Del Monaco was born in the city of
Sulmona in
Abruzzo. In 1965, he performed on the TV show
Campioni a Campione (
Champions at Campione) the song "Vita Mia" ("My life"), which he'd composed and which entered the Italian pop charts. In 1959, he debuted at the
Vibo Valentia song festival, ranking 3rd with the song "Al ciel manca un angelo" ("The heaven is missing an angel"). In 1967, he participated in the
Sanremo Festival with "È più forte di me" ("It's stronger than me"), paired with
Betty Curtis, and released "Una spina e una rosa" ("A thorn and a rose") the same year. Del Monaco competed in Sanremo again in
1968, paired with
Dionne Warwick, with the song "La voce del silenzio " ("The voice of silence"); in
1969, with "Un'ora fa" ("An hour ago") paired with
Fausto Leali; and in
1970, with the
Claudio Villa song "Serenata". In the
1960s and
1970s, Del Monaco composed many songs that were covered by star singers of that era, such as "L'ultima occasione" (as "Once There Was A Time") by
Mina He died on 27 May 1993, from an "incurable disease", in a clinic in
Ancona. ==Selected discography==