Many Italian homes in the '50s and early '60s had music by
Lou Monte on the turntable -- and not just his big Top Five 1962 hit "Pepino the Italian Mouse," a foreign version of
David Seville's Chipmunk songs. In April 1958, when
Seville found fame with his "Witch Doctor" tune, a great voice went Top 15 the month prior with a remake of the 1938
Rudy Vallée tune "Lazy Mary." Though "Lazy Mary" was a novelty record of sorts, "Luna Mezza Mare" also helped bring the serious side of
Monte to a wider American audience. The guitarist/singer's album
Lou Monte Sings for You starts off with the humorous story of a woman who smokes in bed, sleeps late, and is ordered by the narrator to get off of the mattress because they "need the sheets for the table." Ably assisted by the orchestrations of
Hugo Winterhalter (who worked with
Tommy Dorsey and
Count Basie, among others) and
Joe Reisman (of
Perry Como and
Burt Bacharach fame), wonderful renditions of the classic "Mama," "I Have But One Heart," "Tango of Roses," and other titles found new popularity.
Monte sings bilingual on these records in a combination of English mixed with Italian resulting in people from all walks of life repeating his pronunciation of both languages. The English he can drop on the listener clearly and cleverly makes for a quick course in Italian delivered with a touch of class.
June Bundy's liner notes are amazingly on target, succinct, and informative -- the woman who penned for
Steve Lawrence and
the McGuire Sisters, among others, gets it right. "Roman Guitar" and "Non Dimentican" show this performer as serious as
Jerry Vale,
Perry Como, and other popular crooners -- a major talent on an impressive dozen tunes that stand the test of time.