 Born in Sicily, Nocera was raised in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (in northern Italy), before emigrating to the United States when she was 18 years old.Nocera signed with independent label Sleeping Bag Records in 1986, and released the single "Summertime Summertime" that same year.The single, produced by Floyd Fisher and remixed by Kurtis Mantronik, was included on Nocera's 1987 debut album, "Over the Rainbow", and reached No.