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Mario Lanza was the most famous tenor the world had ever known. His voice was big and powerful, rich and golden, with a dazzling top that thrilled everyone. The greatest tenors of the modern era Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo and Bocelli all trace their inspiration back to Lanza. Trained for a career on the opera stage, Lanza instead became the first true crossover artist when MGM made him a matinee idol during the 1950s with box office hits such as The Toast of New Orleans, The Great Caruso, and Because You re Mine. A superstar before the word was even coined, Lanza s recordings of The Loveliest Night of the Year, Because You re Mine, and his signature ballad, Be My Love sold in their millions. Mario Lanza had it all: a voice blessed by God, Italian good looks and a passionate zest for life. But within ten years, the star that glowed so brightly had burned itself out. Lanza s sudden passing in 1959 at age thirty-eight was one of the first tragic deaths of the modern pop and rock era a precursor of what was to come for many great artists battling to live with fame and its darker side. Lanza was a film and recording star supreme, but the most dramatic role he ever played was that of Mario Lanza himself. It was a life of fame and passion, incredible successes and incomprehensible tragedies. And it was played to a soundtrack of one of the most beautiful singing voices ever heard. This is the story of the great Mario Lanza.
Mario Lanza