Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American traditional pop and jazz singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners",^[1] and became known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.

Jasper Cini was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[2] The name Jasper was an anglicisation of his father's name, Gasparino. His parents were immigrants from Malta, who ran a construction business. While growing up, he worked alongside his brothers, Pasquale and Francis as a bricklayer.^{[citation needed]} He aspired to become a singer, emulating artists such as Al Jolson and Perry Como, and by the success of a family friend, Alfredo Cocozza, who had changed his name to Mario Lanza.^[1]

After serving with the U.S. Navy in World War II, during which he took part in the Iwo Jima invasion, in which he was wounded, Cini began his singing career.^[3] Encouraged by Lanza, he adopted the stage name Al Martino, based on the name of his good friend Lorraine Cianfrani's (née Losavio) husband Alfred Martin Cianfrani, and began singing in local nightclubs. In 1948, he moved to New York City, and in 1951 his first release was issued by the Jubilee label, "Heaven Help Me (I'm in Love)", coupled with "Hurry Home to Me".^[4][5] The following year, he won first place on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television program with a performance of Como's hit "If".^[6]

As a result, he won a recording contract with the Philadelphia-based independent record label BBS, where he recorded "Here in My Heart". Lanza's label, RCA Victor, had asked Lanza to record the song, but Martino called Lanza and pleaded with him to let Martino's version have a clear chance.^[1][2] The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on the US pop chart in June 1952, earning Martino a gold disc,^[7] and later in the year, it was number one in the first UK Singles Chart, published by the New Musical Express on November 14, 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records.^[8] "Here in My Heart" remained in the top position for nine weeks in the UK.^[9]

The record's success led to a deal with Capitol Records, and he released three more singles: "Take My Heart", "Rachel", and "When You're Mine" through 1953, all of which hit the U.S. top 40.^[1] However, his success also attracted the attention of the Mafia, which bought out Martino's management contract and ordered him to pay $75,000 as a safeguard for their investment.^[1] After making a down-payment to appease them, he moved to Britain. His popularity allowed him to continue to perform and record successfully in the UK, headlining at the London Palladium and having six further British chart hits in the period up to 1955, including "Now" and "Wanted". However, his work received no exposure back in the US.^[1]

In 1958, after the intervention of a family friend, Martino was allowed to return to the U.S. and resume his recording career, but he faced difficulties in re-establishing himself, especially with the arrival of rock and roll. In 1959, Martino signed with 20th Fox Records;^[10] his deal scored him two albums,^[11] and four singles released, none of which was a major hit. The success of his 1962 album The Exciting Voice of Al Martino secured him a new contract with Capitol, and was followed by a mostly Italian-language album, The Italian Voice of Al Martino, which featured his version of the then internationally popular song "Al di là". He also made several high-profile television appearances, helping to re-establish his visibility.^[1]

In 1963, he had his biggest U.S. chart success with "I Love You Because", a cover of Leon Payne's 1950 country music hit. Arranged by Belford Hendricks, Martino's version went to number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number one on the Easy Listening chart. The album of the same name went top 10 in the Billboard 200. Martino had four other U.S. top 10 hits in 1963 and 1964 — "Painted, Tainted Rose" (1963), "I Love You More and More Every Day", "Tears and Roses", and "Silver Bells" (all 1964).^[1] He also sang the title song for the 1964 film, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. One of his biggest hits was "Spanish Eyes", achieving several gold and platinum discs for sales.^[12] Recorded in 1965, the song reached number five on the UK Singles chart when reissued in 1973.^[9] The song, with a tune by Bert Kaempfert originally titled "Moon Over Naples", is among the 50 most-played songs worldwide.^[13]

Martino's run of chart success faded after the mid-1960s, although many of his records continued to reach the U.S. Hot 100. Another later hit was a disco version of "Volare", (also known as "Nel blu, Dipinto di Blu"). In 1976, it reached number one on the Italian and Flemish charts, and was in the top 10 in Spain, the Netherlands, and France, as well as in many other European countries. In 1993, Martino recorded a new studio album with German producer Dieter Bohlen (former member of pop duo Modern Talking, producer of international artists such as Chris Norman of Smokie, Bonnie Tyler, Dionne Warwick, Engelbert or Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate). The single "Spanish Ballerina" (written in Bohlen's europop sound) reached number 93 in the German single charts.^[14]

Martino was married first to Jenny Furini; then to Gwendolyn Wenzel; and, finally, to Judi Stilwell Martino, to whom he was married at the time of his death. He had four children: Alfred Cini, Dana MacIsaac, Alana Cini, and Alison Martino.^[17] Alison Martino is a writer and television producer of such programs as Mysteries and Scandals and Headliners and Legends.^[18]

Martino died from a heart attack^[19][20] on October 13, 2009, at his home in Springfield, Pennsylvania, six days after his 82nd birthday. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

• 2009 – inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.^[21]
• Guinness Book of Records for first No. 1 record in the U.K.

• List of people from Philadelphia
• List of Italian American actors
• List of Italian American entertainers
• List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of Capitol Records artists
• List of crooners