If you were living in Italy 50+ years ago you were probably spinning Jula’s jazz vinyls, catching her interviews on RAI television and reading about her in Italtian tabloids.
As a young singer just starting out her career she preferred French songs, but quickly gained fame through her many english interpretations.
One of my favorite stories of Jula is her performance in 1959 at the famed “Festival di Sanremo,”. She shocked the audience and the press with her passionate performance of the song “Tua.” Outrage ensued as critics and coordiators of the event considered her performance “too sexy,” and as a result she didn’t appear on the national television (RAI) for several years. In fact the Pope had to intervene, eventually, writing a letter stating that her performance was passionate and should not be condemned. Her fans [most of Italy] remained loyal.
I was lucky enough to have her and her husband Carlo in my life from the moment I was born and have always seen them as family. I am so over the moon happy to share that after 40 years Jula de Palma has, as we say today, dropped a new record!
“Unforgettable Jula” contains 10 tracks recorded in London in 1972 and never published before. Ten exhilarating new takes of some of the songs performed by Jula de Palma at the memorable concert in 1970 at the Sistina Theatre in Rome.
And since this is a style blog, channel the 50’s-60’s Italian diva’s style with these modern takes on the classics: