording, by Gordon Jenkins' orchestra, with a vocal by Bob Carroll, also charted in 1951. This recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 27859. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 7, 1951 and lasted 1 week on the chart, at #26.

The Bachelors' version reached #6 in the British charts in 1963.

A 1952 arrangement of "Charmaine" by Billy May and His Orchestra reached # 17 on the Billboard charts. The single was May's biggest hit under his own name.

"Charmaine" is one of many popular songs whose lyrics use a "Bluebird of happiness" as a symbol of cheer: "I wonder, when bluebirds are mating, will you come back again?"
Yamaha DGX-670 connected to a Yamaha MW12 Mixer connected to a pair of Yamaha MSP10's + Yamaha SW10 Subwoofer using Songbook+.
MacBook Pro  32 GB  1 Terabyte SSD
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