Son of Italian immigrants in Belgium, Rocco Granata didn't want to go to work
in the mine-pits but prefers making music with his friends. They tour the province
with sentimental Italian songs and cheerful accordion-music The success-number
is "Manuela". When a dance-club owner suddenly gives Rocco the chance
to record on vinyl, he hastily pens down a song : "Marina".
Songs
"Marina"
71,0 sec. - 139 Kb.
song : Rocco Granata
Year : 1959
Procuded : Rocco Granata
Record co. : Granata Music
"Marina 120 BPM"
49,7 sec. - 98 Kb.
song : Rocco Granata
Produced : Serge Ramaekers.
Year : 1989
Record co. : Cardinal Records
40 years later the balance stands at more than 100,000,000 copies of
that song sold at the counter of the music stores. The song has become an "evergreen".
About a thousand artists have made a cover-version (among who are the likes of
Dalida and Louis Armstrong).
In 1989 he lets Serge Ramaekers (the Dee-jay of the Club Confetti's
and the man behind the new-beat band with the same name) make a remix of his "Marina".
The successful new-beat producer takes it all the way to number 1 in Belgium again,
over 30 years after the original. The remixed song also becomes a monster-hit
again in Italy (12 weeks on the n° 1 spot) and Germany (over 2.000.000 copies
sold).
Although he has continued to make music ever since and has sold many copies
of his other songs (altogether he made it 9 times to the top 10 of the Belgian
hitparades), the enormity of the success of "Marina" basically has reduced
Rocco to a "one-hit wonder".
Rocco Granata also became a well-established music producer. He had his own
record labels (Cardinal Records and Granata Records) and did music productions
for the likes of Marva, Louis Neefs, Miel
Cools, De Elegasten ...). In the book "Big
in Belgium" by Jan Delvaux it is even revealed that Rocco Granata discovered
the talent of Sarah Bettens : Rocco's daughter was a friend of Sarah and let her
father listen to a tape. Rocco heard it, smelled the talent and brought her to
Double T-music. From there on, Sarah would start with K's
Choice.
Rocco Granata still performs and records to this day, and is a often seen guest
on the Flemish TV. In 1998 he even got quite a bit of media-attention with a special
Christmas-show which he did at the Ancienne Belgique.
In March 2000, Rocco Granata received the "Zamu Lifetime Achievement Award"
(from the belgian music industry) for his entire career (a title he shares with
Will Tura, Wannes Vandevelde, Roland, Toots
Thielemans & Arno). Later on in the same year,
his "Marina" was honoured in the "eregallerij van het Vlaamse lied",
where he found himself again in the company of Tura & Toots, and also of La
Esterella and Bobbejaan Schoepen.
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