Pino D’Angiò Was Not A One-Hit Wonder

His disco legacy in 6 essential tracks to know beyond his "Quale Idea" superhit.

Pino D’Angiò, who died on July 6th 2024, is best known for his 1980s Italo disco hit Ma Quale Idea, which sold 2 million copies in Italy and 12 million copies worldwide. It would be myopic, though, to dismiss him as a one-hit wonder the way many Italo disco performers were, as that single was hardly the only memorable production of his.

In Italy alone, he pioneered a rap-like cadence and, worldwide, he released the first example of trance music. His sound drew inspiration from Fred Buscaglione, whose hyper masculine classy mobster persona emerges in D’Angiò’s timbre and overall onstage demeanor. 

Before he rose to fame for “Ma Quale Idea,” in 1978 Pino published the singles “E’ libero scusi?” and “La Bottega di Mefistofele,” where he hardly displays the gravelly, sultry sound we associate with him. Rather, despite a quintessentially Italo disco bassline, he adopted a rocker-like vocal inflection, which is reminiscent of Rino Gaetano despite displaying the hints of sophistication we eventually came to recognize as his own signature style.

“Perdoni tenente,” which came out in 1981  combines old-school disco and rock influences, including a Bee Gees-like refrain which sharply contrasts with D’Angiò’s baritone.

“Un po’ d’uva e un liquore,” (a little bit of grapes and liquor)  released in 1982, stands out for the way it combines a proto-balearic sound with hints of jazz, funk, and electronica. Keys are juxtaposed to synths and drums. 

His 1990 dance hit “The Age of Love,” which he composed with Bruno Sanchioni, can easily be considered one of the earliest examples of trance music, and it reportedly sold 20 million copies.

He also composed for other performers: in 1979 he penned “Face in the Water” for Marisa Sacchetto, one of Mina’s protegées. In this straight-up disco track, what emerges is D’Angiò’s ties with America, as he grew up between the United States and Canada before moving back to his native Italy.

He also composed for Mina herself: “Ma chi è quello lì” (“But who’s that one”) released in 1987 has Mina sing in D’Angiò’s signature style, which highly contrasts with her signature lyricism. The songs envisions Mina stuck in an overcrowded supermarket, when suddenly she spots a hunk, whose thighs are, over the course of the songs, compared to tires, tubs, and tanks. Mina famously released a music video of this song featuring actress Monica Vitti embracing a wifebeater-clad mannequin in a supermarket setting. 

As recently as 2022, we could hear his song “Okay Okay” which Amazon chose for its global Black Friday campaign (funny enough, the following year, Walmart opted for “One for You…One for Me” by La Bionda).

So far, he’s the only Italian artist to be featured in Sony Music’s own World Tribute to Funk, a 2003 release considered one of the most valuable resources on funk music. In 2001, he became the first (and thus far the only) Italian to be awarded the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards by ASCAP because Madison Avenue had sampled the bass line of “Ma Quale Idea” in their “Don’t Call Me Maybe.”