Enrico Caruso - 'o sole mio free for downloading

I was only a child when my dad's mother played this for me and told me he was the greatest tenor there ever was. I have always remembered it and believed it and, whenever I hear it I remember her.

Oh my! This recording is nearly 100 years old...can you imagine what his voice would have sounded like with today's recording equipment...and what he would have sounded like in live performance... I am in awe. 

I dream of an italian husband ,who is singing in the shower.

When I hear this I think of all the Neapolitan immigrants in the Family Circle of the old Metropolitan Opera House hearing his voice and swelling with pride. Their lives were so difficult yet he eased their burdens a bit for a few hours. I know this because my great aunt (Jewish and a sweat-shop survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire) sacrificed her pennies to hear Caruso as often as she could because his humanity eased her soul - she often told me this. We thankfully know him from his recordings, but he was a phenomenon on many levels. For many people who think he was just another tenor: He was an inspiration to a whole generation of immigrants who sacrificed so much to come to the United States to improve their and their children's lives. He was a balm during bitter times.

Recently found out that Enrico is my great great uncle on my mother's side of my family... We always believed music ran in the family! My great aunts were both on Broadway and my great uncle Paul was a part of the Chicago symphony.

I'm sorry Pavarotti... You know I love you... but I can't deny that Caruso is amazing here, he has, in my opinion, the best version of O Sole Mio :)

I am here because of a book I got called "1001 songs you must hear before you die"

Remembering Enrico Caruso on his birthday: He was born on February 25, 1873 and lived until August 2, 1921.