Umberto Balsamo

Rosario Umberto Balsamo, best known as Umberto Balsamo (born 10 March 1942) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer.

Background
Born in Catania, Balsamo was the youngest of five brothers. In 1964 he moved to Milan, where he started working together with the lyricist Luciano Beretta, composing songs for, among others, Iva Zanicchi and Orietta Berti. In 1968 he made his debut as a singer with the song " Il mio cuore riposa", released under the pseudonym Bob Nero. Balsamo obtained his first success in 1972 with the song "Se fossi diversa", which ranked nineteen in the Italian hit parade. The following year he entered the competition at the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Amore mio". In 1977 he topped the hit parade with the song "L'angelo azzurro", selling over a million of copies  In 1979 he had one another major success with the song "Balla", a mixture of tarantella and disco music. In the eighties Balsamo focused on composing, achieving a significant success with the 1988 song "Italia", sung by Mino Reitano at the Sanremo Music Festival.

Studio albums

 * 1974 Passato presente e futuro
 * 1975 Natalì
 * 1977 Malgrado tutto...l'angelo azzurro
 * 1978 Crepuscolo d'amore
 * 1979 Balla
 * 1979 Auto Music
 * 1980 Pianeti
 * 1982 Mai più
 * 1990 Respirando la notte luna
 * 1992 Un pugno nella notte
 * 2003 Vorrei aprire il cielo sabato sera a spina di rosa

Compilation albums

 * 1989 L'angelo azzurro e altri successi
 * 1995 Umberto Balsamo - Le sue più belle canzoni