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It’s a photo from another world: short silver hair, eyes wide. It shows Caterina Valente, perhaps the most universal cheerleader of all, who will turn 90 on January 14.
The former artist’s son had meticulously planned his career after the war. And with the same constancy, Caterina Valente said goodbye to the circus show. For his birthday there is only one authorized photo of his address in Lugano TI. The artist, who once served the travel cravings of the baby boomers with her hits and conquered America as a jazz singer in the 1960s, no longer gives interviews.
Out of sight but not out of my mind
Sporadically, he still talks on Facebook. “A few years ago my doctor advised me that I should slowly think about stopping driving. The next day I returned my driver’s license, ”he writes for example. He sold the house in California and he doesn’t fly anymore. “The reason is the current US administration, but I don’t like to talk about politics,” he says emphatically.
The fact that the singer, who performed in a hundred shows in the United States with stars such as Dean Martin (1917-1995) or Bing Crosby (1903-1977), became so rare later did not hurt her. «For me she is still a world star today. It has charm and humor. It cannot be compared with anything that is happening today on stage ”, enthuses his friend Pepe Lienhard (74).
Adventurous origin
The bandleader is still stuck when he thinks about how she suddenly took up the guitar on a Swiss TV show in 1980 and spontaneously asked him to join her on the Latin hit “One Note Samba.” “She hit the road with a jerk, and I ran after her with the flute.” During this time, he and his band were invited to their home in Montagnola TI. “We all splashed in the pool. And in the end he even combed my hair. “But she always resented his” Français fédéral “and said:” As a musician, you have to be able to speak on stage without an accent. “
Valente, who is fluent in six languages, has always remained faithful to Ticino. “I am a Parisian of Italian descent living in Switzerland and I have a German passport,” she once said of her adventurous origins. She and her three siblings originally hailed from the dazzling world of Variété. Her father Giuseppe was an accordionist and mother of the most famous musical clown of the 1920s. When she was five years old, little Caterina took the stage for the first time. Then came difficult times for the family. The Nazis revoked the Valentes’ permission to act. Caterina even had to work in the hospital.
I never went to school
Valente’s rapid rise began after the war ended. From 1948 onwards, she recorded nearly 1,400 song titles over the decades and was therefore regularly represented on the charts. With his hits, he appeared in twelve feature films from the mid-1950s. These were in the booming genre of blockbuster films and fueled the emergence of vinyl records.
From an artistic point of view, works such as 1955’s “Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager” with Peter Alexander (1926–2011) were not very demanding. After Grimm’s “Snow White and the Seven Jugglers” slap in the face in 1962, Valente turned away from the movies and focused entirely on television shows, concerts, and tours. It caused a storm of enthusiasm throughout Europe and abroad. No wonder: the woman, who never went to school, was able to entertain people perfectly in 13 languages. She found a pleasant stage partner in her older brother Silvio Francesco (1927-2000), who was a model for her until his death 20 years ago.
Paola Felix congratulates
«I miss Silvio every day, but I am not depressed about that or what is said about me. I enjoy every day that I get up in the morning, ”he said in one of his last interviews.
His two sons and musicians Eric van Aro (62) and Alexander Budd (46) from two marriages are a support. So she never feels lonely. Spontaneity has never left her, her friends say. Paola Felix (70) remembers how he surprised her at her stage farewell. “I was singing a verse of his song ‘Music is the memory of a good time’, then the chorus, when suddenly a second voice sounded behind me. I turned around and couldn’t believe my eyes. Caterina Valente approached me and we sang together. “You have inspired her throughout life.” Thank you, dear Catrin, I bow to your work and congratulate you on your 90th birthday, “she says.
