EH, PAISANO!: 100% ITALIAN-AMERICAN CLASSICS - Various Artists

YEAR: 1997

LABEL: Rhino

TRACK LISTING: That's Amore - Dean Martin, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno, Mama - Connie Francis, Angelina & Zooma Zooma - Louis Prima, Mala Femmina - Jerry Vale, Pepino the Italian Mouse - Lou Monte, Spanish Eyes - Al Martino, Eh Cumpari - Julius LaRosa, Cara Mia - Jay & the Americans, Piove (Ciao, Ciao Bambina) - Domenico Modugno, Runaround - The Three Chuckles, Just a Gigolo & I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me) - Louis Prima, Here In My Heart - Keely Smith, For the First Time (Come Prima) - Tony Reno & the Sherwoods, Al Di La - Emilio Pericoli, Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing - The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts, Darktown Strutters Ball (Italian Style) - Lou Monte, Innamorata (Sweetheart) - Jerry Vale

IMPRESSIONS: I owe my possession of this cd to one person: my friend Peg. For those who don't know, I met Peg in 1992 at my job at Sizzler when she was about 60 years old. Born and raised in South Philly, she was Italian to the bone and she soon became not only a close friend but a second mother to me. Each Monday (my day off for years and years) I would drive over to her house where we'd watch movies, bullshit and cook and eat homemade Italian food from homemade pasta (yes, we would start with flour and egg and run them through the pasta machine) to stuffed artichokes to "past and peas". So of course when I saw this cd come out I had to buy it and bring it over. This is the perfect album to listen to while diving into a bowl of "rigatoons"; it specializes in easy listening Italian-American hits from the 1950s and early 1960s and which can be heard fairly regularly in any Godfather or Martin Scorsese movie. Peg knew all the words in Italian that began Domenico Modugno's #1 hit single "Volare" and she'd always sing along. She didn't like Connie Francis -- she called her "the cry baby" -- so we'd usually skip her. Lou Monte's "Pepino the Italian Mouse" has a special place in my heart because, at one time, Peg discovered that she had a mouse in the house. She found this out because the mouse had nibbled at her bowl of fried chili peppers. So, of course, I said it must be an Italian mouse and he was dubbed "Pepino". Then of course there's the classic "Eh Cumpari" which both Peg and I would sing along with at the top of our voices. Peg died in 2009 and I've yet to get over it. I can't hear this album without immediately being transported back to her kitchen on Florence Avenue when I'd put this cd on as Peg "put the water up" to cook the pasta for dinner.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: That's Amore - Dean Martin, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno, Mala Femmina - Jerry Vale, Pepino the Italian Mouse - Lou Monte, Spanish Eyes - Al Martino, Eh Cumpari - Julius LaRosa, Cara Mia - Jay & the Americans, Piove (Ciao, Ciao Bambina) - Domenico Modugno, Runaround - The Three Chuckles, Al Di La - Emilio Pericoli, Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing - The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts

FACT SHEET: Uh, dese are some Italian songs!