Ornella Vanoni

She started her artistic career in 1960 as a theatrical actress of Bertolt Brecht works, under the direction of Giorgio Strehler in his Piccolo Teatro of Milan. At the same time, she started singing, recording for a high-class public. The folklore and popular songs she reinvented in her recordings of this period, especially the ones that sang about the criminal underworld, gave her the nickname cantante della mala ("Underworld Singer").

Owing to the songs "Senza Fine" and "Che cosa c'è" written for her by Gino Paoli, her popularity rose in 1963. Next year, she won the Festival of Neapolitan song with "Tu si na cosa grande".

Later in the period, Vanoni released the hits "Una ragione di più", "Un'ora sola ti vorrei", and "L'appuntamento". "Non Dirmi Niente" is Vanoni's cover of Burt Bacharach's hit "Don't Make Me Over". "L'appuntamento", which was composed in 1970, is a cover of the Brazilian song "Sentado à Beira do Caminho" (Sitting by the Roadside) by Erasmo Carlos and Roberto Carlos. In 1972 she sang the theme to Lucio Fulci's critically accalimed mystery thriller film Don't Torture a Duckling.

In 1976, Vanoni cooperated with Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho releasing the hit "La voglia, la pazzia, l'incoscienza e l'allegria". During the 1980s, she released "Ricetta di donna", "Uomini", and "Ti lascio una canzone" (a duet with Gino Paoli). In 1989, she returned to Sanremo Festival with the song "Io come farò". In 1999, she recorded "Alberi", a duet with Enzo Gragnaniello. She was mostly active performing live and as a guest singer in recordings. In 2004, she released a duo album with Gino Paoli to celebrate her 70th birthday.