Carmelo La Bionda

La Bionda are an Italian disco duo, formed in Milan in 1970.

The duo consists of 

• Carmelo La Bionda (2 February 1949 – 5 November 2022) and 
• Michelangelo La Bionda (born 25 August 1952).

They are considered among the pioneers of the Italo disco music genre.

History

Beginnings

Carmelo was born on 2 February 1949, and Michelangelo on 25 August 1952 in Ramacca, Sicily. Their family moved to Milan in 1954. They debuted as songwriters with "Primo sole, primo fiore", a piece the pop band Ricchi e Poveri presented at the Song Festival in Venice in 1970. They also wrote "Neve bianca, Amica, Gentile se vuoi" for the Italian female singer Mia Martini, and "Piccolo uomo" with Bruno Lauzi (lyrics). Michelangelo La Bionda also did some session work. In 1975 he played acoustic guitar on the album Volume VIII by Fabrizio De André.

Music career

Between 1972 and 1977 La Bionda recorded two albums of acoustic ballads, Fratelli La Bionda s.r.l. (1972) and Tutto Va Bene (1977). "Tutto va bene" was recorded at the Apple Studios in London, and features Nicky Hopkins on piano.

La Bionda became popular when they turned to disco music. They moved to Munich, when they started recording under the pseudonym D. D. Sound (short for Disco Delivery Sound), a moniker that would accompany them for their entire recording career. Their first two disco singles, "Disco Bass" and "Burning Love", became international hits. They were followed by "Cafè" (1977) and "1, 2, 3, 4 Gimme Some More".

In 1978, they released their album, La Bionda. It included "Sandstorm" (produced by Dieter Bohlen) and "There for Me", as well as the worldwide hit "One for You, One for Me". "There for Me" was subsequently covered by other artists, including Sarah Brightman & Josh Groban, Dalida, Patty Pravo and Paul Potts. 

Jonathan King's cover version of "One for You, One for Me" reached the 29 spot in the UK charts at the end of 1978, outperforming La Bionda's original which had only reached number 54.

From 1978 to 1981, La Bionda continued to record more dance music, either under their name (as with the albums Bandido, High Energy and I Wanna Be Your Lover) or as D. D. Sound (as with the singles Cafe, The Hootchie Cootchie, and Wake Up in the Night). Following the 1980s, La Bionda focused on writing, producing and publishing music.

Song writing and production

In the 1980s La Bionda scored the soundtracks for many films directed by Sergio and Bruno Corbucci, including Super Fuzz (1980), Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981), starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, My Darling, My Dearest (1981), Cat and Dog (1983), A tu per tu (1984), Miami Supercops (1985) and Roba da ricchi (1987), as well as Virtual Weapon (1997), directed by Antonio Margheriti. They also composed the theme from the television series Inspector Giusti with Enrico Montesano, and produced various commercial jingles, such as "Sorrisi is Magic for Smiles and Songs" (for the Italian magazine Sorrisi & Canzoni), "Heart of Cream" (for Walls' Cornetto), "I'm Coming Home" (for Bayer Aspirin) and Coca-Cola. In 2009, they re-recorded "1, 2, 3, 4 ... Gimme Some More" for a Vodafone commercial and "One For You, One For Me" for the digital television channel Mediaset Premium.

In parallel, in 1983 they began their collaboration with the dance duo Righeira, writing their early hits "Vamos a la playa" and "No Tengo Dinero". In 1984, Carmelo La Bionda recorded a single as solo artist. "I Love You"/"You're So Fine" have been sampled by American Band Neon Indian.

Logic Studios

In 1985 La Bionda founded and started operating Logic Studios, a recording studio in Milan. Musicians who have recorded at Logic Studios over the years include Ray Charles, Robert Palmer, Paul Young, Depeche Mode as well as pop stars like Laura Pausini, Nek, Rihanna and Pooh.

Discography

La Bionda

• Fratelli La Bionda s.r.l. (1972)
• Tutto Va Bene (1977)
• La Bionda (1978)
• Bandido (1979)
• High Energy (1979)
• I Wanna Be Your Lover (1980)
• In Beatween (1998)

D. D. Sound

• 1-2-3-4 Gimme Some More! (1977)
• Disco Delivery (1977)
• Café (1978)
• The Hootchie Cootchie (1979)