Rocco Granata ~ Marina (1959)

Single: Marina Released: November 22, 1959 Rocco Granata (born 16 August 1938 in Figline Vegliaturo, Italy) is an Italian-Belgian singer, songwriter, and accordionist. Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was aged ten. Rocco’s father was a coal miner, but Granata pursued music instead. He played accordion and toured Belgium with his band, ’The International Quintet’. He then released the songs “Manuela“ / “Marina“ as a single in 1959; the B-side became an international hit, reaching #1 in Belgium and in Germany as well as charting across Europe and in the United States. It sold over one million copies in Germany alone, and was awarded a gold disc. It has been covered many times by artists such as Marino Marini, Ilham al-Madfai, Dalida and Louis Armstrong.