Hidden Gems: Roberto Carlos’ “San Remo 1968”

From February 1 to February 3 1968, the 18th edition of the San Remo Music Festival went underway. In the finals, the winners were declared:

• 3rd place: Canzone performed by Adriano Celentano and Milva
• 2nd place: Casa Bianca performed by Ornella Vanoni and Marisa Sannia
• 1st place: Canzone Per Te performed by Roberto Carlos and Sergio Endrigo

Sergio Endrigo wrote the song Canzone Per Te while Roberto Carlos performed it. The contest rules were such that the songs of the contest were to be performed twice: one by the songwriter and one by the chosen artist. As a result, Roberto Carlos became the first and only Latin American artist ever to win San Remo in 1968; no other Latin American performer has ever won since.

The focus of this Hidden Gems segment is the resulting album: San Remo 1968. It is a compilation album with songs from 1967 to 1973. The songs in this album were only singles that never were made for the yearbook albums that Roberto Carlos is famous for. The first song on the record is the 1968 winner of San Remo Canzone Per Te. Other songs in this album are the following:

• Un Gatto nel’blu: This is the Italian version of the hit song El Gato Que Esa Triste Y Azul.
• O Show Já Terminou: This song, sung in Portuguese, is a song about breaking up a false relationship.
• Eu Disse Adeus: This song is about another breakup and the resulting aftermath that comes from it. It is different from the Spanish version, since there is more piano in one of the verses in the original Portuguese.

Even though this album was released in 1976, San Remo 1968 shows that Roberto Carlos was (and still is) an international sensation with melodies that are uniquely Brazilian. There is a perfectly good reason that he is still called O Rei da Musica Latina (The King of Latin Music) in Latin America.