Life and Career
In 1952, she married the juggler Erik van Aro (Gerd Eric Horst Scholz). He recognized her talent and accompanied her in her initial years of worldwide success, although they later divorced. Their son is the singer Eric van Aro, Jr. In 1953, she made her first recordings with Kurt Edelhagen. Soon afterwards she achieved great success with songs such as "Malagueña", "The Breeze and I", and "Dreh dich nicht um" with the Werner Müller orchestra. In 1955, she was featured on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" with Gordon MacRae. In the mid 1960s, Valente worked with Claus Ogerman and recorded material in both Italian and English that he arranged/conducted and/or composed on the Decca and London labels. Between 1966 and 1972 she was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Show. In 1972, she married the British pianist Roy Budd. They had a son, Alexander, but they divorced in 1979.
In Germany she was a major performer of Schlager music. There she recorded Cole Porter's I Love Paris under the German title Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe, which sold more than 500,000 copies in 1954.
Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Claus Ogerman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Sy Oliver, Buddy Rich and Edmundo Ros. In 1959, she was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Valente was a principal, along with Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart, on the short-lived CBS variety series The Entertainers (1964–65).
A briglia sciolta, the Italian jazz CD recorded in 1989 and re-released in later years under the titles Fantastica and Platinum deluxe, is Valente’s best-selling CD worldwide. In 2001, she released a new album, Girltalk, with harpist Catherine Michel.
Read more about this topic: Caterina Valente
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