Ard legenden caterina valente biography

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" Caterina Valente's version of “The Breeze and I” became a top- ten pop song at the moment just before the bongo rolls underneath, and cymbal strikes above, assert percussion's importance in the texture."--Living Genres in Late Modernity () by Charles Kronengold

Caterina Valente ( – ) was a French-Italian singer, guitarist and dancer known for songs such as "Bongo cha cha cha" ().

Part of the international variety circuit, she was a multilingual singer who spoke six languages and sang in eleven. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others.

Life and career

Caterina Valente was born in Paris to Italian parents Giuseppe and Maria Valente. In , she was featured on The Colgate Comedy Hour with G