Italian American Music, by Brennan Rogers
Introduction
Mass Italian immigration to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries left its mark on nearly every aspect of American culture from film and television to cuisine. As Italian immigrants planted their roots in the United States and later generations began to assimilate, Italian Americans became increasingly integrated into these industries and more, particularly the music industry. Although they may not specialize in traditional Italian music, many of America’s greatest singers, songwriters, composers, and musicians are of Italian descent. Just 100 years ago, Italian Americans were a very marginalized group that struggled to achieve upward social mobility. Today, Italian Americans are often lumped together with other ‘whites’ which can be interpreted as a sign of successful integration into American society or a loss of the true Italian culture that was first brought to the United States.
History of Italian Music
Italy has a rich history of music that dates back to a time when Italy did not exist as a unified nation. In fact, much of the development of European music throughout history was led by Italy. The genre of opera originated in Italy in the late 16th century and ‘conquered’ most of Europe, showcasing talented homegrown composers but also attracting composers from across the continent. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, despite being of Austrian origin, spent many of his early years in Italy writing famous operas such as Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni which served as a springboard for the rest of his illustrious music career. Italian opera had such a strong grip on European music that it became standard to use Italian libretti (essentially the script and stage directions) for operas of any other national origin. During the mid-19th century, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi became an icon of the movement to unify Italy because of his revolutionary operas that resonated with the Italian people. These operas mainly focused on the drama of ordinary people rather than royalty and prominent members of society.
In addition to opera, Italy has historically been a stronghold for classical and instrumental music. During the Baroque period of music (~1600-1750), several genres and forms of music arose in Italy. These include the concerto (a piece written for a soloist with orchestra or ensemble accompaniment), the sonata form (three-part piece consisting of exposition, development, and recapitulation), and the cantata (a vocal piece played with instrumental accompaniment). Although the Baroque and Classical periods were largely occupied by opera, there was still plenty of room for Italian composers of instrumental music. Antonio Vivaldi’s collection of violin concertos titled Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) is among the most recognizable music in human history and is backed up by an impressive repertoire of over 500 additional concertos, nearly 50 operas, and several sonatas. Niccolò Paganini transformed violin technique forever and became one of the first true musical ‘superstars’; in fact, many believed his ability on the violin was a gift from the devil.
Italian folk music differs from opera and classical music in the sense that it varies greatly from region to region. The folk music from each region of Italy is influenced by a unique combination of ethnic groups including, but not limited to Celtic, Slavic, Greek, and Byzantine; the specific ethnic influences vary depending on the geographic location of each region. Despite their differences they are similar in the sense that they each use their own regional dialects instead of standard Italian. Italian folk music consists of many kinds of vocal, choral, and instrumental styles and is played for a wide variety of purposes. Children’s lullabies, wedding
songs, cattle-calls, ballads and more are all important parts of Italian folk music. Additionally, Italian folk music features different instrumentation depending on the particular region, with traditional instruments from each region often seeing a lot of use.
Intersection with American Culture
As we can see, Italy has a rich history of music that was introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants. However, American culture was not necessarily ready or willing to accept this tradition, as Italians were typically portrayed as simple-minded or criminals. If Italians (including musicians) were to have a chance at success in America, they were essentially forced to assimilate into the rest of society. Often, this meant abandoning aspects of their Italian roots in order to sound more ‘white’ or ‘American’. Despite all of this, there was actually a gateway that exposed Americans to Italian music, that being the opera. Although the United States did not contribute nearly as many significant operas as Europe, European operas would often tour American opera houses in the late 19th century, many of which were Italian. This marked the beginning of the American legacy of Italian music, as Italian musicians began to gain notoriety. Enrico Caruso was an Italian opera singer who resonated deeply with American and especially Italian audiences in the United States, and became a beloved musical figure through the sale of his records. More importantly, however, Caruso was a stepping stone for future Italian American musicians and performers such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
Starting in the early 20th century, new generations of Italians (who were now American citizens) were growing up and entering American society. Though many stayed in their own “Little Italy”, others grew up surrounded by American popular culture on top of their Italian culture. As jazz was becoming increasingly popular in the 1920s, jazz musicians like Bing Crosby were capturing the minds of Americans everywhere, young and old. Crosby in particular helped pioneer a smooth and intimate style of singing that achieved great success even outside of the United States. Though he himself was not of Italian descent, he was idolized by aspiring Italian American musicians, like one Frank Sinatra of New Jersey. Sinatra was interested in music, particularly big band jazz, Italian folk music, and Italian opera from composers like Giacomo Puccini. Interestingly, he would often request hints of classical music in his own music because he enjoyed them so much. Otherwise, Sinatra’s vocal style was very similar to that of his idol Bing Crosby. Tony Bennett, a fellow Italian American singer believed that Sinatra had “perfected the art of intimacy”, the vocal style defined by artists like Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra’s lyrical mastery and effortless way of singing was a huge success with the American public and made him a pop culture icon during the mid 1900s. Similarly, stars like Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Vic Damone found similar success through the intersection of American popular music and traditional Italian themes.
On the other hand, musicians like Louis Prima found inspiration from another marginalized group in the United States, namely the African American community. Since neither the Italian community nor the African American community were widely accepted in the early 1900s, the two groups often interacted at the same clubs and bars. Louis Prima’s interest in jazz came from interacting with African American musicians in this way and from hearing jazz. musicians like Louis Armstrong. Prima’s music incorporated elements of folk music like the tarantella from his Sicilian heritage with American jazz, and even added Italian language to some of his songs. Thanks to his proud display of his family’s Sicilian heritage, Prima is also
credited with paving the way for not only Italian American but other ethnic American musicians to wear their heritage as a badge of pride in their work. Thanks to the success of Louis Prima and other musicians like him, American music like blues and jazz (and later, rock and country) was even able to find audiences overseas including in Italy. Italian DJs like Massimo Ferro have spread the genre of American roots music, as well as British and Celtic folk music, to Italian audiences.
Interview with Michela Musolino
For this project, I had the privilege of having access to an interview of Sicilian American singer/dancer Michela Musolino, conducted by Miami University professor Dr. Daniele Fioretti. This interview gives me some great insight into how Italian American artists let their heritage guide their work in the modern day.
Michela Musolino’s family mostly originated from Sicily; her Sicilian grandparents immigrated to the United States during the mid 1910s. Although Musolino was born in the United States, she began visiting Sicily after learning some southern Italian folk music at a workshop in New York. In her words, “That set me off on a path where I wanted to learn everything I could”. Musolino frequently describes the feeling of “floating between worlds”, or the balance of being part of two different cultures. To her, both her American and Sicilian homes have something to offer, and despite being born in the United States, sometimes she even feels more at home in Sicily because of how open they are to her music. Despite hating the label “Italian American”, Musolino believes that everybody should have a sense of identity connected to their heritage, even if they don’t like it. In terms of music, she said it best by stating, “It is a social glue. If we lose music we lose a way of thinking, of communicating, of uniting with people.” For example, take the United States national anthem. Fundamentally, it’s only a specific series of vibrations of specific frequencies. However, to most Americans it represents national pride and brotherhood—so much so that it’s played before nearly all sporting events, including children’s. In this era of globalization and cultural imperialism, folk music is at a severe disadvantage because it’s mostly restricted to a small geographical region. I interpret Michela Musolino’s statement about preserving folk music to mean that we each have a responsibility as members of our family to preserve it and our history for future generations. In the future, Musolino plans to continue her journey of mixing Sicilian root music with American root music and exploring how southern Italians changed the trajectory of American music.
Conclusions and Opinion
Although Michela Musolino works to learn and preserve her Sicilian culture, she is just one of many singers and musicians who all share Italian roots. The reality is that not every artist with an Italian background works to integrate their heritage into their work or lives. More Italian Americans than ever before have been fully assimilated into American culture, though some such as Musolino preserve the original essence of their Italian culture through their work. But is there a right or a wrong choice?
I believe that Musolino was completely correct to say that we each have a responsibility to recognize our heritage. In fact, reading her words prompted me to discover folk music originating where I’m from. That said, I believe that it’s completely acceptable for musicians and composers to not integrate their heritage into their work or even their lives. We live in a much
more tolerant United States than that of 100 years ago that allows for greater expression of unique cultures, so people have more choice than ever before regarding what they wish to identify as. There were many popular musicians and entertainers over the past 30 years who I was not aware were of Italian descent until I did a bit of research. Some of these include pop singer/songwriter Taylor Swift, country singer/songwriter Tim McGraw, and rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Rivers Cuomo. Although their music doesn’t come across as Italian in any obvious way, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation in 2004 because of his grandfather’s Italian heritage, and Cuomo’s first name comes from a trio of Italian footballers from the 1970 World Cup.
Before starting this project, I had assumed that Italian culture was essentially gone from American music in 2024, but I’m glad to see that I’m wrong. Some musicians work to learn and preserve the folk music of their ancestors, others carry a name representing their Italian heritage, and others are okay with simply acknowledging their Italian origins. Ultimately, today’s popular music as a whole owes a lot to Italian culture as a bastion of popular music throughout history in the form of classical music and opera. The integration of Italian culture in 20th century American music paved the way for more expression of other cultures (even those not related to Italy) in popular culture. Although you may not see it every day, Italian folk music does exist thanks to the efforts of those dedicated to preserving Italian culture; all you have to do is look for it.
References
American Opera. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
<www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197506/>.
Frater, Bill. “American Roots Music in Italy – No Depression.” No Depression, 22 May 2019, www.nodepression.com/american-roots-music-in-italy.
Italian American Song. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
<www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197431/>.
Newman, William S. “Concerto | Definition, History, and Examples.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 July 1998, www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music.
Wickham, Christopher John, et al. “Italy | Facts, Geography, History, Flag, Maps, and Population.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Dec. 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Italy/Music.