Rita Pavone
Rita Ori Filomena Merk-Pavone (Pavone, lang; born August 23, 1945) is an Italian-Swiss pop singer, actress and showgirl, who rose to prominence in the 1960s. Known as "the Mosquito of Turin" (la Zanzara di Torino), she was also nicknamed "Carrot Hair" (Pel di carota) because of the red color of her hair. Selling more than 50 million records worldwide and recording in seven different languages, she is also one of eight Italian pop singers to have ever entered the UK charts.
Rita Pavone

Italian magazine TV sorrisi e canzoni · Public domain
- Name
- Rita Pavone
- Birth Name
- Rita Ori Filomena Pavone
- Born
- 23 August 1945
- Birthplace
- Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy
- Occupation
- * Singer
- Nationality
- Italy and Switzerland.
- Fields
- pop music.
- Languages
- German, Italian and English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Rita Ori Filomena Merk-Pavone (Pavone, lang; born August 23, 1945) is an Italian-Swiss pop singer, actress and showgirl, who rose to prominence in the 1960s. Known as "the Mosquito of Turin" (la Zanzara di Torino), she was also nicknamed "Carrot Hair" (Pel di carota) because of the red color of her hair. Selling more than 50 million records worldwide and recording in seven different languages, she is also one of eight Italian pop singers to have ever entered the UK charts.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q263442 · wikipedia · Rita Pavone
In this article
Biography
Biography
Pavone worked across actor, singer, stage actor, recording artist and musician. The registers place that work in pop music. This article rests on 40 catalogued compositions, 2 published texts, 68 issued recordings, 3 digitised documents and 3 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

Grand Gala du Disque 1965, Rita Pavone 2 oktober 1965
Eric Koch for Anefo · Nationaal Archief

Italian singer Rita Pavone at "Un disco per l'estate" 1973
Italian magazine Radiocorriere
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Rita Pavone • Birth Name — Rita Ori Filomena Pavone • Born — 23 August 1945 • Birthplace — Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy • Citizenship — * Italy • Switzerland • Occupation — * Singer • actress • Years Active — 1962–present • Children — 2 • Website — http: www.ritapavone.it
Career
Career
Pavone was born in Turin, in the region of Piedmont. In 1962 she participated in, and won, the first Festival degli Sconosciuti ("Festival of the Unknown"), a song competition for amateur artists. Her self-titled 1963 album, led by the hit single "La partita di pallone" ("The Soccer Game") brought her widespread recognition in Italy at age 17 and later international visibility. "La partita di pallone" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Her recording of "Cuore" ("Heart") also sold a million copies in 1963 and spent nine weeks at number one in Italy. Pavone made her first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show May 17, 1964, and she became a frequent musical guest there until 1970. In the summer of 1964, she had chart success in North America with a single "Remember Me", sung in English, backed with "Just Once More" (#13 Canada). The song reached number 26 in the United States and number 16 in Canada. In Canada, another single, "Wait for Me", reached number 33 in October 1964. She became popular among Spanish youth audiences, and a 2005 Spanish television documentary described her success there as uncommon for a foreign singer. In the United States, she performed on programs that also featured artists such as Diana Ross and The Supremes, Ella Fitzgerald, Tom Jones, Duke Ellington, and Paul Anka. She also sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Returning to Italy, Pavone made her acting debut, working in five films and participating in shows such as Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca (a children's TV show), Alta pressione ("High Pressure"), Stasera Rita ("Tonight Rita"), and the variety show Studio Uno. In 1982, she participated in Come Alice ("Like Alice"), which became a hit on Italian television. Rita Pavone starred in six movies during the 1960s: Clémentine chérie (1963), Rita the American Girl (1965), Rita la zanzara (1966), Non stuzzicate la zanzara (1967), Little Rita nel West (1967), and La Feldmarescialla (1968). The two "Zanzara" movies and the Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca were directed by Lina Wertmüller. Although her movie career was aimed at a teen audience, her films have since attracted a small following, today her films have found a cult niche. Pavone was also popular in the UK during 1966 and 1967. RCA Victor issued two of her singles; in quick succession both were hits, "Heart" peaking at number 27 and "You Only You" peaking at number 21 in the UK Singles Chart. During this period, she performed at venues including the London Palladium. She also recorded Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Try It and See", which later became "King Herod's Song" in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1968, Pavone married Teddy Reno in Switzerland. He was her talent scout and the organizer of the first song contest she won, but their marriage attracted media attention in Italy because Reno was still legally married, and divorce was not yet permitted until 1970. They remarried in Italy in 1971 and had two sons: Alessandro in 1969 and Giorgio in 1974. During the 1980s, Pavone acted in comedy films including 2 sul pianerottolo, Risate in salotto and Santarellina. In 1992, Pavone returned to the United States, where she sang during a multiple-artist concert that included Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, the Bolshoi Ballet, and Cher at the Sands hotel in Atlantic City. She then turned to theater acting and participated in a William Shakespeare play. In 2002 she gave a concert at Miami's Dade Auditorium. The main character in the Argentinian film Nine Queens tries to remember the tune of a Rita Pavone song throughout the story; the song "Il ballo del mattone" plays as the end credits run. Pavone was a Senate candidate in the Italian general election of 2006. She participated as candidate for Per l'Italia nel mondo ("For Italy in the World"), a centre-right list led by minister Mirko Tremaglia. She participated at the Sanremo Music Festival 2020 with the song "Niente (Resilienza 74)". Pavone and her husband Reno now live in Ticino, Switzerland. Their elder son Alessandro is a radio show host, and their younger son Giorgio is a rock singer.
Appearances at the Sanremo Music Festival
Appearances at the Sanremo Music Festival
• Illustration — Pavone at a press conference during Sanremo 2020 • Year — Category — Song — Placement — Partner • 1969 — rowspan="3" — "Zucchero" — 13th — Dik Dik • 1970 — "Ahi ahi ragazzo!" — Non-finalist — Valeria Mongardini • 1972 — "Amici mai" — rowspan="2" • 2020 — Campioni — "Niente (Resilienza 74)" — 17th
Appearances as guest
Appearances as guest
• Year — Artists — Song — Author • 2005 — Toto Cutugno and Annalisa Minetti — "Come noi nessuno al mondo" — S. Cutugno
RCA singles (1963–1970)
RCA singles (1963–1970)
• "La partita di pallone" / "Amore twist" (1963) • "Come te non c'è nessuno" / "Clémentine chérie" (1963) • "Alla mia età" / "Pel di carota" • "Cuore" / "Il ballo del mattone" (1963) • "Non è facile avere 18 anni" / "Son finite le vacanze" (1964) • "Che m'importa del mondo" / "Datemi un martello" (1964) • "Scrivi" / "Ti vorrei parlare" (1964) • "L'amore mio" / "San Francesco" (1964) • "Viva la pappa col pomodoro" / "Sei la mamma" (1965) • "Lui" / "La forza di lasciarti" (1965) • "Il plip" / "Supercalifragilispiespiralidoso" (1965) • "Stasera con te" / "Solo tu" (1965) • "Il geghegè" / "Qui ritornerà" (1965) • "Fortissimo" / La sai troppo lunga" (1966) • "Mamma dammi la panna" / "Col chicco" (1966) • "La zanzara" / "Perché due non fa tre" (1966) • "Dove non so" / "Gira gira" (1967) • "Una notte intera" / "Questo nostro amore" (1967) • "I tre porcellini" / "Con un poco di zucchero" (1967) • "Non dimenticar le mie parole" / "Da cosa nasce cosa" (1967) • "Tu sei come" / "Ma che te ne fai" (1968) • "Zucchero" (1969) • "Ahi, ahi ragazzo" (1970)
Filmography
Filmography
Films • Title — Year — Role • Rita the American Girl — 1965 — Rita Benvenuti • Rita the Mosquito — 1966 — Rita Santangelo • Don't Sting the Mosquito — 1967 • Rita of the West — Little Rita • The Crazy Kids of the War — Rita • Due sul pianerottolo — 1976 — Mimma Castigliano
Life and work
Life and work
Rita Pavone was born on 23 August 1945 in Turin. Pavone held the nationality of Italy and Switzerland. Married to: Teddy Reno. Pavone worked as actor, singer, stage actor and recording artist, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them musician. Pavone was active from 1962. The fields Pavone worked in include pop music. Pavone played the voice. Pavone worked in German, Italian and English.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1945
Rita Pavone was born on 23 August 1945.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Breggia.
Residences
Turin.
Birth place
Works documented in more than one form
Catalogued output
Works documented in more than one form
3 titles are catalogued under more than one form, which is to say the registers hold them both as a work and as a distinct object, score, recording or edition. Where a title is documented in several forms the evidence behind it is correspondingly wider, and the article treats those forms as separate records of the same work rather than as separate works.
Fortissimo / La sai troppo lunga
1966 — catalogued as single and 7″ single
Fortissimo
1966 — catalogued as musical work/composition and music track with vocals
La sai troppo lunga
1966 — catalogued as musical work/composition and music track with vocals
Compositions, 1966–1971
Catalogued output
Compositions, 1966–1971
The entries below are works composed by the subject, as the institutional registers catalogue them; later performances and commercial recordings of the same music are listed separately. The 1960s are the densest part of the run, with 2 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself. They belong to a run of 40 titles in all, from 1966 to 1971.
3 compositions carry dates between 1966 and 1971
The run opens with Fortissimo and closes with Che sarà
Che sarà
1971
Compositions without a settled date
Catalogued output
Compositions without a settled date
37 further compositions are catalogued under Pavone's name without a date the collections agree on, which is why they are set apart from the dated run rather than placed in it. A selection is set out below and the complete run may be opened beneath it. Where Is the One? It's Not Easy.
Viva la pappa
Datemi un martello
Cin cin c'innamoriamo
Questo nostro amore
Per tutta la vita
Son finite le vacanze
Che m'importa del mondo
Pel di carota: dal film "La cuccagna"
Wenn ich ein Junge wär
Liebe könnte wie Zucker sein
Wait for Me
Alla mia età
Discography
Discography
Pavone mainly recorded for RCA Victor until 1968, then signed briefly with Ricordi, which launched her vanity label RitaLand. She eventually returned to RCA Victor and recorded three more albums with the label. She also recorded a French language album with Phillips.
Italian discography
Italian discography
• Rita Pavone (1963, re-released on CD in 2003) • Non è facile avere 18 anni (1964) • Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca (1965) • Stasera Rita (1965) • È nata una stella (1966, compilation) • Ci vuole poco (1967) • Little Rita nel West (1968) • Rita 70 • Viaggio a Ritaland (1970) • Gli italiani vogliono cantare (1972) • Rita ed io (1976) • R.P. (1980) • Gemma e le altre (1989) • Masters (2013)
U.S. discography
U.S. discography
• Rita Pavone – The International Teenage Sensation (1964) • Small Wonder (1964) • This Is Rita Pavone (1965)
French discography
French discography
• Dame Baby Poupée Philips – 9101 209 (1979)
Issued recordings
Primary material
Issued recordings
These are published sound issues catalogued under the name. Most postdate the works they carry, and an issue is never counted here as a work of composition. 30 issues carry dates between 1962 and 2020. The run opens with La partita di pallone and closes with RaRità.
Recordings and discography
Primary material
Recordings and discography
The discography assembled here shows how Pavone's work has been published in sound, not what Pavone made. 38 sound issues are catalogued, carrying dates from 1962 to 2025. An issue is a published recording, distinct from the composition it carries, from a printed score of that composition and from any single performance of it; none of the entries below is counted in the catalogue of compositions above, and several of them carry the same work in different readings. The 1960s are the densest decade of publication, with 14 issues.
The performers and issuing labels are as the discographic register states them; where it names no performer the article names none. RaRità!
2020
RP '80
1979
He (Didn't Remember My Name) (Vado via)
1973
Il geghegè e altri successi
2011
Alla mia età / Pel di carota
1963
I grandi successi originali
2000
Arrivederci Hans / Da sag' ich nicht nein
1968
Cuore / Il ballo del mattone
1963
Bonjour la France / Sous le ciel de France, sous le ciel d'Italie
1972
Tutti i successi di Rita Pavone
1999
I successi di Rita Pavone
Tops der Saison
1968
Ihre grössten Hits
La partita di pallone / Amore twist
1962
Una notte intera / Questo nostro amore
1967
Alles kaputt
1970
Come lei non c'è nessuno
1990
Desde mi alcoba
Non è facile avere 18 anni
1963
Fuggire da qui
1976
Wenn ich ein Junge wär' / Okay!
Okay!
1963
Datemi un martello (If I Had a Hammer)
1964
L'Album Di Rita Pavone
1998
Ein Sonny Boy und eine kleine Signorina
Gemma e le altre
2025
Sabato pomeriggio / Amore scusami
1975
Super Best
2012
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q263442: Rita Pavone
Unverified · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Rita Pavone”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Authority records
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
institutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q263442: Rita PavoneWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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