Renato Carosone (; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician. He was a prominent figure of the Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called canzone napoletana, a traditional music genre from Naples. His biggest successes were: "'O Sarracino", "Caravan Petrol", "Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano", "Maruzzella" and "Pigliate na' pastiglia". Carosone was one of the first post-war Italian artists (the other one being Domenico Modugno) who sold records and toured in the United States without singing in English. Biography Beginnings Carosone was born in Naples, the older of three siblings. His father, who worked in a theatre box office, encouraged him to pursue music. He studied piano and composition at the Naples Conservatory and obtained his diploma in 1937, when he was just 17. A few months later he signed a contract to perform as a band leader in Eritrea. Carosone worked at the Odeon Club in Addis Ababa, where he become a prominent figure of the local music scene, performing a combination of big-band music, Napoletan songs and Eritrean percussive elements. In 1938 Carosone met dancer Lita Levidi in Addis Ababa. The two fell in love and eventually got married. Carosone adopted her son, Pino. At the outbreak of World War II, Carosone was drafted to fight in Ethiopia. In 1946, at the end of the war, he returned to Italy. Partially due to his long tenure abroad and the years of inactivity caused by the war, Carosone discovered to be virtually unknown in his home country. He started his career afresh, playing piano for small dance-hall bands. These new performances were strongly influenced by the new rhythms and music styles he had encountered during his ten years in Eritrea and caught the attention of local promoters. Success In 1949 Carosone was asked to put together a band for a club's opening night. After some auditions, he signed the Dutch guitarist Peter van Houten and the Neapolitan drummer Gegè Di Giacomo and formed the Trio Carosone. The trio would later become a quartet with the addition of the Hungarian romani musician Elek Bacsik on bass, guitar and violin. During the 1950s Carosone became more and more popular, his orchestra was in great demand both in Italy and abroad, and records sales were soaring high. His song "Torero", entered the charts