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Maria Nocera, born in 1967, is an Italian‑American DJ and singer whose career began in the mid‑1980s after emigrating from Sicily to the United States. She first entered the music scene with the single "Summertime, Summertime" in 1986, which reached Number 2 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart; the track was produced by Floyd Fisher and remixed by Kurtis Mantronik. In 1987, she released her debut album Over the Rainbow, featuring the single "Let's Go", which peaked at Number 8 on the same chart. The album also included "Summertime, Summertime" and other tracks that solidified her presence in the freestyle genre. After the closure of Sleeping Bag Records in 1991, Nocera contributed background vocals for acts such as Sa‑Fire, India, and Information Society, and toured nationally with the latter. In 2000 she formed the trip‑hop group Voice of the Satellites, though the group remained independent. Throughout the 2000s, Nocera continued to perform as a club DJ in New York City and participated in the Freestyle Explosion tour in 2006, revisiting her earlier hits. Her work remains an example of 1980s freestyle and electronic music, with chart successes that marked her influence during that era.
