Jimmy Roselli, whose cool operatic type of voice made him a top crooner and who Jerry Lewis once said “sings as an Italian should sing,” grew up on the same street as Frank Sinatra, in Hoboken, NJ. Abandoned as a baby by his father after his mother died while giving birth to him in 1925, he was raised by his Neapolitan grandfather. That grandfather’s love for Neapolitan songs is what inspired a young Jimmy to start singing.
At age 10, to help make ends meet, the young Jimmy got a shoeshine box that he carried around with him to clubs and hotels and sang while shining shoes. At age 13, he won an NBC radio singing competition, and by the time he returned from wartime service, he was a master at singing jazz songs and traditional Neapolitan songs.
In 1954, Roselli was given a booking in Boston, opening for Jimmy Durante. Within a few years, Roselli was performing on the radio and in popular clubs. After getting some spots on television shows in the 1960s, Jimmy earned a recording contract.
Sinatra was great, yet couldn’t even speak Italian. Roselli spoke Italian and sang Italian songs perfectly. His version of the Neapolitan song “Mala Femmina” became a sort of Italian American national anthem and can be heard in the 1973 Scorsese film Mean Streets. His song “Little Pal” made the wiseguys love him.
In fact, Carmine Persico and Larry Gallo were fans. Gallo was even buried with one of Roselli’s records. Roselli had some hit songs with “There Must Be a Way,” “All the Time,” and “Please Believe Me” in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, radio stations stopped playing his songs and his records vanished from the stores after he refused to sing at a party for Sinatra’s mother Dolly in 1970. To make matters worse, he even refused to sing for the Cosa Nostra boss Joe Colombo in 1972. After that, he was banned from performing in Las Vegas or at any establishment that was owned by goodfellas.
Until next time…”The Other Guy”
