Among the leading Italian-American pop crooners, Al Martino distinguished himself through an extended run of successful singles and albums that began in the early 1950s and continued until the mid-1970s. His performance as the vocalist Johnny Fontane in The Godfather nevertheless brought him wider notice, a part widely regarded as modeled on Frank Sinatra yet bearing unsettling parallels to Martino’s own professional path. The 1952 debut single “Here in My Heart” established him as the first American artist to reach number one in Great Britain, though mob-related pressures removed him from the United States for most of the 1950s. After returning, he revived his standing with the defining 1965 recording “Spanish Eyes” and attracted an additional audience through his appearance in The Godfather in 1972.
Born Alfred Cini in Philadelphia on October 7, 1927, Martino grew up helping his Italian immigrant parents operate a masonry company alongside his brothers. Music nevertheless held greater appeal, and he drew inspiration from Al Jolson and Perry Como to pursue singing. When his childhood companion Alfredo Cocozza adopted the name Mario Lanza and rose to international opera prominence, a musical vocation appeared attainable. Taking the stage name Al Martino from his maternal grandfather, he sang in neighborhood nightclubs before relocating to New York City in 1948 at Lanza’s urging. A winning performance of Perry Como’s “If” on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts secured a recording contract with the Philadelphia independent label BBS.
Martino cut the ballad “Here in My Heart” as his first single in 1952. The track sold more than a million copies, topped charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and earned him a Capitol contract. Three follow-up releases—“Take My Heart,” “Rachel,” and “When You’re Mine”—all reached the Top 40 by the end of 1953.
A number of new admirers soon sought involvement in his affairs. Legend holds that Martino’s contract was seized by a Mafia-linked management group that demanded an upfront payment of 75,000 dollars to protect their stake. After making an initial installment to protect his family, he escaped to England, where his popularity sustained profitable performances, including a headline engagement at the London Palladium. Although he continued recording in Britain with modest results, his work remained unavailable in the United States until 1958, when a family friend’s intervention with the Philadelphia organized-crime leadership permitted his return.
By then Martino’s early momentum had dissipated, and he confronted the challenge of rebuilding a career while now contending with rock & roll. Ten or more singles issued on 20th Century Fox during the late 1950s failed to reach the Top 40, prompting the label to drop him. Undeterred, he independently financed The Exciting Voice of Al Martino, which secured a fresh Capitol agreement and a 1962 release. An updated “Here in My Heart” appeared as a single and barely registered on the charts. He promptly followed with the largely Italian-language album The Italian Voice of Al Martino and made several prominent television appearances to restore visibility.
Those broadcasts helped produce a substantial comeback with 1963’s “I Love You Because,” previously a country success for Leon Payne. Arranged by Belford Hendricks, Martino’s understated pop interpretation climbed to number three on the pop chart and number one on the easy-listening chart. The matching album reached the Top Ten, and Martino remained a chart regular for more than a decade, initially favoring country-tinged pop under musical director Peter DeAngelis. Further 1963 hits included “Painted, Tainted Rose” (Top 20 pop, Top Five easy listening) and “Living a Lie,” with the Painted, Tainted Rose album becoming his second Top Ten entry. Four additional chart singles arrived in 1964—“Always Together,” “I Love You More and More Every Day” (pop Top Ten), “Tears and Roses” (pop Top 20), and “We Could”—each a Top Ten easy-listening performer.
The 1966 recording “Spanish Eyes,” adapted from Bert Kaempfert’s instrumental “Moon Over Naples,” became Martino’s signature song. Although it peaked at number 15 on the pop chart, the track spent a month at number one on the easy-listening chart, achieved broad European success, and inspired numerous covers by traditional pop artists. The accompanying album earned gold certification and marked Martino’s third and final Top Ten LP. Two further substantial easy-listening hits followed that year—“Think I’ll Go Home and Cry Myself to Sleep” and “Wiederseh’n”—while 1967 brought number-one easy-listening placements with the folk-styled “Mary in the Morning” and the Bob Crewe composition “More Than the Eye Can See.”
Additional easy-listening successes continued into the close of the 1960s, among them a vocal treatment of Paul Mauriat’s “Love Is Blue” in 1968 and a 1970 cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Album chart positions nevertheless declined. Longtime acquaintance Phyllis McGuire of the McGuire Sisters, familiar with Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, drew Martino’s attention to the character Johnny Fontane, a waning pop idol who relies on mob assistance to secure a career-reviving film role. Though the part was rumored to reference Frank Sinatra’s Academy Award-winning performance in From Here to Eternity, it resonated strongly with Martino, who ultimately played the character. The Godfather’s critical and commercial triumph, together with Martino’s recording of the film’s love theme “Speak Softly Love,” renewed his reputation and conferred a measure of cult status.
Even as pop tastes shifted markedly, the Godfather appearance sustained several more years of recording activity. In 1975 Martino returned to the pop Top 20 for the first time since “Spanish Eyes” with “To the Door of the Sun (Alle Porte del Sole),” an English rendering of a popular Italian song. A disco-inflected version of the Italian standard “Volare” also became an unexpected dance-club success, particularly in Europe. Throughout the 1970s he toured clubs and casinos extensively and scored one final easy-listening hit with 1978’s “The Next Hundred Years.” Diminishing commercial results led to the end of his Capitol association in 1982. He continued performing in clubs, lounges, and casinos and resumed recording with the 2000 album Style.
