Mina (Italian singer)

{{short description|Italian singer (born 1940)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Mina | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Grand Officer OMRI]]|size=100%}} | image = Mina 1970.jpg | image_size = | caption = Mina in 1970 | birth_name = Mina Anna Mazzini<ref name=sanremo>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1HE8o8RTXgC&q=mina&pg=IA1|author= Marcello Giannotti|year=2001|title=L'enciclopedia di Sanremo (Encyclopedia of Sanremo)|language=it|publisher=Gremese|location= Rome, Italy|isbn= 9788884403797}}</ref><ref name=repubblica/> | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|03|25|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Busto Arsizio]], [[Kingdom of Italy]] | death_date = <!--{{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|1940|03|25|df=yes}}--> | death_place = | other_names = Mina Anna Quaini | citizenship = {{hlist|Italy|Switzerland}} | occupation = {{Flatlist| *Singer *actress *television presenter }} | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Virgilio Crocco|1970|1973|end=died}}|{{marriage|Eugenio Quaini|2006}} }} | partner = {{ubl|[[Corrado Pani]] (1962–1965)|[[Augusto Martelli]] ({{c.|1965–1970}}) }} | children = 2, including [[Massimiliano Pani]] | module = {{Infobox musical artist | embed = yes | alias = {{hlist|"The Tigress of Cremona"|Baby Gate|"the Queen of Screamers"}} | background = solo_singer | label = {{flatlist| *Italdisc *[[Ri-Fi]] *[[PDU (record label)|PDU]] *[[EMI]] *[[Warner Music Group|Warner]] }} | origin = [[Cremona]], Italy | years_active = 1958–present | genre = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]|[[blues]]|[[jazz]]|[[Swing music|swing]]|[[rhythm and blues]]|[[rock and roll]]<ref>{{cite journal|first=Maria|last=Kouvarou|year=2015|title=American Rock with a European Twist: The Institutionalization of Rock'n'Roll in France, West Germany, Greece, and Italy (20th Century)|journal=Historia Crítica|issue=57|pages=75–94|issn=0121-1617|doi=10.7440/histcrit57.2015.05|doi-access=free}}</ref>|''[[canzone napoletana]]''|[[bossa nova]]|[[Dance music|dance]]}} | discography = {{Flatlist| *[[Mina albums discography|Albums]] *[[Mina singles discography|singles]] }} | website = {{URL|minamazzini.com}} }} }}

'''Mina Anna Mazzini''' (by marriage '''Quaini''' on the Swiss civil registry;<ref name=repubblica>{{cite news|newspaper=[[la Repubblica]]|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2006/c/sezioni/persone/minasposa/minasposa/minasposa.html|language=it|title=Mina si è sposata a Lugano la cerimonia il 10 gennaio|trans-title=Mina got married in a ceremony in Lugano on 10 January|date=1 March 2006}}</ref><ref name=corriere>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2006/marzo/02/Mina_sposato_Quaini_dopo_anni_co_9_060302269.shtml|newspaper=[[Corriere della Sera]]|title=Mina ha sposato Quaini dopo 25 anni|trans-title=Mina married Quaini after 25 years|date=2 March 2006|page=46|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203161221/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2006/marzo/02/Mina_sposato_Quaini_dopo_anni_co_9_060302269.shtml|archive-date=3 February 2012}}</ref> born 25 March 1940), known [[mononym]]ously as '''Mina''', is an Italian singer and actress. She was a staple of television variety shows<ref name=carrera>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hVfHLOGAxwC&q=Folk+music+and+popular+song+from+the+nineteenth+century+to+the+1990s&pg=PA325|first=Alessandro|last= Carrera|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|editor=Zygmunt Guido Baranski, Rebecca J. West|title=The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture| chapter=Folk music and popular song from the nineteenth century to the 1990s|pages=325–336|year=2001|isbn=9780521559829}}</ref> and a dominant figure in Italian [[Popular music|pop]] and [[rock and roll]] music from the 1950s to the mid-1970s,<ref name=biography/> known for her three-[[octave]] [[vocal range]],<ref name=callas/> the agility of her [[soprano]] voice,<ref name=callas/> and her image as an emancipated woman.<ref name=feminista/>

In performance, Mina combined several modern styles with traditional Italian melodies and [[swing music]], which made her one of the most versatile pop singers in [[Music of Italy|Italian music]].<ref name=carrera/> With over 150 million records sold worldwide, she is [[List of estimated best-selling Italian music artists|the best-selling Italian musical artist]] as well as one of the [[List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists]] of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 18, 2024 |title=Italian Super-Diva Mina Still Going Strong at 84 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/italian-super-diva-mina-new-album-1236065405/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Di Gino Castaldo |url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli-e-cultura/2010/03/25/news/mina-pani-2888803/ |title=E Mamma Mina cestinò i complimenti dei Beatles |newspaper=La Repubblica |date=25 March 2010 |access-date=15 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 29, 2021|title=The 10 Italian artists who have sold the most records in the world|url=https://www.spyit.it/i-10-artisti-italiani-che-hanno-venduto-piu-dischi-nel-mondo/|access-date=January 7, 2023|work=spyit.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 20, 2022|title=The 10 Italian artists with the most records sold: Mina|url=https://www.hitparades.it/musica/i-10-artisti-italiani-con-piu-dischi-venduti/10/|access-date=January 7, 2023|work=hitparades.it}}</ref> Mina dominated the country's charts for 15 years and reached an unsurpassed level of popularity. She has scored [[Mina discography|79 albums and 71 singles]] on the Italian charts.<ref name=singles/><ref name=album/>

Mina's TV appearances in 1959 were the first for a female rock and roll singer in Italy. Her loud syncopated singing earned her the nickname "Queen of Screamers".<ref name=cool/> The public also labelled her the "Tigress of [[Cremona]]" for her wild gestures and body shakes. When she turned to light [[traditional pop|pop tunes]], Mina's chart-toppers in West Germany in 1962 and Japan in 1964 earned her the title of the best international artist in these countries.<ref name = german/><ref name=germania/><ref name = fratarcangeli/> Mina's more refined sensual manner was introduced in 1960 with [[Gino Paoli]]'s ballad "[[Il cielo in una stanza (song)|This World We Love In]]", which charted on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in 1961.

Mina was banned from TV and radio in 1963 because her pregnancy and relationship with a married actor did not accord with the dominant Catholic and bourgeois morals.<ref name=ninoromano>Mina. Storia di un mito by Nino Romano (Rusconi 1986)</ref> After the ban, the public broadcasting service [[RAI]] tried to continue to prohibit her songs, which were forthright in dealing with subjects such as religion, smoking and sex.<ref name=ninoromano/> Mina's cool act combined sex appeal with public smoking, dyed blonde hair, and shaved eyebrows to create a "bad girl" image.<ref name = cool/>

Mina's voice has distinctive [[timbre]] and great power.<ref name=canzone/><ref name=tintarella/> Her main themes are anguished love stories performed in high dramatic tones. The singer combined classic Italian pop with elements of [[blues]], [[R&B]] and [[soul music]] during the late 1960s,<ref name="Se stasera sono qui"/> especially when she worked in collaboration with the singer-songwriter [[Lucio Battisti]]. Top Italian songwriters created material with large vocal ranges and unusual [[chord progression]]s to showcase her singing skills, particularly "[[Brava (song)|Brava]]" by [[Bruno Canfora]] (1965) and the pseudo-[[serialism|serial]] "[[Se telefonando]]" by [[Ennio Morricone]] (1966). The latter song was covered by several performers abroad. [[Shirley Bassey]] carried Mina's ballad "[[Grande grande grande]]" to charts in the U.S., UK, and other English-speaking countries in 1973. Mina's [[easy listening]] duet "[[Parole parole]]" was turned into [[Paroles, paroles|a worldwide hit]] by [[Dalida]] and [[Alain Delon]] in 1974. In 1982 her disco single "Morirò per te" entered in the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco Top 100.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://blog.libero.it/MINA50/3719732.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529164321/http://blog.libero.it/MINA50/3719732.html | archive-date=29 May 2014 | title=1982 - Il singolo su Mina 1958 - 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/dance-club-play-songs/1982-12-24/ | title=Dance Club Songs | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] }}</ref> Mina gave up public appearances in 1978 but has continued to release popular albums and musical projects on a yearly basis to the present day.

==Early life== Mina Anna Mazzini was born into a [[working-class]] family in [[Busto Arsizio]], [[Lombardy]].<ref name="Mina. Biografia"/> The family moved to work in [[Cremona]] in her childhood.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Lopez|first=Ianko|url=https://www.revistavanityfair.es/cultura/articulos/mina-mazzini-vida-canciones/44130|title=Éxito, tragedias e inspiración: los 80 años de Mina, la tigresa de Cremona|language=es|magazine=Vanity Fair Espana|date=25 March 2020}}</ref> She listened to American [[rock and roll]] and [[jazz]] records and was a frequent visitor at the Santa Tecla and the Taverna Messicana clubs of Milan, both known for promoting rock and roll.<ref name=toscana/> After finishing high school in 1958, she attended college where she majored in accounting.<ref name="Mina. Biografia">[http://www.musicalstore.it/INTERPRETI/MINA-BIOGRAFIA%20.htm Mina. Biografia]. Musicalstore.it site. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref>

==Career== ===Queen of Screamers (1958–1961)=== While on a summer holiday in [[Versilia]] on 8 August 1958, Mazzini gave an improvised performance of the song "Un'anima tra le mani" to amuse her family after a concert at the [[:it:Bussola Versilia|La Bussola]] night club.<ref name=biography>{{cite web|url=http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/principal/topics/bio/mina.htm|title=Biography of Mina|access-date=25 May 2010|publisher=Rai International Online|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606035454/http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/principal/topics/bio/mina.htm|archive-date=6 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=wong/> During the following nights, Sergio Bernardini, the owner of the club, held her back in her attempts to get back on stage.<ref name="P.Belluso-F 1983, p.12">P. Belluso- F. Merkel, Unicamente Mina, Gammalibri 1983, p. 12</ref> [[File:Mina at home.jpg|thumb|Mina with her Anelli piano and a Giemmei guitar at home in Cremona, 1959]] In September, she started her solo career with the backing of the band Happy Boys.<ref name="Mina. Biografia"/> Her concert in September 1958, before an audience of 2,500 people at the Theatre of [[Rivarolo del Re ed Uniti|Rivarolo del Re]], won enthusiastic approval from local critics.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061031143955/http://www.minamazzini.com/cronache/?dec=60&id=1 Rivarolo del Re, 24 settembre] La Provincia newspaper, 24 September. In Italian. Retrieved 3 July 2007</ref> She soon signed with Davide Matalon, owner of the small record company Italdisc. Her first single, "Non partir"/"Malatia", was produced under the stage name Mina for the Italian audience. Simultaneously, "[[Be Bop A Lula]]"/"When" was issued under the name ''Baby Gate'' for the international audience. ''Baby'' was chosen as a contrast to her 178&nbsp;cm height (5&nbsp;ft 10 in) – exceptionally tall for an Italian woman – and ''Gate'' as a tribute to [[The Golden Gate Quartet]].<ref name="P.Belluso-F 1983, p.12"/><ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/mono/finti.htm Guai ai finiti]. Maurizio Targa. Hit Parade Italia</ref> In December, her performance at the [[:it:Sei giorni della canzone|Sei giorni della canzone festival]] of Milan was described by the ''La Notte'' newspaper as the "birth of a star".<ref>Guido Gerosa [https://web.archive.org/web/20061031173332/http://www.minamazzini.com/cronache/?dec=60&id=4 Nascono le stelle a Porta Garibaldi] [Birth of a star at Porta Garibaldi]. La Notte. 2 December 1958. In Italian</ref> It was Mina's last performance with the Happy Boys, as her family refused to let her skip college for a scheduled tour of Turkey.

Less than a month after the breakup with her previous band, Mina co-founded a new group called Solitari, which consisted of a singer, a saxophonist, a pianist, a contrabassist, and a guitarist. Her first hit with the band featured Mina performing an extra-loud, syncopated version of the popular song "[[Nessuno]]" ("Nobody"), which she performed at the first rock festival in the Milan Ice Palace in February 1959.<ref>Marcello Bufacchi, Mina 1958–2005 Ancora insieme, Riuniti 2005, p. 13. In Italian</ref><ref>T. Crotti, G. Bassi, "Mina prima di Mina", Rizzoli Editore, 2007, p. 64. In Italian</ref><ref name="Nessuno. In TV esplode Mina">[http://www.galleriadellacanzone.it/canzoni/anni50/schede/nessuno/tv.htm Nessuno. In TV esplode Mina]. Galleria della canzone site. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref> Performances of the song on the TV game shows ''[[Lascia o raddoppia?]]'' and ''Il musichiere'' on 1 March and 4 April were hailed by Italian critics. The starlet signed with Elio Gigante, an experienced artist manager. In the following years, he organized her performances in the grand ballrooms of Italy.<ref name="Mina. Biografia"/> Her first Italian {{abbr|No.|Number}} 1 hit was the up-tempo "[[Tintarella di luna (song)|Tintarella di luna]]" ("Moon Tan") in September 1959, which was performed in her first ''[[musicarello]]'' (musical comedy film), ''[[Juke box urli d'amore|Juke box – Urli d'amore]]''. In late 1959, Matalon had her drop the name Baby Gate in favour of Mina.

===Growing up (1960–1965)=== In 1960, Mina made her [[Festival della canzone italiana]] in [[Sanremo]] debut with two songs. She turned to slow emotional love songs for the first time. The song "[[È vero]]" ("It's True") reached No. 4 on the Italian charts.<ref name=singles /> [[Gino Paoli]]'s song "[[Il cielo in una stanza (song)|Il cielo in una stanza]]" ("The Sky in a Room") marked the beginning of the young singer's transformation from a rock and roll shrieker to a feminine inspiration for [[cantautori]].<ref name="Il cielo in una stanza">[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/c/cielo_in_una_stanza.htm Il cielo in una stanza]. Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> The idea for the song "Love can grow at any moment at any place" had come to Paoli while lying on a bed and looking at the purple ceiling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.madrepennuta.it/novit%C3%A02.htm|title=Paolo Grugni. Canzoni sempreverdi Quel soffitto? C'era davvero|website=Madrepennuta.it|language=it|date=31 January 2006|access-date=25 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002005/http://www.madrepennuta.it/novit%C3%A02.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The single topped the list of annual sales in Italy<ref name=singles>{{Cite book|last=Racca|first=Guido|title=M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019|language=it|year=2019|publisher=Amazon Digital Services LLC – Kdp Print Us|pages=306–308|isbn=9781093264906}}</ref> and reached the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] as "This World We Love In".<ref name="cool" /> Video performances of the song were included in the ''musicarellos'' ''Io bacio... tu baci'' and ''Appuntamento a Ischia'', and in 1990, in the [[Goodfellas (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] of the film ''[[Goodfellas]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Haworth |first=Rachel |date=2018-02-16 |title=Mina as Transnational Popular Music Star in the Early 1960s |url=https://modernlanguagesopen.org/articles/10.3828/mlo.v0i0.237 |journal=Modern Languages Open |language=en |doi=10.3828/mlo.v0i0.237|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/soundtrack/ |title=Goodfellas (1990) - Soundtracks - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2025-11-24 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0164060/soundtrack/ |title=Io bacio... tu baci (1961) - Soundtracks - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2025-11-24 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

[[File:Mina Festival di Sanremo 1961.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Mina performing at Sanremo Music Festival in 1961]] At the 1961 Sanremo Song Festival, Mina performed two songs. "Io amo, tu ami" ("I Love, You Love") finished fourth and "[[Le mille bolle blu]]" ("A Thousand Blue Bubbles") placed fifth.<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/sanremo/edizioni/1961.htm Sanremo 1961 (11ª Edizione)]. Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> Greatly disappointed by this, Mina declared her intention of never performing at the Sanremo song festival again.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Donvito |first=Nico |date=2025-03-30 |title="Tutto Sanremo", la storia del Festival: l'edizione 1961 |url=https://recensiamomusica.com/tutto-sanremo-la-storia-del-festival-ledizione-1961/ |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=Recensiamo Musica |language=it}}</ref>

As her songs and movies were already popular abroad, Mina started to tour Spain and Japan,<ref>"Banzai Mina! Bentornata Mina!". Musica E Dischi. 25 June 1961. In Italian</ref> and performed on Venezuelan TV in 1961.<ref>"Mina ha stregato il Venezuela". ''Gente'' 25 August 1961 In Italian.</ref> Mina performed on Spanish TV and at the [[Paris Olympia]] hall at the beginning of 1962.<ref>"Mina ha conquistato dal vivo gli spagnoli" (In Italian). ''Oggi'' 1 February 1962</ref> The presentation of her German single "[[Heißer Sand]]" on 12 March 1962 on [[Peter Kraus]]'s TV show caused a boom of 40,000 record sales in ten days in Germany.<ref>"Mina incide in tedesco" (In Italian). ''Musica e dischi'', 1 April 1962</ref> The record went to No. 1 and spent over half the year on the German charts in 1962.<ref name=german>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Mina/single|title=Chartverfolgung / Mina / Single|publisher=Music Line|language=de|access-date=5 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215050/http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Mina/single|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=readysteady>Mina. Ready Steady Girls website. Retrieved 21 February 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.rubycon.de/musicbox/charts1.php?Medium=Single&Jahr=1962 Nummer-1-Singles 1962] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160903/http://www.rubycon.de/musicbox/charts1.php?Medium=Single&Jahr=1962 |date=14 July 2014 }} RubyCon. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> Mina had six more singles on the German chart in the next two years.<ref name=german/> In a listeners' poll conducted in July 1962 in Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking portion of Switzerland, Mina was voted the most popular singer in the world.<ref name=germania>"Mina ha conquistato la Germania", ("Mina has conquered Germany". In Italian). ''Grand Hotel'', 14 July 1962</ref> In May 1962, she performed in Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, her version of the [[Mambo (music)|mambo]] rhythm "[[Moliendo Café|Moliendo cafe]]" and the [[Surf music|surf pop]] "[[Renato (song)|Renato]]" peaked at No. 1 and No. 4 respectively on the Italian charts.<ref name=singles/> "L'eclisse twist" appeared on the flip side of "Renato", and was used on the soundtrack of [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s feature film ''[[Eclipse (1962 film)|Eclipse]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=van de Velde |first=Danica |date=2017-12-14 |title=A Geography of Fractured Desire: Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’eclisse (1962) – Senses of Cinema |url=https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2022/cteq/a-geography-of-fractured-desire-michelangelo-antonionis-leclisse-1962/ |access-date=2025-11-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Mina Mazzini 1960s3.jpg|thumb|upright|Mina in the early 1960s]] Mina refused to cover up her relationship and resulting pregnancy with the married actor [[Corrado Pani]], so her TV and radio career was interrupted by the Italian public broadcasting service [[RAI]] in 1963, as at the time divorce was not yet legal in Italy. Mina's record sales were unaffected and due to public demand, RAI ended the ban. On 10 January 1964 she returned to the TV screen on the program ''La fiera dei sogni'', and performed the song "[[Città vuota]]", a cover of [[Gene McDaniels]]' "It's a Lonely Town (Lonely Without You)", which was her first release on the RiFi label.<ref>[http://www.minamazzini.com/televisione/?ce=69 La fiera dei sogni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506094726/http://www.minamazzini.com/televisione/?ce=69 |date=6 May 2007 }} Minamazzini.com. In Italian. Retrieved 22 February 2008</ref><ref name=decoder/> Her next single, "[[È l'uomo per me]]", a cover of [[Jody Miller]]'s "He Walks Like a Man", became the biggest selling record of the year in Italy.<ref name=singles/> Her new melodic manner<ref name="Mina nuova maniera">[https://web.archive.org/web/20061031180311/http://www.minamazzini.com/cronache/?dec=60&id=56 Mina nuova maniera] Bella journal, 29 March 1964. In Italian</ref> was demonstrated again on the 11 December 1964 TV programme ''Il macchiettario'', where she performed "Io sono quel che sono" ("I Am What I Am"). A reminder of her previous adolescent image, her single "Suna ni kieta namida" ("Tears Disappear in the Sand"), sung in Japanese, peaked at No. 1 on the Japanese singles chart and earned Mina the title of Best International Artist in Japan.<ref name = fratarcangeli>F. Fratarcangeli, "Mina talk", Coniglio, 2005, p. 87. In Italian</ref>

The first episode of the ''[[Studio Uno (TV series)|Studio Uno]]'' live Saturday night series showcased Mina's new blonde look with shaved eyebrows.<ref>[http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=79 Studio Uno] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714094906/http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=79 |date=14 July 2011 }} Minamazzini.com. In Italian. Retrieved 30 July 2010</ref> The shows included the brooding songs "Un bacio è troppo poco" ("One Kiss is Not Enough") and "[[Un anno d'amore]]" ("A Year of Love"),<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/a/anno_damore.htm Un anno d'amore] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> a cover of [[Nino Ferrer]]'s "C'est irreparable".<ref>[http://www.secondhandsongs.com/artist/21871 Artist: Nino Ferrer]. Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> In the same series she performed "[[Brava (song)|Brava]]" ("Good"), a rhythmic jazz number specially written by Bruno Canfora to demonstrate Mina's vocal range and performing skills.<ref name="Mina. Biografia" /> Her ''[[Studio Uno (album)|Studio Uno]]'' album topped the Italian chart that year.<ref name=":0" /> Her recordings of 1965 included the [[scat singing|scatting]] performance of "Spirale Waltz", the theme song for the film ''[[The 10th Victim]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Piero Piccioni - La Decima Vittima (Original Soundtrack) |date=1998 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1771187-Piero-Piccioni-La-Decima-Vittima-Original-Soundtrack |access-date=2025-11-24 |language=en}}</ref>

{{anchor|Independence}}

===Independence (1966–1968)=== [[File:Totò e Mina 1966.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Mina with [[Totò]] on ''Studio Uno'', 1966]] [[Maurizio Costanzo]] and Ghigo De Chiara wrote the lyrics of "[[Se telefonando]]" ("If Over the Phone") as the theme for the TV program ''[[:it:Aria Condizionata|Aria condizionata]]'' in spring 1966.<ref name=telefonando>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/s/se_telefonando.htm|title=Se telefonando|publisher= Hit Parade Italia|access-date=25 May 2010|language=it}}</ref> The lyrics were composed in a dark, [[Hal David]] mode.<ref name=cool/> The [[serialism|serialist]] composer [[Ennio Morricone]]<ref name=sibelius/> was asked to compose the music. Mina and the three songwriters met in an RAI rehearsal room at Via Teulada, Rome. Morricone started to repeat a short musical theme of just three notes (by his term a ''micro-cell'')<ref name=sibelius>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928023917/http://sibeliusmusic.classical.com/reference/composerbio.php?id=2243 Morricone, Ennio. Classical Music Library Biography] SibeliusMusic site. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref> on an upright piano. He had copied the snippet of melody from the siren of a police car in Marseilles. After a few bars, Mina grabbed the lyrics sheet and started to sing as if she had known the tune before. Composed in this way, "Se telefonando" is a pop song with eight transitions of [[tonality]] that builds tension throughout the chorus.<ref name=callas/><ref name=telefonando /> Morricone's arrangement featured a sophisticated combination of melodic trumpet lines, [[Hal Blaine]]-style drumming, a string set, a 1960s [[Europop]] female choir, and intense subsonic-sounding trombones.<ref name=cool/>

"Se telefonando" was presented in May 1966 in a ''Studio Uno'' episode and in August the same year at ''Aria condizionata''. The single peaked at No. 11 on the Italian chart and was 53rd in the annual list of sales. The album ''[[Studio Uno 66]]'' featured the song as one of the standout tracks along with "Ta-ra-ta-ta" and "[[Una casa in cima al mondo]]". It was the fifth biggest-selling album of the year in Italy.<ref name=album>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it|title= Top annuali album|publisher=Hit Parade Italia|language=it|access-date=30 July 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Mina Celentano 1967.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Mina and Adriano Celentano in 1967]] In 1966, Mina started working with the [[Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua Italiana|Swiss Broadcasting Service]] and the Orchestra Radiosa in Lugano. She founded the [[independent record label]] [[PDU (record label)|PDU]] in collaboration with her father. The first record issued under the label was ''[[Dedicato a mio padre]]'' (Dedicated to My Father). Mina's growing interest in Brazilian music resulted in "[[A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)#Mina version|La banda]]" ("The Band"), a [[Chico Buarque]] song, which reached No. 2 in Italy. Mina continued to perform on Italian TV, and presented "[[Zum zum zum (song)|Zum zum zum]]" on the spring 1967 variety series ''Sabato sera'', accompanied by the [[NATO]] naval band. The series also included "La coppia più bella del mondo" ("The Most Beautiful Couple in the World"), a duet with [[Adriano Celentano]]. The title of the song "[[Sono come tu mi vuoi]]" ("I Am, as You Want Me to Be") was taken from [[Luigi Pirandello]]'s play ''[[:it:Come tu mi vuoi|Come tu mi vuoi]]''. The lyrics talk about the manic attention of the press on an artist's private life.<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/s/sono_come_tu_mi_vuoi.htm Sono come tu mi vuoi] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> Another hit from ''Sabato sera'' was "[[L'immensità]]" ("Immensity"), which was re-scored by [[Augusto Martelli]] and released as "La inmensidad" in Spain and Latin American countries.<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/i/immensita.htm L'immensità]. Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref>

RAI broadcast the third episode of ''[[Senza Rete]]'' ("Without Safety Net") live on 18 July 1968 from the Auditorio A of the corporation's regional headquarters in [[Naples]].<ref>[http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=127 Senza rete] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714094847/http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=127 |date=14 July 2011 }} Minamazzini.com site. In Italian. Retrieved 30 July 2010</ref> The program presented Mina's homage to [[Luigi Tenco]], who had recently died. She turned his song "Se stasera sono qui" ("If I Stay Here Tonight") into a rigorous piece of [[soul music]]<ref name="Se stasera sono qui">[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/s/se_stasera_sono_qui.htm Se stasera sono qui] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 31 July 2010</ref> in the score of [[Pino Calvi]]. She celebrated the 10th anniversary of her career with a concert at La Bussola, backed by the Orchestra Augusto Martelli.<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/Mina-Mina-Alla-Bussola-Dal-Vivo/release/1353630 Mina Alla Bussola Dal Vivo] discogs. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> The concert was recorded and issued as ''[[Mina alla Bussola dal vivo]]''.<ref>[http://www.archivio.raiuno.rai.it/schede/9025/902537.htm Mina] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623021519/http://www.archivio.raiuno.rai.it/schede/9025/902537.htm |date=23 June 2007 }}. Archivo RAI Uno site. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref>

''[[:it:Canzonissima 1968|Canzonissima 1968]]'' was a Saturday night prime-time variety show that aired on [[Rai Uno]] from September 1968 to January 1969. It was hosted by Mina, [[Walter Chiari]] and [[Paolo Panelli]].<ref name="Zum zum zum">[http://www.galleriadellacanzone.it/canzoni/anni60/schede/zumzum/zumzum.htm Zum zum zum] Galleria della canzone. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref> The orchestrations were scored by the conductors Bruno Canfora and Augusto Martelli. "Sacumdì Sacumdà", Mina's talking and laughing version of Carlos Imperial's [[bossa nova]] "Nem Vem Que Não Tem", narrowly escaped a ban by RAI because of its irreverent lyrics. The song was performed as part of a musical fantasy, back to back with "Quelli che hanno un cuore", her intense version of "[[Anyone Who Had a Heart (song)|Anyone Who Had a Heart]]".<ref name="Settimana 20 Dicembre 1968">[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/voli/articoli/ch681220.htm Settimana 20 Dicembre 1968] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> Another interpretation of a [[Dionne Warwick]] song was "La voce del silenzio" ("Silent Voices") by Paolo Limiti and Elio Isola, presented in a live session during the show.<ref name="Mina. Biografia"/> "Niente di niente" ("Nothing at All") was her version of [[the Delfonics]]' "Break Your Promise". The series also included the songs "Fantasia", "La musica è finita" ("The Music is Over") and the elegant "Un colpo al cuore" ("Heart Attack"). "Un colpo al cuore" ended up as No. 68 on the best-selling singles chart for that year in Italy.<ref name="annual1968">{{cite web|url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1968.htm|title=I singoli più venduti del 1968 (Biggest-selling singles of 1968)|publisher=Hit Parade Italia|access-date=25 May 2010|language=it}}</ref> Each show was closed by Mina singing "[[Vorrei che fosse amore]]" ("Wish It Was Love"), a piece of atmospheric music by [[Bruno Canfora]] that was No. 50 on the best-selling singles chart for 1968 in Italy.<ref name=annual1968/> A selection of songs from the series were issued as the album ''[[Canzonissima '68]]''.<ref name="Settimana 20 Dicembre 1968"/>

===Mogol–Battisti (1969–1973)=== [[File:Anna Maria Mazzini (1972).jpg|thumb|200px|Mina on the ''Teatro 10'' television programme in 1972]] After a break of three months, Mina returned and recorded the song "[[Non credere]]" ("Disbelieve"), composed by Luigi Clausetti and [[Pietro Soffici]], with lyrics by [[Mogol (lyricist)|Mogol]], in April.<ref>[http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=145 A che gioco giochiamo] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714094919/http://minamazzini.com/televisione/puntata.php?ce=145 |date=14 July 2011 }} Minamazzini.com. In Italian. Retrieved 30 July 2010</ref> The single became the third biggest-selling record of the year in Italy.<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1969.htm I singoli più venduti del 1969]. Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> Mogol and his fellow composer [[Lucio Battisti]], along with the [[Premiata Forneria Marconi]] on backup instrumentals, worked with Mina on several songs as a result of the success of "Non credere". The team produced a set of songs including "[[Io e te da soli]]" ("You and Me Alone"), "[[Insieme (song)|Insieme]]" ("Together"), "[[Amor mio (song)|Amor mio]]" ("Love of Mine"), "Io vivrò senza te" ("I'll Live without You").<ref name=decoder/><ref name=frieze>{{cite journal|url= http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/jaki_irvine/|title= Jaki Irvine|journal= [[Frieze magazine|frieze]]|volume= 56|year= 2001|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081122164251/http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/jaki_irvine/|archive-date= 22 November 2008|df= dmy-all}}</ref> " One of the first introductions of the new repertoire was the ''Senza Rete'' live televised concert from the Auditorio A in Naples on 20 January 1970. The material provided by Mogol–Battisti was the core for five albums. Among them, ''[[...bugiardo più che mai... più incosciente che mai...]]'' was Mina's first independent album to reach No. 1 of the weekly Italian charts and was the biggest-selling album of 1969 in Italy. ''[[...quando tu mi spiavi in cima a un batticuore...]]'' was seventh on the annual record chart of 1970. ''[[Del mio meglio]]...'' (''My Best...'') was second in 1971. ''[[Mina (1971 album)|Mina]]'' was the biggest seller of 1972. The latter two albums were recorded during a break from live performances to give birth to her daughter Benedetta.

Mina's comeback took place at RAI's variety series ''Teatro 10'' in the spring of 1972. One of the highlights of the series was a selection of Battisti's songs performed in duet with the composer. The shows also included "Balada para mi muerte" ("Ode to My Death"), a [[nuevo tango]] duet with [[Astor Piazzolla]] at the [[bandoneón]], backed by the Argentinian group [[Conjunto 9]]. "[[Grande grande grande]]", arranged by [[Pino Presti]],<ref>''Mina – I mille volti di una voce'' by Romy Padovano (Arnoldo Mondadori 1998)</ref> was the second biggest-selling single of the year in Italy. The successes pushed Enrico Riccardi to take inspiration from Battisti's style in Riccardi's composition "[[Fiume azzurro]]", which earned another place in the top 100 of annual record sales in Italy.<ref name=azzurro>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/f/fiume_azzurro.htm Fiume azzurro] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref>

The final number of the eight ''Teatro 10'' episodes was "[[Parole parole]]" ("Words Words"), a duet with [[Alberto Lupo]]. The song is an [[easy listening]] dialogue between Mina's singing and Lupo's declamation. The lyrics' theme is hollow words. These intertwine the lady's lamentation of the end of love and the lies she has to hear with the male protagonist's recitation. In the dialogue she scoffs at the compliments he gives her, calling them ''parole'' – just words. The single was released in April 1972 and topped the Italian charts. It was covered by numerous Italian and French duets.<ref name=parole>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/p/parole_parole.htm Parole parole] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref>

Mina said she would be retiring from public appearances after an exclusive concert at the La Bussola Club on 16 September. Thousands of people turned up at the nightclub's doorstep.<ref>[http://www.minamazzini.com/cronache/?dec=70&id=364 Mina e l'orchestra live '72] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507213141/http://www.minamazzini.com/cronache/?dec=70&id=364 |date=7 May 2007 }} Lele Cerri. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref><ref name="Settimana 13 Ottobre 1972">[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/voli/articoli/ch721001.htm Settimana 13 Ottobre 1972] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. Retrieved 31 July 2010</ref><ref name="La Bussola">[http://www.galleriadellacanzone.it/storie/luoghi/bussola/bussola.htm La Bussola] Galleriadellacanzone.it. In Italian. Retrieved 1 September 2007</ref> [[Gianni Ferrio]]'s Orchestra featured [[Gianni Basso]] on tenor saxophone and [[Oscar Valdambrini]] on trumpet.<ref name="Settimana 13 Ottobre 1972"/>

[[File:Mina Carrà 1974.jpg|thumb|200px|Mina with [[Raffaella Carrà]] on ''Milleluci'', 1974]] Mina lost her husband Virgilio Crocco in a car accident in 1973. She continued her career with the top Italian chart hits "[[E poi...]]" ("And Then...") and "[[L'importante è finire]]" ("It's Important to Finish"). She recorded the theme song "Fa presto, fa piano" ("Works Quickly, Works Quietly") for the film ''[[The Gamecock (film)|La sculacciata]]'', issued in 1974.

===Since 1974=== {{BLP sources|section|date=March 2020}} Mina's last live TV appearance was the final episode of the ''Milleluci'' series on 16 March 1974. Mina was the hostess of the series alongside [[Raffaella Carrà]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Feroldi|first=Giorgia|url=https://www.vogue.it/article/stile-di-mina-foto-inedite|title=Mina regina di stile: 85 anni di regole sovvertite, nella musica come nella moda|language=it|magazine=Vogue Italy|date=25 March 2020}}</ref> During the series, she explored different musical styles in the songs "[[Everything's Alright (Jesus Christ Superstar song)|Everything's Alright]]", "[[Mack the Knife]]", "[[Night and Day (song)|Night and Day]]", and "[[Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)]]". After "[[Non gioco più]]" ("The Game Is Over"), a blues duet with the [[harmonica]] player [[Toots Thielemans]], Mina announced her withdrawal from public performances.<ref>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/n/non_gioco_piu.htm Non gioco piu] Hit Parade Italia. In Italian. 25 May 2010</ref>

Her last appearance on TV was her performance of "[[Ancora ancora ancora]]". The video was the final number of the "Mille e una luce" show on 1 July 1978.<ref name="Ancora ancora ancora">[http://www.galleriadellacanzone.it/canzoni/anni70/schede/ancora/ancora.htm Ancora ancora ancora] Galleria della canzone. In Italian. Retrieved 28 June 2007</ref> Her last concert appearances, a series of thirteen fully booked concerts at La Bussola in 1978, were cut short due to her illness.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cicala|first=Marco|url=https://www.repubblica.it/venerdi/2018/08/14/news/copertina_40_estati_fa-300771086/|title=Quaranta estati fa, l'ultimo concerto di Mina|newspaper=La Repubblica|language=it|date=14 August 2018}}</ref> Mina gave her last public performance on 23 August 1978 at the Bussoladomani theatre. It was recorded and issued as ''[[Mina Live '78]]''.<ref name="Ancora ancora ancora"/>

[[File:Mina & Pino Presti Orchestra.png|thumb|left|320px|Mina backed by the orchestra conducted by bassist/arranger [[Pino Presti]] on the occasion of her last public performances at the Bussoladomani Theatre in 1978]] Mina continued to release albums on a yearly basis with her son [[Massimiliano Pani]] as the producer. Between 1972 and 1995, she published a double album each year. From 1973, her LPs and CDs have been characterized by artistic motifs of the designers Luciano Tallarini, Gianni Ronco and the photographer Mauro Balletti. From the mid-1980s, the design of the album covers was trusted to Balletti alone. All of Mina's records under the PDU label have reached the Italian Top 100. A large part of her work has consisted of covering well-known songs; she has dedicated tribute albums to [[The Beatles]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Renato Zero]], [[Domenico Modugno]], [[Lucio Battisti]], [[Enzo Jannacci]], the [[Napoli (album)|Neapolitan song]], and [[sacred music]]. Starting in 1989, all of her records included the jazzy piano playing of [[Danilo Rea]].

After leaving the stage, her greatest chart successes have been duets. In 1985, "[[Questione di feeling]]", a duet with [[Riccardo Cocciante]], was the 13th biggest-selling single of the year in Italy and became an evergreen (as a hit song is called in Europe). The duet album ''[[Mina Celentano]]'', recorded with Celentano, was the biggest-selling album of 1998 in Italy. The break in Mina's TV appearances lasted until 2001 when she released footage of her recording sessions. The videos were broadcast over the [[Wind Telecomunicazioni|Wind]] internet site on 30 March. This resulted in millions of visits to the site on that night, and additional millions on the following days. The footage was released as the DVD ''Mina in Studio''.

After that event, Mina's singles started to chart in Italy again. The track "Succhiando l'uva" (2002), written for her by [[Zucchero]], peaked at No. 3 on the chart. Mina's cover of "Don't call me baby [[Can't Take My Eyes Off You|(Can't take my eyes off you)]]" (2003) reached No. 4 in Italy. The single "Alibi" (2007) reached No. 6 in Italy. The triple CD ''[[The Platinum Collection (Mina album)|The Platinum Collection]]'' reached No. 1 on the Italian charts. So did ''[[Olio (Mina album)|Olio]]'' (1999), ''[[Veleno (Mina album)|Veleno]]'' (2002), ''[[Bula Bula]]'' (2005), ''[[Todavía (album)|Todavía]]'' (2007), ''[[Le migliori]]'' (2016) and ''[[Maeba]]'' (2018). Mina's later releases included duets with [[Mick Hucknall]], [[Fabrizio De André]], [[Piero Pelù]], Celentano, [[Lucio Dalla]], [[Joan Manuel Serrat]], [[Chico Buarque]], [[Miguel Bosé]], [[Tiziano Ferro]], [[Giorgia Todrani|Giorgia]] and [[Seal (singer)|Seal]]. In recent years, Mina has been writing a weekly column on the front page of ''[[La Stampa]]'' (from 2000 until 2011) and a page in the Italian edition of the magazine ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', where she answered fan letters (from 2003 until 2015).<ref name=wong/>

Mina continues to publish [[Gold Record|gold]] selling albums to the present. She alternates pop albums with jazz-arranged projects and other styles and keeps surprising with new musical collaborations. Meanwhile, her voice and songs are omnipresent in radio and TV commercials, theme tunes of sports programs, talent shows (where they sing classics), tribute shows, new covers, and even as samples in the recordings of other artists (for example rapper Mondo Marcio). Although not appearing live, she opened and closed the 2009 national [[Sanremo Music Festival]] with her version of the Puccini opera aria "[[Nessun dorma]]". Her voice was also present, singing a cover in videos by main sponsor TIM, at the Festival editions of 2017 and 2018. The latter year, on the final night, a digitized version of Mina was shown performing [[Another Day of Sun]], a cover of the song from the La La Land musical soundtrack, as a three-dimensional hologram of spaceship commander Mina, being projected onto the Ariston festival stage.

In 2016, there was quite a hype about a second album of Mina and Celentano together: ''[[Le Migliori (album)|Le Migliori]]''. It became the best-selling album of the year in Italy. In 2018, Mina's new album ''MAEBA'' in 2018 debuted again at the Number 1 spot of the Italian albums and vinyls hitparade.

In 2023, a duet of [[Blanco (singer)|Blanco]] and Mina, "Un briciolo di allegria", made number 1 in the Italian hitparade for 5 consecutive weeks.

On 20 April 2024, the triple live album ''Mina Live at the Bussola 1968-1978'' was packaged and released by [[Warner Music Italy]], consisting of a limited and numbered edition box containing the 4 LPs recorded live by Mina, the only live performances of her career, realized at the Bussola in [[Marina di Pietrasanta]] in the years 1968 (''[[Mina alla Bussola dal vivo]]'') 1972 (''[[Dalla Bussola]]'') and 1978 (''[[Mina Live '78]]'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.exitmusic.it/prodotto/mina-live-alla-bussola-1968-1978-box-4-x-vinili-lp-limited-edt-rsd-2024/|title=Mina Live Alla Bussola 1968-1978 Box 4 x Vinili Lp Limited Edt. RSD 2024 |website=Exitmusic.it|date=19 March 2024|access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

==Musical style and public image== [[File:Mina at the 1960 Sanremo Music Festival.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Mina at the [[Sanremo Music Festival 1960]]]] ===Voice=== Mina is a soprano with great agility and a range of three octaves.<ref name=carrera/><ref name=callas>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdls.sm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=32:approfondimenti&id=3478:mina-una-stella-come-la-callas|author=Rina Gagliardi|title=Mina, una stella come la Callas|language=it|publisher=Confederazione Democratica Lavoratori Sammarinesi|date=24 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719060122/http://www.cdls.sm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=32:approfondimenti&id=3478:mina-una-stella-come-la-callas|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> Swingy and anti-melodic in her early years ("Tintarella di luna", 1959), her singing later acquired high dramatic tones.<ref name=carrera/> [[Louis Armstrong]] famously declared her to be "the greatest white singer in the world".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Franco Fabbri, Goffredo Plastino|title=Made in Italy: Studies in Popular Music|date=30 October 2013|publisher=Routledge, 2013|isbn=978-1136585548|page=169}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Emiliano Liuzzi|title=Mina, auguri alla "più grande cantante bianca del mondo" che fece 'innamorare' Armstrong e De Andrè|url=http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/03/24/mina-auguri-grande-cantante-bianca-mondo-musica-nel-dna-talento-conoscere-prima-sapere/1533125/|access-date=30 September 2016|work=[[Il Fatto Quotidiano]]|date=24 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pop diva Mina finds mystery songwriters|url=http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2011/10/21/visualizza_new.html_669595669.html|access-date=30 September 2016|work=[[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|Ansa]]|date=21 October 2011}}</ref>

===Queen of Screamers=== Caught up in the wave of rock and roll sweeping across Italy in 1958, Mina listened to American records,<ref name=toscana>{{cite web|url=http://www.toscanamusiche.it/annidimusica.php?mod=annidimusica_anni60|archive-date=22 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722055544/http://www.toscanamusiche.it/annidimusica.php?mod=annidimusica_anni60|title= Senti questa chitarra... Gli Anni '60|publisher=Toscana musiche|access-date=25 May 2010|language=it}}</ref> and she was a frequent visitor at the [[Derby Club]],<ref>[http://www.milanometropoli.com/STORIAMILANO/cabaret.htm Il Cabaret a Milano] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620062554/http://www.milanometropoli.com/STORIAMILANO/cabaret.htm |date=20 June 2014 }} Milano Metropoli. In Italian. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> the Santa Tecla, and the Taverna Messicana clubs of Milan, which promoted rock and roll music.<ref name=toscana/> Mina's repertoire at the beginning of her career included clumsy imitations of British and American rock and jazz songs, while her extra-loud and syncopated version of the song "Nessuno" showcased her excellent sense of rhythm.<ref name=wong/><ref name="P.Belluso-F 1983, p.12"/> Earlier in 1958, [[Domenico Modugno]] had caused astonishment by raising his hands in the air during his performance of "[[Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song)|Nel blu dipinto di blu]]" ("Volare"). In Mina's first TV appearances, she further broke with tradition by shaking her head, hands, and hips to the rhythm.<ref name=feminista/><ref name=wong/> The writer [[Edoardo Sanguineti]] recalled the Italian public's first encounter with the enthusiastic singer as "for many people a memorable experience, ... a revelation."<ref name="Nessuno. In TV esplode Mina"/> TV host [[Mario Riva]] named her one of the {{lang|it|{{ill|urlatori|it}}}} ("screamers"),<ref name=canzone>[http://www.galleriadellacanzone.it/canzoni/anni60/schede/coriandoli/coriandoli.htm Coriandoli]. Galleria della canzone. In Italian. Retrieved 27 June 2007</ref><ref name=tintarella>[http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/t/tintarella_di_luna.htm Tintarella di Luna] Hit Parade Italia</ref> for her distinctive [[timbre]] and power. Later, the public called Mina "the Queen of Screamers".<ref name=cool/><ref name=wong/> Her extravagant gestures earned her another nickname – "the Tigress of Cremona" ({{lang|it|la Tigre di Cremona}}).<ref>Marcello Bufacchi, Mina 1958–2005 Ancora insieme, [[Editori Riuniti]] 2005, p.13. In Italian</ref><ref name=coverme/>

===Grown up=== [[File:Mina Lelio Luttazzi.jpg|thumb|200px|Mina with [[Lelio Luttazzi]] in 1969]] Mina introduced her new sensual manner<ref name="Mina nuova maniera"/> in her presentation of the ballad "Il cielo in una stanza" in 1960.<ref name="Il cielo in una stanza"/> Three years later, her love affair with Corrado Pani challenged the moral foundations of Italy, a country where divorce was illegal and single motherhood was considered shameful. Thus, her non-conformist choices represented the emancipation of women in Italy, which did not accord with the dominant Catholic and bourgeois virtues prevalent at the time.<ref name=feminista>{{cite news|title=Mina, la prima femminista (anche se non lo sapeva)|trans-title=Mina, the first feminist (although she didn't know that)|language=it|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2010/marzo/26/Mina_prima_femminista_anche_non_co_8_100326047.shtml|newspaper=Corriere della Sera|author=Maria Luisa Agnese|page=36|date=26 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917000859/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2010/marzo/26/Mina_prima_femminista_anche_non_co_8_100326047.shtml|archive-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> The subsequent ban from performing on Italian TV and radio channels further developed Mina's image as an independent bad girl,<ref name=feminista/><ref name=cool>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501210836/http://www.catalog-of-cool.com/newdigssounds.html|url=http://www.catalog-of-cool.com/newdigssounds.html|title=Sounds: New Digs. Catalog of Cool|archive-date=1 May 2008 }}</ref> which she emphasized with her choice of song themes.<ref name=wong/> An example was her performance of "Sacumdì Sacumdà" on air after RAI had expressed their displeasure with the song's lyrics about a girl's encounter with the Devil.<ref name="Settimana 20 Dicembre 1968"/> Other songs that RAI initially banned as immoral were "Ta-ra-ta-ta" (dealing forthrightly with smoking),<ref name="Mina - Fumo blu Ta ra ta ta ta ta">[http://www.musicaememoria.com/mina_fumo_blu.htm Mina - Fumo blu (Ta ra ta ta ta ta)] Musica e memoria. In Italian. Retrieved 21 January 2008</ref> "La canzone di Marinella", and "[[L'importante è finire]]" (alluding to sex without love).<ref name="La RAI e le canzoni oscurate">[http://musicaememoria.altervista.org/la_rai_e_le_canzoni.htm La RAI e le canzoni "oscurate"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501023118/http://musicaememoria.altervista.org/la_rai_e_le_canzoni.htm |date=1 May 2008 }} Musica e memoria. In Italian. Retrieved 21 January 2007</ref> Mina's cool act<ref name=cool/> featured sex appeal, public smoking,<ref name="Mina - Fumo blu Ta ra ta ta ta ta"/> dyed blonde hair, shaved eyebrows, and heavy use of eye make-up.<ref name=wong/>

The main themes of Mina's songs were distressing love stories.<ref name=wong>{{cite web|last=Wong|first=Theresa|title=Here's Mina for you|url=http://www.artpractical.com/feature/heres_mina_for_you/|publisher=Art Practical|date=11 April 2010|access-date=30 July 2010|archive-date=30 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330062915/http://www.artpractical.com/feature/heres_mina_for_you/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her style was to interpret them in a highly dramatic way by using gestures and body language to bring the story alive.<ref name="Settimana 20 Dicembre 1968"/> Mina's performance was typically characterised by expressive intensity, subtle variations, and original phrasing.<ref name=callas/> The music critic Gherardo Gentili has noted her interpretive skills as such: "By Mina, a word became the word, a note became the note."<ref>Antonella Giola, Daniela Teruzzi, Gherardo Gentili (1997). Mina – I miti (in Italian). Arnoldo Mondadori.</ref>

To demonstrate Mina's vocal range, the composer [[Bruno Canfora]] penned the song "[[Brava (song)|Brava]]", and [[Ennio Morricone]] wrote "[[Se telefonando]]" with numerous transitions of tonality.<ref name=cool/><ref name=telefonando/> More songs were composed exclusively for Mina and arranged for RAI's all-star orchestras for performance on the TV variety series ''[[Studio Uno (TV series)|Studio Uno]]'', ''Sabato sera'', ''[[Canzonissima]]'' and ''[[:it:Teatro 10|Teatro 10]]''. Mina (alongside [[Carmen Villani]]) pioneered by combining classic Italian pop and swing music with features of blues, R&B and soul music, particularly in the songs "Se stasera sono qui" and "Deborah".<ref name="Se stasera sono qui"/> She helped to incorporate new styles into Italian pop music, including [[nuevo tango]], as seen in her duet "Balada para mi muerte" with [[Astor Piazzolla]].{{cn|date=March 2020}}

===Mogol–Battisti=== [[File:Mina Battisti Teatro 10 1972.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mina and [[Lucio Battisti]], 1972]] When she altered her musical style in 1969, Mina changed her hairdo from short and straight to long blonde curls, and started to wear a black minidress. Mogol's and Lucio Battisti's first songs, particularly "Insieme" and "Io e te da soli",<ref name=ioete>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/schede/i/io_e_te_da_soli.htm |title=Io e te da soli|publisher= Hit Parade Italia|language=it|access-date=31 July 2010}}</ref> showcased Mina's blues and soul skills. Around the time of their collaboration, Mina turned toward middle-of-the-road pop.<ref name=cool/> Battisti's melodies were sophisticated and had a complex chord sequence. The songs were characterized by frequent changes of rhythm, pauses, and dialogues between the voice and the orchestra.<ref name=azzurro/> Another characterizing feature was an instrumental introduction without a rhythmic base.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

===Mina Latina=== A fan of [[bossa nova]], Mina recorded in Spanish and Portuguese from the start of her career and currently enjoys a fan base in Spain and Latin America. The Spanish director [[Pedro Almodóvar]] has used Mina's songs in his movie soundtracks. In 2001, Mina published the compilation album ''Colección Latina''. It includes standards in Spanish, as well as Spanish covers of her originals. In 2003, the musical ''Mina... che cosa sei?'' based on Mina's songs was staged in Argentina, starring [[Elena Roger]]. It was nominated for four ''[[:es:Premios ACE (Argentina)|Premios ACE]]'' in 2003 and 2004, among them ''Best Musical'', and won the ''[[:es:Premios Clarín|Premio Clarín]]'' for Best Musical.<ref name=sei>{{cite web|url=http://www.alternativateatral.com/obra3173-mina-che-cosa-sei |publisher=Alternativoteatral |title=Mina...che cosa sei?!? |language=es |access-date=5 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707120358/http://www.alternativateatral.com/obra3173-mina-che-cosa-sei |archive-date=7 July 2011 }}</ref> In 2007, Mina published ''[[Todavía (album)|Todavía]]'', an album in Spanish and Portuguese, which reached No. 36 on the Spanish charts and No. 1 on the Italian charts.<ref>[http://spanishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Mina&titel=Todav%EDa&cat=a Mina. Todavia (album)] Spanish charts. In Spanish. Retrieved 31 July 2010</ref> It included duets with [[Joan Manuel Serrat]], [[Miguel Bosé]], [[Diego Torres (singer)|Diego Torres]], [[Chico Buarque]], and [[Diego El Cigala]].{{cn|date=March 2020}}

==Collaborations== ===Collaborations with arrangers=== * {{hlist|[[Tony De Vita]]{{snd}}"[[Tintarella di luna]]"|"Piano"|"[[Il cielo in una stanza (song)|Il cielo in una stanza]]"}} * [[Ennio Morricone]]{{snd}}"[[Se telefonando]]" * {{hlist|[[Bruno Canfora]]{{snd}}"[[Vorrei che fosse amore]]"|"[[Brava (song)|Brava]]"|"[[Sono come tu mi vuoi]]"}} * {{hlist|[[Augusto Martelli]]{{snd}}"[[E se domani]]"|"[[Un anno d'amore]]"|"[[Non credere]]"|several albums}} * [[Detto Mariano]]{{snd}}"[[Insieme (song)|Insieme]]" * {{hlist|[[Gianpiero Reverberi]]{{snd}}"[[Amor mio (song)|Amor mio]]"|"[[Io e te da soli]]"}} * {{hlist|[[Gianni Ferrio]]{{snd}}"[[Parole parole]]"|"[[Non gioco più]]"|several albums}} * {{hlist|[[Pino Presti]]{{snd}}"[[Grande grande grande]]"|"E poi"|"[[L'importante è finire]]"|"[[Fiume azzurro]]"|"[[E penso a te]]"|several albums}} * Alberto Nicorelli{{snd}}"[[Ancora ancora ancora]]" * [[Paul Buckmaster]]{{snd}}"[[Questione di feeling]]" * {{hlist|[[Massimiliano Pani]]{{snd}}"[[Acqua e sale]]"|"Brivido felino"}}

===Collaborations with other performers=== [[File:Mina and Giorgio Gaber color.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Mina duetting with Giorgio Gaber in 1972]] [[File:Duetto Mina - Battisti - 2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Mina duetting with Lucio Battisti in 1972]] * With Adriano Celentano: {{hlist|"[[Acqua e sale]]"|"Amami amami"|"A un passo da te"|"Brivido felino"|"Che t'aggia di{{'"}}|"Come un diamante nascosto nella neve"|"Dolce fuoco dell'amore"|"E l'amore"|"Io non volevo"|"Ma che ci faccio ancora qui"|"Messaggio d'amore"|"Non mi ami"|"[[Prisencolinensinainciusol]]"|"Se mi ami davvero"|"Sempre sempre sempre"|"Sono le tre"|"Specchi riflessi"|"Ti lascio amore"}} * With [[Alberto Lupo]]: "[[Parole parole]]" * With [[Alberto Sordi]]: "Fumo di Londra" * With [[Andrea Mingardi]]: {{hlist|"Datemi della musica"|"Mogol Battisti"}} * With Ángel "Pato" García: "Contigo en la distancia" * With [[Astor Piazzolla]]: "Balada para mi muerte" * With [[Audio 2]]: {{hlist|"Dentro ad ogni cosa"|"Rotola la vita"}} * With [[:it:Benedetta Mazzini|Benedetta Mazzini]]: "More than Words" * With [[Beppe Grillo]]: "Dottore" * With [[Enzo Jannacci]]: "E l'era tardi" * With [[Fabrizio De André]]: "La canzone di Marinella" * With [[Fausto Leali]]: {{hlist|"Via di qua"|"A chi mi dice"}} * With [[Fred Bongusto]]: {{hlist|"Non ci lasceremo mai"|"Frida"|"Sei proprio tu"|"Doce doce"|"A Detroit" (medley)}} * With [[Gianni Morandi]]: {{hlist|"Reggio Emilia"|"Meglio sarebbe"|"L'uva fogarina (Teresina imbriaguna)"|"Come porti i capelli bella bionda" (medley)}} * With [[Giorgio Gaber]]: {{hlist|"Porta Romana"|"La ballata del Cerutti"|"Trani a gogò"|"Barbera e champagne"|"Il Riccardo" (medley)}} * With [[Johnny Dorelli]] and [[Renato Carosone]]: {{hlist|"Scapricciatiello"|"Pigliate 'na pasticca"|"Pasqualino marajà"|{{"'}}Na voce e 'na chitarra" (medley)}} * With [[Lelio Luttazzi]]: "Chi mai sei tu" * With [[Lucio Battisti]]: {{hlist|"[[Insieme (song)|Insieme]]"|"[[Mi ritorni in mente]]"|"Il tempo di morire"|"[[E penso a te]]"|"[[Io e te da soli]]"|"Eppur mi son scordato di te"|"[[Emozioni (song)|Emozioni]]" (medley)}} * With [[Lucio Dalla]]: "Amore disperato" * With [[Massimiliano Pani]]: {{hlist|"Come stai"|"[[If I Fell]]"}} * With [[Massimo Lopez]]: "Noi" * With [[Mick Hucknall]]: "Someday in My Life" * With [[Miguel Bosé]]: "[[Acqua e sale|Agua y sal]]" * With [[Milva]]: {{hlist|"[[Motherless Child]]"|"Non arrenderti uomo"}} * With [[Mónica Naranjo]]: "Él se encuentra entre tú y yo" * With [[Piero Pelù]]: "Stay with Me" * With [[Renato Zero]]: {{hlist|"Neri"|"Tutti gli zeri del mondo"}} * With [[Riccardo Cocciante]]: {{hlist|"Amore" (from ''[[Un uomo felice]]'')|"[[Bella senz'anima]]"|"[[Questione di feeling]]"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Putti|first=Laura|title=COCCIANTE CANTA LA ' DOPPIA VITA' DI UN UOMO FELICE|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/11/21/cocciante-canta-la-doppia-vita-di.html|website=la Repubblica|date=21 November 1994 }}</ref>}} * With [[Seal (musician)|Seal]]: "You Get Me" * With [[Toots Thielemans]]: "[[Non gioco più]]" * With Voci Atroci: "Suona ancora"

===Legacy=== Mina has scored [[Mina discography|77 albums and 71 singles]] on the Italian charts.<ref name=singles/><ref name=album/> She is the only artist to land an album at the top of the Italian charts in each of the six decades from the start of record keeping in 1965. She released an album every year during 1958–2003, and continues to release new albums and singles.

President [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]] presented her with the Second Class of the [[Italian Order of Merit]] on 1 June 2001.<ref name="quirinale.it">[http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/ex-presidenti/Ciampi/dinamico/comunicato.asp?id=15010 Communication of President of the Italian Republic] 1 June 2001. In Italian</ref>

British singer [[Dusty Springfield]] referenced Mina in performance.<ref name=queen>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D2mCQpLstCkC&pg=PA190 |title=Dusty!: Queen of the postmods|author=Annie Janeiro Randall|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2009|isbn=9780199716302}}</ref>

A number of Mina's songs were turned into hits by singers in other languages:

* The first of these was "Piano", scored by [[Matt Monro]] as "[[Softly, as I Leave You (song)|Softly, as I Leave You]]", which reached No. 10 in the [[UK Top 40]]. In 1964, the song reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the version by [[Frank Sinatra]]. * "[[Se telefonando]]" was covered by several performers in Italy and abroad, most notably by [[Françoise Hardy]]<ref name=cool/> and [[Iva Zanicchi]] (1966), [[Delta-V (musical group)| Delta V]] (2005), [[Vanessa and the O's]] (2007), and [[Neil Hannon]] (2008).<ref>[http://mon-amie-hardy-rose.nice-topic.com/Reprises-de-Se-telefonando-h63.htm Se telefonando] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714180742/http://mon-amie-hardy-rose.nice-topic.com/Reprises-de-Se-telefonando-h63.htm |date=14 July 2011 }} ''Françoise Hardy - Mon amie la rose'' site. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref> * "[[Grande grande grande]]", recorded by [[Shirley Bassey]] as "''Never Never Never''" in 1973, reached the Billboard Hot 100, UK Top 10, No. 1 of the Australian charts, No. 2 in [[South Africa]] and No. 3 in [[Singapore]].<ref>[http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1973/top1973.html '73 - The Hits] Go-Set Australian Charts. Retrieved 25 May 2010</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Billboard Hits of the World | year= 1973 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GgkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Shirley+Bassey%22&pg=PA83 | access-date =19 October 2009}}</ref> <br>[[Celine Dion]] with [[Luciano Pavarotti]] also recorded a version of the song in 1997 (Released as "I Hate You Then I Love You"). * A year later, [[Dalida]] and [[Alain Delon]] recorded "[[Paroles, paroles]]", the French version of "[[Parole parole]]" and made it an international hit. It became one of the most recognizable French songs in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|last=à 09h07|first=Par Sébastian Compagnon Le 11 janvier 2017|date=2017-01-11|title=VIDEOS. La légende de Dalida en 10 chansons|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/laparisienne/people/videos-la-legende-de-dalida-en-10-chansons-09-01-2017-6545292.php|access-date=2021-06-19|website=leparisien.fr|language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=magazine|first=Le Point|date=2013-10-22|title=VIDÉOS. Le compositeur de "Parole, Parole" est mort|url=https://www.lepoint.fr/musique/videos-le-compositeur-de-parole-parole-est-mort-22-10-2013-1746614_38.php|access-date=2021-06-19|website=Le Point|language=fr}}</ref> * Mexican icon [[José José]] recorded the Spanish version of the hit "Sono, come tu mi vuoi", entitled "Soy como quieras tú". * English musician [[Elvis Costello]] used a sample from Mina's "Un bacio è troppo poco" on his album ''[[When I Was Cruel]]''. * [[Tanita Tikaram]] covered Mina's "[[And I Think of You - E penso a te]]" in English as a track on the album ''[[The Best of Tanita Tikaram]]''. * Turkish singer [[Ajda Pekkan]] has covered more than a dozen of Mina songs. * In 2010, [[Chicago]] band La Scala released a rock cover of her hit "Tu Farai" with Gretta Rochelle on vocals.<ref name=coverme>[http://www.covermesongs.com/2010/08/la-scala-ft-gretta-rochelle-tu-farai.html Song of the Day: La Scala ft. Gretta Rochelle, "Tu Farai" (Mina cover)] Cover Me. Retrieved 23 August 2010</ref> * Spanish artist [[Mónica Naranjo]] recorded the album ''[[Minage]]'' with Mina's covers in Spanish, published on 20 March 1999. The tracks included "Ancora, ancora, ancora", "Io é te da soli", "Fiume azzurro" (as "Sobreviviré") and "[[L'immensità]]". Mina collaborated with the album recording the duet "Él se encuentra entre tú y yo" ("He is between you and me"). * Irish dance music artist [[Róisín Murphy]] covered Mina's ″[[Non credere]]″ and ′[[Ancora, ancora, ancora]]″ (remixed into extended tracks by UK and Italian DJs) in her 2014 EP "[[Mi Senti]]", a reinterpretation of pop classic hits by various Italian music artists.

To celebrate Mina's 70th anniversary, the ''[[la Repubblica]]'' newspaper held a reader's poll to pick Mina's best song of all time. In a vote of 30,000 participants, "[[Se telefonando]]" emerged at the top of the list.<ref name=beatles>{{in lang|it}} {{cite news |url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli-e-cultura/2010/03/25/news/mina-pani-2888803/ |title=E Mamma Mina cestinò i complimenti dei Beatles|newspaper=[[La Repubblica]]|author=Gino Castaldo|date=25 March 2010|language=it}}</ref>

== Awards, nominations, honours and records == {{BLP sources|section|date=March 2020}} '''1958''' * Nomination and performance at ''Sei giorni della canzone'' with "Proteggimi" **Second place<ref>{{cite news|date=9 December 1958|title=Trionfante finale della sei giorni|language=it|work=Corriere Lombardo}}</ref>

'''1959''' * Nomination and performance at ''[[Canzonissima]]'' with "Nessuno" and "Tua"<ref name="biografia1">{{cite web|url=https://www.rockol.it/artista/mina/biografia|title=Mina - Biografia|date=23 March 2018|website=Rockol.it|access-date=June 28, 2022}}</ref> * ''Juke Box d'oro'' Award<ref name="biografia1" /> * ''Microfono d'oro'' Award<ref name="biografia1" />

'''1960''' * Nomination and performance at the ''[[Sanremo Music Festival]]'' with "Non sei felice" and "E' vero" **Seventh place * Nomination and performance at ''Canzonissima'' with "Tintarella di luna", "Il cielo in una stanza", "Folle banderuola", "E' vero", "Na sera 'e maggio", "O Sarracino", "Ma l'amore no", "Violino tzigan" e "Due note" ** Finalist with "Tintarella di luna" ** Finalist with "Na sera 'e maggio"

'''1961''' * Nomination and performance at the ''Sanremo Music Festival'' with: ** "Io amo tu ami" (Fourth place) ** "Le mille bolle blu" (Fifth place)

'''1963''' * Nomination and performance at ''Canzonissima'' with "Il cielo in una stanza" and "Stringimi forte i polsi" ** Finalist with "Il cielo in una stanza"

'''1964''' * ''Best international artist'' Award, in Japan * ''Best Album of the Year'' Critics Award for the album "Mina" * ''Oscar del disco '64'' Critics Award for the album "Mina"

'''1965''' * Nomination and performance at the ''Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera'' with "L'ultima occasione"

'''1966''' * Nomination and performance at the ''Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera'' with "Ta-ra-ta-ta" * ''Gondola d'oro'' Award at the ''Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera''

'''1968''' * Nomination and performance at the ''Mostra Internazionale di Musica Leggera'' with "Ta-ra-ta-ta"

'''1987''' * ''[[Targa Tenco]]'' in the category ''Performer of the Year'' with the album "Rane supreme"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://clubtenco.it/albodoro/|title=Albo d'oro|website=Clubtenco.it|access-date=28 June 2022|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811150303/https://clubtenco.it/albodoro/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

'''2001'''

[[File:ITA OMRI 2001 GUff BAR.svg|80px]] – [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Grand Officer Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]]: Awarded the second highest civil honour in Italy, by President [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]] on 1 June 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2001/06/02/mina-diventa-grandufficiale-onorificenze-per-artisti-intellettuali.html|title=Mina diventa grand'ufficiale onorificenze per artisti e intellettuali|date=2 June 2001|work=La Repubblica|language=it|access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref>

'''2015''' * ''Ambrogino d'oro'' medal by the city of [[Milan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rockol.it/news-649223/mina-pdu-l-etichetta-torna-sua-e-riceve-ambrogino-d-oro|title=Mina, l'etichetta PDU torna di sua proprietà. E il 7 dicembre riceverà l'Ambrogino d'Oro.|date=17 November 2015|work=Rockol|language=it|access-date=25 June 2022}}</ref>

===Records=== * The web event, live on the portal ''Wind'', which portrays some video clips of the artist in the recording studio, has recorded over 20 million hits and was one of the most followed of all times in Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minamazzini.com/biografia/|title=Mina - – Biografia|editor=Minamazzini.it|access-date=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019134147/http://www.minamazzini.com/biografia|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2011}}</ref> * She is the most charted artist in the Italian charts, and between albums and singles, she has scored 24 number one, 61 top-three, 86 top-five, 114 top-ten and 130 top-twenty, for a total of [[Mina discography|79 albums and 71 singles]] in the chart.

====Albums: records in Italy==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan="6" |Weekly chart<ref name=hitparade>Dati forniti da [http://www.hitparadeitalia.it www.hitparadeitalia.it] con licenza [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ Creative Commons by-nc-nd 2.5]</ref> !colspan="6" |Year-end chart<ref name="hitparade"/> !colspan="6" |General chart<ref name="hitparade"/> |- !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 30 !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 100 !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 100 |- | 15 || 34 || 52 || 62 || 64 || 67 || 4 || 7 || 10 || 20 || 36 || 72 || 16 || 37 || 56 || 70 || 74 || 79 |- |}

====Singles: records in Italy==== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !colspan="6" |Weekly chart<ref name="hitparade"/> !colspan="6" |Year-end chart<ref name="hitparade"/> !colspan="6" |General chart<ref name="hitparade"/> |- !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 30 !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 30 !width="30"|No. 1 !width="30"|Top 3 !width="30"|Top 5 !width="30"|Top 10 !width="30"|Top 20 !width="30"|Top 40 |- | 8 || 24 || 30 || 44 || 56 || 59 || 1 || 7 || 8 || 10 || 16 || 25 || 8 || 24 || 30 || 44 || 56 || 62 |- |}

==Personal life== [[File:Mina con Massimiliano Pani da piccolino.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Mina with her son Massimiliano Pani in 1966]] In her early teens, Mina was a competitive swimmer for the Canottieri Baldesio sports club in Cremona, attended by the elite of the Cremonese bourgeoisie at the time.<ref name=decoder>{{cite web|url=http://www.ildecoder.com/elenco/M/MINA=032010.html|title=Mina|publisher=Il decoder|date=25 March 2010|access-date=23 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413182246/http://www.ildecoder.com/elenco/M/MINA=032010.html|archive-date=13 April 2010}}</ref> At 16 she met her first boyfriend, a [[Fullback (association football)|fullback]] for the [[U.S. Cremonese]] football club, at the swimming pool.<ref name=decoder/>

Mina fell in love with actor [[Corrado Pani]] in 1962. Their relationship shocked Italian audiences as he was already married although separated from his wife. Their son [[Massimiliano Pani|Massimiliano]] was born on 18 April 1963. Owing to Mina's refusal to hide the relationship, the singer was banned from performing on public Italian television or radio channels.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Attanasio|first=Debora|url=https://www.marieclaire.it/attualita/gossip/a31801608/mina-compleanno-anni-storia-corrado-pani/|title=Mina compie 85 anni e la sua scandalosa storia d'amore con Corrado Pani è rimasta nella leggenda|magazine=Marie Claire|language=it|date=25 March 2025}}</ref> As her record sales were unaffected and audiences demanded to see Mina on the air, RAI was forced to end the ban and let Mina return to television on 10 January 1964. Within a year, her affair with Pani ended.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

[[File:Virgilio Crocco Mina.jpg|200px|thumb|Mina and Virgilio Crocco]] Mina's brother Alfredo Mazzini died in a car accident in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/unita_1965-05-29/page/n10/mode/1up|title=ll Fratello di Mina muore in auto|newspaper=l'Unità|language=it|date=29 May 1965}}</ref> A year later she and her father moved to [[Lugano]], Switzerland. Mina's intimate relationships, however, remained in Italy, as she had a brief affair with the actor [[Walter Chiari]]. A later relationship with actor [[Gian Maria Volonté]] ended after she found out about Volonté's affair with an actress. Mina's great love of the late 1960s, with whom she had a relationship that lasted three years and almost led to marriage, was the composer Augusto Martelli. Her second spouse was Virgilio Crocco, a journalist for ''Il Messaggero'', in 1970. As a result of their marriage, her legal name was changed to Mina Anna Mazzini Crocco.<ref name=svizzera>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1989/11/07/da-ieri-mina-diventata-cittadina-svizzera.html|newspaper=[[la Repubblica]]|title=Da ieri Mina e' diventata cittadina svizzera (Yesterday Mina acquired Swiss citizenship)|language=it|date=7 November 1989}}</ref> Their daughter [[:it:Benedetta Mazzini|Benedetta Mazzini]] was born on 11 November 1971.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Mercuri|first=Roberta|url=https://www.vanityfair.it/article/mina-amore-scandalo-corrado-pani|title=Mina, l'amore e lo scandalo con Corrado Pani|magazine=Vanity Fair Italy|date=25 March 2025}}</ref> Crocco died in a car accident in 1973.<ref name=fondazioni>{{cite web|url=http://www.fondazioneitaliani.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=372&Itemid=64|title=Mina Anna Mazzini, biografia|publisher=Fondazione italiani|access-date=25 May 2010|language=it|archive-date=13 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213112738/http://www.fondazioneitaliani.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=372&Itemid=64|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Mina became engaged to her last husband, cardiologist Eugenio Quaini,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abmedica.it/Focus.pdf |title=Sotto i ferri in italia ma il chirurgo e negli usa |publisher=Abmedica.it |access-date=9 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712235533/http://www.abmedica.it/Focus.pdf |archive-date=12 July 2012 }}</ref> in 1981. They were married on 10 January 2006 in Lugano. She obtained Swiss citizenship in 1989.<ref name=svizzera/> As required in that country, she took on her husband's last name and her legal name became Mina Anna Quaini.<ref name=repubblica/><ref name=corriere/> For the public, the Italian civil registry and its Italian documents, however, she still addresses herself as Mina Mazzini,<ref name="quirinale.it"/> also seen in her website's domain name.<ref name=minamazzini>{{cite web|url=http://www.minamazzini.com|publisher=Mina Mazzini|title=mina|language=it}}</ref>

==Discography== {{Main article|Mina albums discography|Mina singles discography|l1=Mina albums|l2=singles discography}} {{See also|List of songs recorded by Mina}} ;Studio albums {{columns-list|colwidth=20em| * ''[[Tintarella di luna]]'' (1960) * ''[[Il cielo in una stanza (album)|Il cielo in una stanza]]'' (1960) * ''[[Due note]]'' (1961) * ''[[Moliendo café (Mina album)|Moliendo café]]'' (1962) * ''[[Renato (album)|Renato]]'' (1962) * ''[[Stessa spiaggia, stesso mare]]'' (1963) * ''[[Mina (1964 album)|Mina]]'' (1964) * ''[[Studio Uno (album)|Studio Uno]]'' (1965) * ''[[Studio Uno 66]]'' (1966) * ''[[Mina 2]]'' (1966) * ''[[Sabato sera - Studio Uno '67]]'' (1967) * ''[[Dedicato a mio padre]]'' (1967) * ''[[Le più belle canzoni italiane interpretate da Mina]]'' (1968) * ''[[Canzonissima '68]]'' (1968) * ''[[I discorsi]]'' (1969) * ''[[Mina for You]]'' (1969) * ''[[...bugiardo più che mai... più incosciente che mai...]]'' (1969) * ''[[Mina canta o Brasil]]'' (1970) * ''[[...quando tu mi spiavi in cima a un batticuore...]]'' (1970) * ''[[Mina (1971 album)|Mina]]'' (1971) * ''[[Cinquemilaquarantatre]]'' (1972) * ''[[Altro (album)|Altro]]'' (1972) * ''[[Frutta e verdura]]'' (1973) * ''[[Amanti di valore]]'' (1973) * ''[[Mina®|Mina^®]]'' (1974) * ''[[Baby Gate (album)|Baby Gate]]'' (1974) * ''[[La Mina (album)|La Mina]]'' (1975) * ''[[Minacantalucio]]'' (1975) * ''[[Singolare]]'' (1976) * ''[[Plurale]]'' (1976) * ''[[Mina quasi Jannacci]]'' (1977) * ''[[Mina con bignè]]'' (1977) * ''[[Attila (album)|Attila]]'' (1979) * ''[[Kyrie (album)|Kyrie]]'' (1980) * ''[[Salomè (album)|Salomè]]'' (1981) * ''[[Italiana (album)|Italiana]]'' (1982) * ''[[Mina 25]]'' (1983) * ''[[Catene (album)|Catene]]'' (1984) * ''[[Finalmente ho conosciuto il conte Dracula...]]'' (1985) * ''[[Sì, buana]]'' (1986) * ''[[Rane supreme]]'' (1987) * ''[[Ridi pagliaccio]]'' (1988) * ''[[Uiallalla]]'' (1989) * ''[[Ti conosco mascherina]]'' (1990) * ''[[Caterpillar (Mina album)|Caterpillar]]'' (1991) * ''[[Sorelle Lumière]]'' (1992) * ''[[Mina canta i Beatles]]'' (1993) * ''[[Lochness (album)|Lochness]]'' (1993) * ''[[Canarino mannaro]]'' (1994) * ''[[Pappa di latte]]'' (1995) * ''[[Cremona (album)|Cremona]]'' (1996) * ''[[Napoli (album)|Napoli]]'' (1996) * ''[[Leggera (album)|Leggera]]'' (1997) * ''[[Mina Celentano]]'' (1998) * ''[[Olio (Mina album)|Olio]]'' (1999) * ''[[Mina n° 0]]'' (1999) * ''[[Dalla terra]]'' (2000) * ''[[Sconcerto]]'' (2001) * ''[[Veleno (Mina album)|Veleno]]'' (2002) * ''[[Napoli secondo estratto]]'' (2003) * ''[[Bula Bula]]'' (2005) * ''[[L'allieva]]'' (2005) * ''[[Bau (album)|Bau]]'' (2006) * ''[[Todavía (album)|Todavía]]'' (2007) * ''[[Sulla tua bocca lo dirò]]'' (2009) * ''[[Facile]]'' (2009) * ''[[Caramella (album)|Caramella]]'' (2010) * ''[[Piccolino]]'' (2011) * ''[[12 (American Song Book)]]'' (2012) * ''[[Christmas Song Book (Mina album)|Christmas Song Book]]'' (2013) * ''[[Selfie (Mina album)|Selfie]]'' (2014) * ''[[Le Migliori (album)|Le Migliori]]'' (2016) * ''[[Maeba (Mina album)|Maeba]]'' (2018) * ''[[Mina Fossati]]'' (2019) * ''[[Ti amo come un pazzo]]'' (2023) * ''[[Gassa d'amante]]'' (2024) }}

==Filmography== ===Films=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;" |+Film roles showing year released, title, role played, director and notes |- !Title !Year !Role !Director !Notes |- !scope="row"|''[[Juke box urli d'amore|Juke Box: Urli d'amore]]'' |1959 |Singer |Mauro Morassi |Cameo appearance |- !scope="row"|''I Teddy Boys della canzone'' |1960 |Minuccia |[[Domenico Paolella]] | |- !scope="row"|''Sanremo - La grande sfida'' |1960 |Herself |[[Piero Vivarelli]] |Cameo appearance |- !scope="row"|''[[Appuntamento a Ischia]]'' |1960 |Herself |[[Mario Mattoli]] |Mid-credit cameo |- !scope="row"|''Madri pericolose'' |1960 |Nicky Improta |[[Domenico Paolella]] | |- !scope="row"|''[[Howlers in the Dock]]'' |1960 |Mina |[[Lucio Fulci]] | |- !scope="row"|''Mina… fuori la guardia!'' |1961 |Valeria |Armando Tamburella | |- !scope="row"|''Io bacio… tu baci'' |1961 |Marcella |[[Piero Vivarelli]] | |- !scope="row"|''[[Appuntamento in Riviera]]'' |1962 |Mina |[[Mario Mattoli]] | |- !scope="row"|''Des haben die Mädchen gern'' |1962 |Herself |Kurt Nachmann |Cameo appearance |- !scope="row"|''Canzoni nel mondo'' |1963 |Herself |[[Vittorio Sala]] |Documentary film |- !scope="row"|''[[Per amore... per magia...]]'' |1967 |Aichesiade |[[Duccio Tessari]] | |}

===Television=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;" |+Television roles showing year released, title, role played, network and notes |- !Title !Year !Role !Network !Notes |- !scope="row"|''[[Studio Uno (TV series)|Studio Uno]]'' |1961–1966 |Herself / Presenter |[[Rai 1]] |Variety show (seasons 1, 3–4) |- !scope="row"|''Sabato sera'' |1967 |Herself / Presenter |[[Rai 1]] |Variety show |- !scope="row"|''[[TuttoTotò]]'' |1967 |Night club singer |[[Rai 1]] |Episode: "Totò ye ye" |- !scope="row"|''[[Canzonissima]]'' |1968–1969 |Herself / Presenter |[[Rai 1]] |Musical/variety program (season 6) |- !scope="row"|''[[Senza Rete]]'' |1968–1970 |Herself / co-host |[[Rai 1]] |Variety show (seasons 1–3) |- !scope="row"|''Non cantare, spara'' |1968 |Wilhelmina |[[Rai 1]] |Episode: "Seconda puntata" |- !scope="row"|''Noches de Europa'' |1969 |Herself / Musical guest |[[La 2 (Spanish TV channel)|La 2]] |Episode dated Nov. 8, 1969 |- !scope="row"|''Teatro 10'' |1972 |Herself / Performer |[[Rai 1]] |Variety show (season 3) |- !scope="row"|''Milleluci'' |1974 |Herself / co-host |[[Rai 1]] |Variety show |}

==Bibliography== * ''Mina, come sono'' by Gianni Pettenati (Virgilio 1980) * ''Mina, la voce'' by Mario Guarino (Forte 1983) * ''Unicamente Mina'' by Flavio Merkel and Paolo Belluso (Gammalibri 1983) * ''La leggendaria Mina'' (PDU Italiana Edizioni Musicali S.r.l./Curci 1983) * ''Mina. Storia di un mito raccontato'' by Nino Romano (Rusconi 1986) * ''Mina nelle fotografie di Mauro Balletti'' (Campanotto 1990) * ''Mina – Le immagini e la storia di un mito'' (Eden 1992) * ''Mina – Mito e mistero'' by Nino Romano (Sperling & Kupfer 1996) * ''Mina – I miti'' by Antonella Giola, Daniela Teruzzi & Gherardo Gentili (Arnoldo Mondadori 1997) * ''Mina – I mille volti di una voce'' by Romy Padovano (Arnoldo Mondadori 1998) * ''Divina Mina'' by Dora Giannetti (Zelig 1998) * ''Mina'' by Roberta Maresci (Gremese 1998) * ''Mina – Una forza incantatrice'' by Franco Fabbri & Luigi Pestalozza (eds. Euresis 1998) * ''Mina – La sua vita, i suoi successi'' by Gianni Lucini (Sonzogno 1999) * ''Mina, il mito'' (Tempo Libro 1999) * ''Studio Mina'' by Flaviano De Luca (ed. Elle U Multimedia 1999) * ''Mina disegnata fotografata'' – Authors' copyright 2001 * ''Mina: Gli anni Italdisc 1959–1964'' by Marco Castiglioni, Fulvio Fiore, Maurizio Maiotti, Stefania Fiore, Barbara Alari and Maurizio Maiotti (Satisfaction 2001) * ''Mina 1958–2005 Ancora insieme'' by Marcello Bufacchi (Riuniti 2005) * ''Mina talk. Vent'anni di interviste. 1959–1979'' by Fernando Fratarcangeli (Coniglio 2005) * ''Mina... il fascino della tigre'' by Ghea Irene (Lo Vecchio 2006) * ''La Storia della Disco Music'' by Andrea Angeli Bufalini / Giovanni Savastano (Hoepli 2019) * ''Mina, Una Voce Universale'' by Luca Cerchiari (Mondadori 2020)

== See also == {{Portal|Biography|Pop music}} * [[List of best-selling music artists]] * [[List of estimated best-selling Italian music artists]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Mina (vocalist)}} * {{IMDb name|0590869|Mina}} * {{Discogs artist|319972}}

{{Authority control}} {{Mina}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mina}} [[Category:Clan Celentano artists]] [[Category:Mina (Italian singer)| ]] [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Italian women singers]] [[Category:21st-century Italian women singers]] [[Category:20th-century Swiss women singers]] [[Category:21st-century Swiss women singers]] [[Category:Italian actresses]] [[Category:Italian jazz singers]] [[Category:Italian pop singers]] [[Category:Italian rhythm and blues singers]] [[Category:Italian women jazz singers]] [[Category:Italian blues singers]] [[Category:Swing singers]] [[Category:Rock and roll musicians]] [[Category:English-language Italian singers]] [[Category:English-language Swiss singers]] [[Category:French-language Italian singers]] [[Category:French-language Swiss singers]] [[Category:Italian-language Swiss singers]] [[Category:German-language Italian singers]] [[Category:German-language Swiss singers]] [[Category:Japanese-language Italian singers]] [[Category:Spanish-language Italian singers]] [[Category:Spanish-language Swiss singers]] [[Category:People from Busto Arsizio]] [[Category:Musicians from Cremona]] [[Category:Singers with a three-octave vocal range]] [[Category:Italian emigrants to Switzerland]] [[Category:Naturalised citizens of Switzerland]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies in music]] [[Category:Sony BMG artists]] [[Category:Warner Music Italy artists]] [[Category:Recipients of the Ambrogino d'oro]] [[Category:Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]] [[Category:Actresses from Lombardy]] [[Category:Italian bossa nova musicians]]