# Alberto Rabagliati > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alberto_Rabagliati > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alberto_Rabagliati.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rabagliati > Source revision: 1352960598 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Italian singer (1906–1974) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (August 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. 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Find sources: "Alberto Rabagliati" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Alberto Rabagliati Born (1906-06-27)27 June 1906 Milan, Italy Died 8 March 1974(1974-03-08) (aged 67) Rome, Italy Occupation Actor **Alberto Rabagliati** (27 June 1906 – 8 March 1974) was an Italian jazz singer.[1][2] ## Early career Alberto Rabagliati was born in [Milan](/source/Milan) in 1906 from a [Piedmontese](/source/Piedmontese) family. His father, Leandro Valentino Rabagliati, and his mother, Delfina Besso, were both [natives](/source/Natives) of [Casorzo](/source/Casorzo), a [comune](/source/Comune) (municipality) in the hills of the [Montferrat](/source/Montferrat) in the [Province of Asti](/source/Province_of_Asti). In 1927, age 21, Rabagliati moved to [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) after winning a [Rudolph Valentino](/source/Rudolph_Valentino) look-alike contest. He later recalled: "For someone like me, who had seen no more than [Lake Como](/source/Lake_Como) or the [Monza Cathedral](/source/Monza_Cathedral), to find myself on board a luxury steamer with three cases full of clothes, a few rolls of dollars, and grand-duchesses and countesses flirting with me was something extraordinary".[3] Rabagliati lived in [America](/source/United_States) for four years hoping to work as an actor, but his career never took off. After being exposed to [musical genres](/source/Musical_genre) such as [jazz](/source/Jazz), [swing](/source/Swing_(genre)), and [scat singing](/source/Scat_singing), he decided to move back to Europe and be a professional singer. ## Singing Rebagliati moved to Rome in 1931. After a brief period with [Pippo Barzizza](/source/Pippo_Barzizza)'s orchestra, in 1934 he joined the [Lecuona Cuban Boys](/source/Lecuona_Cuban_Boys), a Cuban jazz band. He occasionally performed in [blackface](/source/Blackface) and scored a hit with the song "Maria la O". During his tenure with the Lecuona Cuban Boys, Rebagliati met composer and conductor [Giovanni D'Anzi](/source/Giovanni_D'Anzi), who suggested that he audition with the Italian state radio station [EIAR](/source/Ente_Italiano_per_le_Audizioni_Radiofoniche). Rabagliati soon became a radio star, and in 1941 had his own weekly radio show, *Canta Rabagliati* ("Rabagliati sings"), where he would perform his most famous songs such as "Ma l'amore no", "Mattinata fiorentina", "[Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina](/source/Botch-a-Me_(Ba-Ba-Baciami_Piccina))", "Silenzioso slow" and "Bambina innamorata". Rebagliati's Monday night radio show was so popular that his name was mentioned in the lyrics of songs such as *La famiglia canterina*, *Quando canta Rabagliati* and *Quando la radio*. At a time when anything foreign was banned, Rabagliati was allowed to maintain his American-influenced style. Indeed, the [Fascist](/source/Fascism) government decided to make use of his popularity by choosing his song "Sposi (c'è una casetta piccina)" ("Wed (there's a little home)") as their demographic campaign anthem. In 1954 Rabagliati married Maria Antonietta Tonnini in Rome. ## Acting Rebagliati's fame as a singer helped his acting career restart. From 1940 to 1965 he acted in some twenty films, including *[The Barefoot Contessa](/source/The_Barefoot_Contessa)*, *Montecarlo* and *[Il vedovo](/source/Il_vedovo)*. In 1966, he starred in *[The Christmas That Almost Wasn't](/source/The_Christmas_That_Almost_Wasn't)*. Rabagliati was active also on the stage until the mid-1950s. He performed in musical revues and comedies by [Garinei and Giovannini](/source/Pietro_Garinei). His last public appearance was in 1974 as a guest in the TV show *[Milleluci](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milleluci&action=edit&redlink=1)* hosted by [Mina](/source/Mina_(Italian_singer)) and [Raffaella Carrà](/source/Raffaella_Carr%C3%A0). Rebagliati died of cerebral [thrombosis](/source/Thrombosis) in Rome. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Celenza, Anna Harwell (6 March 2017). [*Jazz Italian Style: From its Origins in New Orleans to Fascist Italy and Sinatra*](https://books.google.com/books?id=VdwcDgAAQBAJ). Cambridge University Press. pp. 137–189. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-107-16977-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-107-16977-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *Il dizionario della canzone italiana* (in Italian). Gino Castaldo. Rome: Curcio. 1990. pp. 1412–1414. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-88-97508-77-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-88-97508-77-9). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1074832766](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1074832766).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: others ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_others)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Emanuelli, Massimo. ["La voce di Milano"](https://web.archive.org/web/20041029141952/http://www.amicigiornaleopinione.191.it/opinione/archivio/153/emma.html). *L'opinione della domenica on-line* (in Italian). Archived from [the original](http://www.amicigiornaleopinione.191.it/opinione/archivio/153/emma.html) on 29 October 2004. ## External links - [Alberto Rabagliati](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0704711/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National France BnF data Italy Spain Poland Belgium Artists MusicBrainz Discography of American Historical Recordings People Italian People Deutsche Synchronkartei Other IdRef --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alberto Rabagliati](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rabagliati) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rabagliati?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.