American Songbook Blogs

November 15, 1905 – March 30, 1980  Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was an Italian-British conductor, composer and light-orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. Although he success was worldwide, and originally in Europe, Mantovani was a tremendous hit in the United States. He was a tremendous purveyor of the American Songbook,. Some of Mantovani’s biggest recording hits were “Theme from MOULIN ROUGE,” “Cara Mia” (composed by Mantovani), “Around the World,” “Exodus,” and of course, his ground-breaking international hit, “Charmaine.” Mantovani and his Orchestra toured the world and the US annually for decades. He also had his own television show in England! Happy Birthday Maestro!