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 even…