McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
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Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Cassano, Franco, 1922-2016
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1922-2016
History
Italian musician Franco Cassano, born in San Severo, tried his hand at various musical occupations: pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. During his career, he collaborated with Radio della Svizzera Italiana. He conducted the RAI orchestra in Milan and the orchestra of the Festival de San Remo. During the 1960s and 1970s he wrote many songs, including for a soundtrack for the film Vaghe Stelle d’Orsa. Probably his best-known song, written in 1968 with Corrado Conti, was “Melodia” sung originally by Isabella Iannetti, but made famous by Engelbert Humperdinck’s version, “The Way it Used to Be.” English lyrics to replace Gianni Argenio’s original Italian lyrics were provided by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. Cassano’s most influential work, however, was producing records for 27 years as director of the Italian record company, Durium.