With an exquisite voice and an inherent aptitude for singing, she looked destined to gain popularity and become a well-known name in the music world.
Pavone’s career began when she began singing at various student parties and then at other pubs in her hometown of Turin. Rita’s mother believed that music was not the path she should take. “That was the last option.” I was on the verge of abandoning everything. I had been singing since I was nine years old, but I had yet to break through and achieve more than local renown. “My mother persuaded me to put my ambitions of greatness on hold,” Pavone explained.
Pavone’s father, on the other hand, was very supportive of her desire to make a name for herself and urged her to compete in one of the major competitions of the time, the “Rally of the Unknown.” He even wrote a letter to the talent show’s organizer, Teddy Reno, pleading with him to give his daughter a spot. The competition had 20,000 participants, but Pavone eventually won, and she became a sensation virtually immediately, with her first album being recorded barely weeks after winning.
“I still wonder [what the secret to my success was] to this day, and I can’t describe it. “I was able to enter international hit parades with songs translated into different languages or developed expressly for that market wherever I traveled, from Brazil to England, from France to Germany,” Rita explained.
“I was the first to notice all of this interest in me. Perhaps I had a unique voice, a little high-pitched, cutting, but extremely personal.”
“I suppose this powerful personality was my trump card,” she added. Being unique means not going unnoticed. Today, however, there is a widespread tendency to imitate others, which has unavoidably resulted in a plethora of “photocopied products.” In my instance, I also had a face that was halfway between a girl and a guy, with red hair and freckles.”
Pavone was invited to the United States to audition for RCA Records after selling hundreds of thousands of albums in Italy. Many believed she would be the next big thing, but in the middle of Beatlemania and people’s love for Elvis, one of Pavone’s greatest idols, that didn’t seem like an easy assignment.
Pavone shared the stage with Diana Ross and The Supremes, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tom Jones while in the United States. She also appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and in performances at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
She met Elvis Presley in person once, and he gave her a signed artwork.
Pavone overheard her “muse,” Brenda Lee, talking about Elvis one day while recording with her producer, Chet Atkins, in “Music City.” Pavone, who didn’t understand English at the time, overheard her “muse” talking about Elvis. She wasn’t sure why at first, but she quickly discovered that the King of Rock&Roll will be visiting the recording studio. A large crowd had formed in front of it, waiting to meet Elvis Presley.
“There was a cold in the air because I wanted to meet him.” “So I went to Chet Atkins and asked him for a great favor: let me know when he was at one moment,” Pavone remembered.
“I noticed a swarm of people arming themselves, they seemed to be preparing the Normandy landing, he didn’t want to be disturbed, they said.” So I started whining like a child, saying that it was impossible to waste such an opportunity, and I convinced them, but they made a lot of suggestions.”
“I waited until midnight in the RCA studios, till they entered: first, his lawyer, his secretary, his sound engineer, all his crew,” she continued. Then there was him. He had yellow Ray-Bans that I had never seen before, and his sideburns were stunning. He came in and welcomed us before approaching me. I asked him if I could have a snapshot of him, and he was really kind, telling me that I could have even more. So he called his secretary, who handed me a canvas with the words “Best wishes to Rita,” before kissing me goodbye and leaving.
“His manager, Colonel Parker, did not want me to meet him.” But when he exited the studio, he noticed me and said, ‘But I know you!’ You went to see Ed Sullivan.’ Elvis was the one who recognized me. I requested for a photograph, but he instead gave me one of his paintings.”
Pavone will remember meeting Elvis Presley for the rest of her life.
“I got it right here!” My son, who is quite realistic and pragmatic, has stated that he will sell it after I die! “I was blown away by a man of that size and notoriety who seemed so down to earth,” she said.
Pavone returned to Italy after spending several years in America, where she was beloved by millions.
She married Teddy Reno, the producer of the talent show that launched her career. Teddy, on the other hand, was 20 years her senior and was not well received by her family or the general public. Her father was furious when he found out the two were dating, but after they married, he paid them a visit in Switzerland, where they still live today, and apologized for not respecting her decision.
Many of her songs charted in the United Kingdom, Germany, and even Brazil and other places.
Pavone proclaimed her retirement from the stage in the mid-2000s, but she returned in 2016 to compete in Dancing with the Stars Italia. She will also appear at the famed Sanremo Festival in 2020, as well as in a Christmas special the following year.
Rita Pavone has had an outstanding career, to say the least.
