Gay Icons - The Divas: Mina Mazzini

With the exception of Judy Garland and Shirley Bassey, all the other Divas already presented have names that begin with "M": Marlene, Mae, Maria, Marilyn, Melina. Today's person of honor is no exception: The National Treasure of Italian canzone, Mina Mazzini, widely known as Mina.

I usually do my presentation in chronological order, but today I will digress. I will fashion this story to coincide with the procedure of my personal discovery of Mina.

In the early 1990s, Greek TV was taking baby steps in the right direction. A talk show was introduced, presented by one of the most prominent out personalities at the time, a gay activist since the early 1980s. The title song caught my attention - it was an English-speaking song by a singer with a decidedly intriguing vocal timbre - and I couldn't place her. I did some digging, which wasn't easy in those pre-Internet days, and came up with the answer: The song was called You Are My Love, it was found on 1985's imaginatively titled album Finalmente ho Conosciuto il Conte Dracula... (I Have Finally Met Count Dracula...) and the artist was Mina. This is the song:

I knew of Mina, that she was the most important and successful Italian female singer ever, but I didn't really know her songs. Shocking, I know, but those were different times... So I turned to my life-partner, who is a Mina aficionado. He then introduced me to his favorite Mina song, L'importante è Finire, a song that hit #2 in the Italian charts in 1975, but sold in such quantities that ended up as the second most successful single of the year in Italy. (By the way, all the chart positions I'll be giving today involve the Italian charts unless stated otherwise). Here it is:

The next phase was the discovery that a couple of songs that I loved, the first, a duet of Dalida with Alain Delon, and the other, one of Shirley Bassey's biggest hits, were both covers of songs originally sung By Mina. This is Parole Parole, a duet with Alberto Lupo in 1972, a #2 chart hit:

This has better audio, but no video:

Dalida & Alain Delon did the French version, called it Paroles, Paroles and had an even bigger hit with it. By the way, Dalida was totally a Gay Icon. Normally, I would present her in this series, but I have already presented her here and here. This is Paroles, Paroles:

The other Mina original was her 1972 #1 hit, Grande, Grande, Grande (the 2nd biggest hit of the year in Italy). Here it is:

We've recently heard Shirley Bassey's version, called Never, Never, Never, but let's hear it again (you can read all about Shirley Bassey, here):

This is a live medley of L'importante è Finire and Grande, Grande, Grande, performed by Mina on 23 August 1978, at Bussoladomani, Italy:

The next discovery was that one of my childhood favorites was actually a song by Mina. Zum Zum Zum was heard in the film of the same film starring pop idol Little Tony but was made a hit by Mina. There was a very popular musical show on Italian TV called Canzonissima - and my father had an eight-track cassette (remember those?) which was a selection of the best songs from Canzonissima and it opened with Mina's version of Zum Zum Zum, which I loved, without knowing that it was Mina. Here it is:

I was under the impression that Little Tony sang on the film version - and I've been searching for this version for years. Turns out it was child actor Walter Brugiolo who sang it on this film:

Since we're on the subject of Little Tony, 1969's Cuore Matto is my favorite song of his, with one of the best bass guitar riffs ever:

The blonde bombshell, as well as Johnny Hallyday's wife at the time, Sylvie Vartan, also had a hit with Zum Zum Zum:

Mina wasn't conventionally beautiful - and I think that this gave her the freedom to wildly experiment with her image. Her makeup, hairdo, her clothes, all were quite outrageous for that era, but ultimately esthetically pleasing in an avant-garde way. I believe that Madonna and especially Lady Gaga were quite influenced by Mina.

She was a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the late 1950s until recently. She was known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an emancipated woman.

In performance, Mina combined several modern styles with traditional Italian melodies and swing music, which made her the most versatile pop singer in Italian music. Mina dominated the country's charts for twenty years and reached an unsurpassed level of popularity, with 150 million records sold. She has scored 79 albums and 71 singles on the Italian charts.

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. The public also labeled her the Tiger of Cremona for her wild gestures and body shakes. When she turned to light 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.

Mina was banned from TV and radio in 1963 because her pregnancy and relationship with a married actor did not sit well with the dominant Catholic and bourgeois morals. 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. Mina's cool act combined sex appeal with public smoking, dyed blonde hair, and shaved eyebrows to create a "bad girl" image.

Also, she was definitely a Gay Icon. In Italy, certainly, she was the biggest Gay Icon in Pop music. Also in much of Europe and South America. Not that she was unknown in the English-speaking world: Louis Armstrong famously declared her to be "the greatest white singer in the world."

She loved the gay people right back: hers has been the voice of Barilla since the 1960s. Her unmistakable voice tells us why we should buy Barilla's pasta while one of her songs plays in the background. In 2013, Guido Barilla, the firm's CEO, made homophobic comments, saying that he supported a "classic family" and would never feature "a homosexual family" in his company's advertising, and if gays didn't like it they were free to buy other brands. Gay activists suggested that gays and supporters of gay rights should do just that, and buy their pasta elsewhere. His comments flew around the social media, and the messages didn't stop even when he issued an apology, clarifying his comments.

Mina, even though she was on Barilla's payroll, felt that she had to take a stand. Her response was: "Certainly you remember Kennedy's speech when he visited Berlin; he said "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner"). Good. As far as I'm concerned, the only comment I can make is: "I am gay"."

Anna Maria Mazzini, better known as Mina, was born into a working-class family in Busto Arsizio, Lombardy, on 25 March 1940. The family moved to work in Cremona in her childhood. 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. After finishing high school in 1958, she attended college where she majored in accounting. Also in 1958, she started singing professionally - and already in 1959, she had her first hit, Tintarella di Luna - and what a hit, a chart-topper! This is it:

She followed it up in 1960 with a #6 hit, Coriandoli:

È Vero did even better, peaking at #4:

Then came Il Cielo in Una Stanza, the biggest hit in Italy in 1960, which introduced us to Mina's more refined sensual singing:

In this video you can also watch her singing:

In 1988 she re-recorded the song in a jazzier mood - and may I say that I like this version even more:

This ballad written by Gino Paoli was also recorded in English as This World We Love In and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. It was also included on the soundtrack of the Goodfellas:

Also in 1960, Due Note peaked at #3:

Moving on to 1961, Le Mille Bolle Blu was a top 5 hit:

1962's Moliendo Cafè returned Mina to the top of the charts:

In the same year, Renato was a #4 hit:

As her songs and movies were already popular abroad, Mina started to tour Spain and Japan and performed on Venezuelan TV in 1961. Mina performed on Spanish TV and at the Paris Olympia hall at the beginning of 1962. 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. The record went to #1 and spent over half the year on the German charts in 1962. Mina had six more singles on the German chart in the next two years. 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. In May 1962, she performed in Buenos Aires. This is Heißer Sand as it was presented on German TV:

In 1963, Stessa Spiaggia Stesso Mare was a #4 hit:

È L'uomo Per Me (a cover version of He Walks Like a Man) also peaked at #4, in 1964. The video is hot:

Città Vuota (a cover version of It's a Lonely Town) was a #2 hit in 1964:

Io Sono Quel Che Sono peaked at #7:

Un Anno D'amore (a cover version of C'est Irréparable) returned Mina to #1 in 1965:

Then, in 1991, Pedro Almodóvar wrote Spanish lyrics and used the song (a great cover by Luz Casal) in one of his best films, High Heels (Tacones Lejanos). It is Miguel Bosé, Lucia's son, who lip-synchs to the song, in drag:

Since we're on the subject of Tacones Lejanos, I simply had to play this song as well. In Agustín Lara's Piensa En Mi, it's the great Marisa Paredes lip-synching to Luz Casal's amazing interpretation:

E Se Domani peaked at #4:

Also in 1965, Ora O Mai Più peaked at #2:

Una Casa In Cima Al Mondo came out in 1966 and peaked at #3:

The same year, Ta-ra-ta-ta peaked at #5:

Se Telefonando was written by Ennio Morricone (peaked at #7):

In 2015, Italian singer Nek had a big hit with a cover of the song:

Sono Come Tu Mi Vuoi was a #4 hit in 1966:

L'immensità only peaked at #14 in 1967, but it's one of Mina's remarkable songs:

La Banda was a much bigger hit, peaking at #3:

Also in 1967, she released the album Dedicato a Mio Padre. It was the first independently produced album through her own record label PDU. From this album, this is La Canzone di Marinella:

... And this is Mina's version of The Man that Got Away:

Un Colpo al Cuore was a #13 hit in 1968:

Also in 1968, Vorrei Che Fosse Amore peaked at #10:

La Musica è Finita was an album cut in 1968, but quite a famous one:

Non Credere was a #3 hit in 1969:

Io e Te Da Soli was a #2 hit in 1970:

Insieme was also a #2 hit in 1970, but was also the second biggest hit of the year in Italy:

Amor Mio was a #3 hit in 1971:

Uomo was also a #3 hit in 1971:

Parole Parole and Grande, Grande, Grande were her biggest hits in 1972 and we've already listened to them. Eccomi, however, was also a top 5 hit:

E poi... returned Mina to #1 in 1973. It was also the second biggest hit of the year in Italy:

Amanti di Valore is the title track from her 1973 album:

Lamento D'amore was a #6 hit in 1973:

After Non Gioco Più, a blues duet with the harmonica player Toots Thielemans, Mina announced her withdrawal from public performances. Here's the song, a #3 hit in 1974:

We've already listened to her biggest hit for 1975, L'importante è Finire. Nuda was a #6 hit in 1976:

Giorni was a #9 hit in 1977:

Ma Che Bontà was also released in 1977:

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. Her last concert appearances, a series of thirteen fully booked concerts at La Bussola in 1978, were cut short due to her illness. Mina gave her last public performance on 23 August 1978 at the Bussoladomani theatre. Here is Ancora Ancora Ancora, a #4 hit:

In 1978, Mina released a Disco version of her 1964 #2 hit Città Vuota. It made the top 5 for the second time in 15 years:

Se il Mio Canto Sei Tu came out in 1979:

Anche Un Uomo also came out in 1979 - and was a #9 hit:

Buonanotte Buonanotte was her first single of the 1980s - and it made the top 10:

Tres Palabras was released in 1981. It is in Spanish:

Magica Follia was released in 1982:

Senza Fiato was also released in 1982:

Devi Dirmi di Sì was a #8 hit in 1983:

Allora Si was also released in 1983:

Momento Magico was released in 1984:

Rose Su Rose was a 1984 hit, peaking at #17:

The song that started this story, You Are My Love, was released in 1985. At the same year, Questione di Feeling returned Mina to the top; it peaked at #2 on the charts, her biggest hit in 10 years. It was a duet with Riccardo Cocciante. Here it is:

She collaborated with Fausto Leali in Via di Qua. The single peaked at #12:

Gloria was an album cut in 1987:

This Masquerade was an album cut in 1988:

Les Cornichons (Big Nick) came out in 1989:

Una Lunga Storia D'amore also came out in 1989:

1990 was a good year for Mina. Here's her own version of Lucio Dalla's Caruso:

From the same year, this is Un'estate Fa:

... also Fortissimo:

Il Corvo came out in 1991:

Her version of Cry Me a River was released in 1992:

Her version of Something was released in 1993:

In 1994, there was Fosse Vero:

In 1995, there was Non C'è Più Audio:

Volami Nel Cuore was released in 1996:

1997 saw the release of Johnny:

In 1998, Mina and her male counterpart, Adriano Celentano, released an album together. These are Italy's best-selling singers of all-time. Two songs were released as singles; first, there was Acqua e Sale:

Then came Brivido Felino:

Canto Largo (1999) has been used as the opening theme of the long-running Italian soap opera Vivere:

Her 2000 duet with Renato Zero, Tutti Gli Zeri del Mondo was Mina's last #1 hit in Italy, a full 41 years after her first:

Certe Cose Si Fanno was a #15 hit in 2002:

Also out in 2002, Il Pazzo:

In 2003, I'll See You in My Dreams peaked at #3:

Also in 2003, Can't Take My Eyes Off You peaked at #4:

In 2005, she released the album, Bula Bula. Here are two songs from this album; this is Vai e Vai e Vai:

... And this is 20 Parole:

Alibi was a #2 hit in 2007:

In 2009, the album Sulla Tua Bocca Lo Diro was mostly Mina's versions of famous arias. The two that I will present are usually sung by men, but Mina had no problem with that. This is Nessun Dorma:

... And this is E Lucevan Le Stelle:

In 2010, to celebrate her 70th birthday, Mina released Caramella. On it, there's a duet with Seal called You Get Me:

... There is also a duet with Lucio Dalla called Amore Disperato:

In 2012 she released the album 12 (American Song Book), which contained US hits of the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 70s. This is September Song, originally recorded in 1938:

... And this is Fire And Rain, originally recorded in 1970:

Questa Donna Insopportabile is found on the album Selfie (2014):

In 2016 Mina released two duets with familiar faces. First came A Chi Mi Dice, with Fausto Leali:

Then, she collaborated again with Adriano Celentano and the result was the song Amami Amami:

Mina has had 56 singles make the Italian top 20, 8 of which went all the way to #1. She is the only artist to land an album at the top of the Italian charts in each of the five decades from the start of record keeping in 1965. She released an album every year during 1958–2003. Isn't she tired of singing - after all she's been doing it for 60 years? It seems that not only she isn't tired, but she open to experimenting, collaborating with others and constantly putting out new material. I think there's more to come - and it will be as interesting as ever...