Mina

One of Italy's most popular singers, Mina Anna Maria Mazzini, better known by her stage name Mina, was born in Busto Arsizio (Lombardy) on March 25, 1940. Gifted with a powerful, rich voice, the singer who grew up in Cremona was noticed in the club La Bussola by Davide Matalon, founder of the Italdisc label, who had her record rock'n'roll covers under the names Baby Gate and Mina, a pseudonym she kept. Her television appearance in 1959 brought her to the attention of the public, before the release of her best-selling album Tintarella di Luna the following year. An official RAI presenter and singer, she performed two years in a row at the Sanremo Festival, becoming the most popular Italian singer of the 1960s with hits such as "È Vero " and "Un Cielo Una Stanza" by Gino Paoli, "Moliendo Café" (1961), "È l'Uomo per Me" and "Un Anno d'Amore " (1964) and others, right up to "Insieme " (1970). His popularity continued unabated over the following decade, with hit albums such as Mina (1971) and Singolare y Plurale (1976), as well as the hits "Parole, parole" (1972), covered in France by Alain Delon and Dalida, "E Poi..." (1973) and "L'Importante è finire" (1975), crossing fashions, embracing musical genres and cross-dressing on his album covers. In 1978, after a foray into disco, she announced her retirement from the stage after a tour and an album recorded in the nightclub of her beginnings, La Bussola, to celebrate her twenty-year career. Retired to her estate in Lugano, Switzerland, Mina devoted herself to the studio, regularly recording albums such as Salomè (1981), Italiana (1982), Mina 25 (1983) and the No. 1 Si, Buana (1986), followed in the same position by Lochness (1993) and Canarino Mannaro (1994). After a duet album with Adriano Celentano in 1998 and Olio in 1999, the singer created yet another event with Veleno (2002) and the triple compilation The Platinum Collection (2004), certified platinum, among dozens of others. Bringing generations together, Mina remains at the top of the charts, as evidenced by the albums Le Migliori (2016) and Maeba (2018). In 2023, the album Ti Amo Come Un Pazzo (No. 4) is home to the No. 1 "Un Bricolo di Allegria". The following year sees the release of Gasso d'Amante and its first single "Buttalo via".