Before He Was Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi Helped Launch the Careers of Popular Italian Musicians 

Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire Italian entrepreneur and former prime minister who died Monday (June 12) in Milan at age 86, will be remembered as one of Italy’s most controversial leaders. But before his career in politics, record labels he formed in the 1980s and 1990s helped launch the careers of popular Italian artists like Cristina D’Avena, Sabrina Salerno, Ambra Angiolini and Francesco Salvi.

In the 1950s, Berlusconi performed as a young crooner on cruise ships, where he met his friend and lifetime professional partner Fedele Confalonieri, who would later become chairman of Mediaset, Berlusconi’s media giant.

Music played a big role in the origins of his media empire. In the 1980s and 1990s, Berlusconi was an influential executive in the Italian music industry. In 1981, after founding Fininvest, the holding company that owned Mediaset, he launched his first record company, Five Record (renamed RTI Music in 1991).

Inspired by American songwriters, French chansonniers and the melancholic, existentialistic style of singers and songwriters from Genoa, the label initially commercialized the theme songs of the TV series and programs broadcasted by Mediaset, from cartoons to variety shows, from quiz shows to telenovelas. Then it expanded and released albums by Italian artists such as Gino Paoli, Orietta Berti, Patty Pravo and Bruno Lauzi.

Within such a wide artistic spectrum, Berlusconi’s enterprises launched the careers of artists who quickly became immensely popular (and transgenerational) in Italy: D’Avena, Angiolini, Salvi, Sabrina Salerno (her song “Boys” became a hit in Europe), Lorella Cuccarini, Giorgio Faletti and singer/comedian Fiorello.

Five Record had a strong connection with dance music. Take Change, an Italo-disco project produced by Italian musician and arranger Mauro Malavasi, saw their album The Glow of Love (1980) reach No. 29 on the Billboard 200 — a first for an Italian dance production.

The label also released Joe Smooth’s “Promised Land” in Italy and works from Double Dee (house music from Ancona, Italy) and Novecento.

After leaving office in 2011, Belusconi briefly revived his music career, releasing a new album, True Love, with longtime musical collaborator Mariano Apicella. The three-time Italian premier didn’t sing on the album but co-wrote all 11 songs, which were a collection of love songs and jazz arrangements.

Berlusconi’s biggest success in the music industry was D’Avena, the queen of theme songs for cartoons in Italy. In a career spanning 40 years, D’Avena has stayed relevant and sold more than 7 million copies of singles and albums, including compilations such as Fivelandia and Cristina D’Avena con i suoi amici in TV. The single “Kiss Me Licia” alone sold over 200,000 copies, reached No. 7 on the Italian chart and was certified Gold.

D’Avena’s biggest hit was “Canzone dei Puffi,” the theme song of the Italian version of The Smurfs cartoon. Released in 1982, it sold 500,000 copies and became her first Gold record.

“I always hoped this moment wouldn’t come,” D’Avena tells Billboard Italy about Berlusconi’s passing. “To me, he was immortal. But watching his last interviews you could tell that he was sick. … I’m feeling a huge loss. … An important piece of our country is gone.”