Patty Pravo
Nicoletta Strambelli, known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the following decade, she experienced a career revival in mid-late 1990s and reinstated her position on Italian music charts. Her most popular songs include "La bambola", "Pazza idea", "Pensiero stupendo", and "...E dimmi che non vuoi morire". Pravo has sold over 110 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling Italian music artists. She scored fourteen top 10 albums and twelve top 10 singles in her native Italy. Pravo participated at the Sanremo Music Festival ten times, most recently in 2019, and has won three critics' awards. She also performed twelve times at the Festivalbar.
Background and early life
Strambelli was born to parents Aldo Strambelli and Bruna Caporin, and was raised in a liberal fashion at her paternal grandparents' place. She spent her formative years in Venice where she was acquainted with American poet Ezra Pound and the future Pope John XXIII. She started taking piano, dance and solfège classes from a young age, and entered the Benedetto Marcello Music Conservatory straight into the fourth grade when she was ten.Career
1960s and 1970s
In 1962, deeply affected by the passing of her grandfather, she left Venice and moved to London to learn English. At the age of seventeen, she moved to Rome where she began her career dancing and singing at the newly opened Piper Club, which earned her the nickname "la ragazza del Piper". There is a number of versions as to the origins of her stage name, but most likely, "Patty" came from names of English girls that the singer was dining with on one occasion, and "Pravo" was inspired by the expression "anime prave" from Dante Alghieri's Divine Comedy.Having secured a contract with RCA Italiana, Patty released her first single in late 1966, "Ragazzo triste", the Italian version of "But You're Mine" by Sonny & Cher. Although some of the lyrics caused objections from the national radio network RAI, it would be the first pop song broadcast on Vatican Radio, and reached the top 20 in the sales chart. Pravo scored another top 20 single in 1967, "Se perdo te", written by English songwriter Paul Korda and originally performed by P. P. Arnold as "The Time Has Come". She made brief appearances in various Italian films, including Camillo Mastrocinque's The Most Beautiful Couple in the World and two pictures by Mariano Laurenti, usually performing the popular song "Qui e là".
In 1968, she released what would become one of her signature songs, "La bambola". It was a number 1 hit in Italy for nine consecutive weeks, and also charted internationally in Europe and South America. The single sold a million copies within months and was later awarded a gold disc. It was followed by a chart-topping self-titled debut album and a no. 2 hit "Sentimento". Pravo went on to release two more top 10 hits: "Tripoli 1969" and "Il paradiso", the latter performed at Festivalbar. Both were included on her second album, Concerto per Patty, which peaked at no. 5. In autumn 1969, she released another top 20 single "Nel giardino dell'amore" which she performed to some success in the variety show Canzonissima.
Pravo took part in the Sanremo Music Festival 1970 with the song "La spada nel cuore" performed in duet with Little Tony. The song placed fifth in the contest and was a chart success. She then released another album called just Patty Pravo which marked a change of musical direction from beat music towards a more melodic repertoire. The LP reached the top 10 of the Italian chart and included the hit "Per te", and a duet with Robert Charlebois "La solitudine". Pravo found success in France, where she was dubbed "Italian Édith Piaf" for her interpretation of "Non, je ne regrette rien". She followed it with a music special Bravo Pravo broadcast on French TV on New Year's Eve 1971. It would also be the title of her new LP. Although it was her lowest-charting album at that point, it spawned the popular Italian version of Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas", titled "Non andare via", and another top 5 hit "Tutt'al più".
After her contract with RCA had expired, Pravo signed with Philips Records and recorded a trilogy of albums, released in quick successions between 1971 and 1972. They consisted of more sophisticated and complex material. The first one was Di vero in fondo, accompanied by a single with Italian version of " Love Story". Both the album and the single reached the top 10 in Italy. The following two LPs, Per aver visto un uomo piangere e soffrire Dio si trasformò in musica e poesia and Sì... incoerenza, did not fare as well, but still placed within the top 20. In the meantime, Pravo released a standalone single "Non ti bastavo più" which reached no. 6.
In 1973, the singer reunited with her former label RCA and released what would become one of the biggest hits of her career, the ballad "Pazza idea". It spent two months atop the Italian singles chart, staying consecutively in the top 5 for over four months, eventually selling in over 1,5 million copies. The song's parent album, also titled Pazza idea, was a number 1 on the Italian sales chart six weeks in a row. Pravo collaborated with the same team of songwriters on her next LP, Mai una signora, released in 1974. It was another chart-topper, and spawned the popular single "Come un Pierrot" and the Festivalbar song "Quale signora". In 1975, she released Incontro, an album reportedly recorded in only three days. It was a commercial success and reached no. 4 in the sales chart. The title song was performed at the Festivalbar and reached no. 6 in Italy.
In spring 1976, Pravo released Tanto, a collaboration with Vangelis, who arranged the songs and played keyboards on the album. It was a top 10 chart success in Italy, and the title song was performed at the Festivalbar outside competition. Later in 1976, she released yet another self-titled record, this time for Dischi Ricordi. The album was highly experimental in nature, introducing rock and funk into Pravo's music, and heavily using uncommon at that time synthesizers. It underperformed commercially, although the single "Grand hotel" was moderately successful in the charts.
At the end of 1977, Pravo signed with RCA for the third time, and the following year released the single "Pensiero stupendo". It became one of her biggest hits, reaching no. 2 in the Italian chart and staying in the top 5 for nine consecutive weeks. The song was later included in the album Miss Italia which peaked at no. 8 in Italy. Some of the songs from this LP were performed in the controversial Italian TV show Stryx, in which Pravo appeared alongside such singers as Amanda Lear and Grace Jones. In 1979, she recorded a new album in Munich with German producers Rainer Pietsch and Michael Holm, hence the title Munich Album. Musically, it was a blend of electronic and rock music, influenced by punk, which was also reflected in Pravo's new image. The LP did not match the success of the predecessor, but spawned the moderate hit "Autostop".
1980s and 1990s
Following the hostility of the Italian press, and her disappointment in Italian music scene, Pravo moved to the United States in the early 80s. She posed nude for the September 1980 issue of the Italian edition of Playboy, and for the December 1981 issue of Playmen. While in America, Pravo recorded a new wave-influenced LP, Cerchi, released in June 1982 by CBO Records. Originally intended to be an entirely English-language record, it eventually featured songs performed in Italian, English and French. It was only a moderate success, peaking at No. 24.Her 1984 single "Per una bambola" won the critics' award at the Sanremo Festival and was a top 20 chart success. However, the song's parent album, Occulte persuasioni, released by CGD, failed to make an impact on the sales chart, despite favourable reviews. She recorded a series of covers of vintage songs which were broadcast in the popular TV show Premiatissima. In 1985, she had a moderate chart success with the song "Menù" which she also performed at the Festivalbar.
In 1987, Patty entered the Sanremo Festival contest again. Her song "Pigramente signora" was a cover of Dan Fogelberg's "To the Morning", yet the singer was accused of plagiarism. The song did not fare well in the contest, although it reached No. 18 on the Italian singles sales chart. The controversy led to the cancellation of her new contract with Virgin Records. Pravo released an album titled Pazza idea with new versions of her old material, and in 1988, the LP Pigramente signora, a collection of songs she had recorded in the past few years, including the recent single "Contatto". Neither of them was successful in the charts.
Her next album, Oltre l'Eden..., was produced by Paolo Dossena and released by Fonit Cetra in 1989. Although it was not a chart success, it met with positive critical reception and is often regarded as one of Pravo's best works. The title track took part in the Festivalbar song contest. In 1990, Pravo was due to perform the song "Donna con te" at Sanremo, but shortly before the event, she raised reservations towards the lyrics and asked for major changes. Her request was rejected and she eventually refused to perform. The song was then given to Anna Oxa to perform in the contest to much success. In the same year, Pravo released another album of re-recordings of her classic hits, Pazza idea eccetera eccetera... for the label Five, but it was not a commercial success.
In 1992, Pravo was arrested for possessing hashish, having had a history of cocaine possession. She was put in the female prison in Rebibbia, Rome, but was released after only three days. The following year, the singer went to China where she spent nine months travelling around the country. She would make history as the first Italian artist to perform in China. Chinese music and culture provided inspiration for her next album, Ideogrammi, recorded in Beijing with local musicians. It was released in October 1994 by a minor Italian label Zard Records, and distributed by Sony Music. No single was released to promote the album and it was not a commercial success, but received positive reviews. In 1995, Pravo returned to the Sanremo Festival with the song "I giorni dell'armonia", but it was met with lukewarm reception.
Pravo celebrated the 30th anniversary of her musical debut in 1996 and embarked on a greatest hits tour. In 1997, the singer once again participated in the Sanremo Festival. This time it was a triumph and the ballad "...E dimmi che non vuoi morire" won the Mia Martini critics' award in addition to placing 8th in the voting contest. It then entered the Italian sales chart at no. 2, turning out not only Patty's biggest hit in nearly 20 years, but also one of her most popular songs ever. The success of the song sparked a renewed interest in her music. She released her first live album Bye Bye Patty via her own label Pensiero Stupendo, and it charted in the top 5. A new version of "Pensiero stupendo" was then released as a single and was also a top 5 hit.
On her next studio album, Notti, guai e libertà, Pravo worked with some renowned Italian songwriters, including Ivano Fossati, Franco Battiato and Lucio Dalla. The album was released in spring 1998 to critical acclaim and reached the top 5 in Italy. The songs "Les Etrangers" and "Strada per un'altra città" were performed at the Festivalbar. Pravo toured extensively in support of the album in 1998 and 1999.