Al Martino ✝

Jasper "Al" Cini was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name Jasper was an anglicisation of his father\'s name, Gasparino. His parents were immigrants from Abruzzo, Italy, who ran a construction business, and while growing up, he worked alongside his brothers as a bricklayer. He aspired to become a singer, emulating artists such as Al Jolson and Perry Como, and by the success of a family friend, Alfredo Cocozza, who had changed his name to Mario Lanza.\n', ' After serving with the United States Navy in World War II, during which he was part of, and injured in, the Iwo Jima invasion, Cini began his singing career. Encouraged by Lanza, he adopted the stage name Al Martino—based on the name of his good friend Lorraine Cianfrani\'s (née Losavio) husband Alfred Martin Cianfrani—and began singing in local nightclubs. In 1948, he moved to New York City, recorded some sides for the Jubilee label, and in 1952, won first place on Arthur Godfrey\'s Talent Scouts television program with a performance of Como\'s hit "If".\n', ' As a result, he won a recording contract with the Philadelphia-based independent record label BBS, where he recorded "Here in My Heart". Lanza\'s label RCA Victor had asked him to record the song, but Martino called and pleaded with him to let Martino\'s version have a clear run. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on the US pop charts in June 1952, earning Martino a gold disc, and later in the year, also reached the top of the UK charts. It was number one in the first UK Singles chart, published by the New Musical Express on November 14, 1952, putting him into the Guinness Book of World Records. "Here in My Heart" remained in the top position for nine weeks in the UK, a record for the longest consecutive run at number one, that has only since been beaten by five other songs.\n', '