Born in Pignataro Maggiore, Campania, on September 7, 1943, Mario Buongiovanni grew up in Milan, where he studied accounting and opened a hairdressing salon, before following his passion for music. Accompanied by his friend Livio Macchia, singer with the group Camaleonti, he performed on stage and was noticed by producer Miki Del Prete, who signed him to Adriano Celentano's label, Clan Celetano. The young singer then took the name Mario Tessuto and changed label to Jaguar Records, which released his first single "Non mi lasciare" in 1965. In 1968, under the CGD label, he sang the "Teen-Agers Concerto" and covered Michel Polnareff's yé-yé hit "Love Me Please Love Me". After two tours with Cantagiro, Mario Tessuto enjoyed his greatest success in 1969 with the song "Lisa dagli Occhi Blu", one of the best-selling Italian songs of the decade, among many other singles such as "Nasino in su", "Concerto per un fiore" and "Tipitipiti", which he performed at the Sanremo Festival with Orietta Berti. With "Se torna lei " in 1971, his version of "All by Mystelf " in 1975 and other titles, the singer continued his career throughout the decade, until the mid-1980s. He also wrote for other artists, including Loredana Bertè, and recorded the albums Riempimi di Sogni (1985) and Una Storia Senza Tempo (2019) with his wife Donatella. Retired from the stage in 2021, Mario Tessuto died in Vigevano, Lombardy, on December 5, 2024, at the age of 81.
