Tony Dallara defends his tonsils

Obviously, he does it while smoking a pipe: which also serves him (he says) to increase his charm as a modern heartthrob.

Club della Pipa, April/May, 1966.
Starting from this issue, our collaborator Giorgio Colarossi - who as you know is in close contact with the world of entertainment - begins a new column, dedicated to those who have "a treasure in their voice" , and they defend it precisely by smoking a pipe instead of the more harmful cigarettes. After the first interviews with our honorary president Gino Cervi, Colarossi began a kind of investigation into every sector of the entertainment world: from pop music to opera, from prose to cinema. You will discover, together, the true face of famous stars as pipe makers, what the pipe means to them, and you will have the most up-to-date news on their artistic activity, revealed - most of the time exclusively - to the friends of the "Pipe Club ”.

To start a new column you need a certain tone that immediately gets the reader into the topic. Since these are interviews and "portraits", the right character is also needed. Well, since it is a header entitled "A treasure in the voice", I thought that priority should be given to a progenitor: exactly that of the screamers; yes sir, Tony Dallara, who has been very popular in Italy for years, imposing a completely new genre, and creating a real school behind him. He always remains the master, this is beyond doubt: this is confirmed by his most recent successes, the newest of which is the triumphant tour in Japan, which saw him highly acclaimed everywhere, in the great country of the Far East.
Tony Dallara - like Frankie Lane in America in his time - has been defined, in Italy, as the singer with "tonsils of steel". And you will have good proof of this by listening to the songs that he brought to success, from "Ghiaccio boiling" to "Romantica", from "Bambina, bambini" to many others, which have won various national festivals and competitions. Now, knowing that our Tony smokes a pipe led us to a short interview on the subject. The main question is always the same: does he believe that this "habit" is less harmful, for the little treasure he has in his throat, than the "habit" of smoking cigarettes?
- Certainly. I have been smoking a pipe for years, I would say precisely to avoid giving in to the tyranny of cigarettes, which could negatively impact my chances as a singer. I don't inhale smoke, I still get great pleasure from it, and I don't endanger the "charge" of my uvula, or my tonsils as you say. Apart from this, I will confess to you that smoking a pipe is a great form of relaxation for me: and then it puts a certain I don't know what on me, it gives me (at least I think) a more imposing, more "serious" air, as is customary. define it. And then it's very useful to me with girls...
This is new. We asked Dallara to clarify the concept. Here it is.
— I'm sure that smoking a pipe increases the charm that a man can exert on a girl. Okay, I have a certain name, a certain popularity, I even have some admirers who exaggerate in their idolatry, to the point of waking me up in the night with... hot phone calls, or I get flat tires on my car, and this is true news, anyway that I had to go to the police. But I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about... some girl who interests me in particular. I will say that when I smoke a pipe in the company of him, I see that much of the charm comes from the little clouds that are released from the bowl: the smoke envelops the man's face, his gaze becomes more provocative and profound. Does he let me say what I really think? The girl remains fascinated by this sort of "smoke of love", which envelops her all. And then, I've seen that women feel safer — just as they like it — when they're in the company of someone who smokes a pipe. Because they consider themselves more protected; because they feel (they even have a seventh and eighth sense, when they want!) that there is a real man next to them.
Let's put a stop to our good Tony's outburst: we wanted to talk about him as a pipe smoker, about what the pipe represents for him as a singer, and instead we feel like a true fervor on the pipe as an accomplice of a modern heartthrob. Okay, we take note of it, and we suggest our readers do the same, since... a technician is speaking. Attacked by other questions as a smoker, Dallara limits himself to telling us that he likes it a lot, and deplores the fact that many people show off the pipe only out of snobbery, and don't try to get into the "vital" of the supreme pleasure. Well, since he has just returned from Japan, we ask him about what interesting things he saw over there, specifically as a pipe smoker.
Not only interesting, but perhaps unprecedented. I was struck by the many old people, still dressed in kimono, curled up on their legs inhaling the smoke of a special small-leaf tobacco, dried in the greenhouse, in spring, when the sun is high. It is a tobacco that has an extraordinary rose scent, and that the Japanese usually light with a special charcoal. It is the tobacco they smoke when they sip small cups of sake. In this way, the aroma and scent of the tobacco and the drink come together, blend, giving a very particular taste to the palate. And only by enjoying these unions of pleasures can we explain, at least in part, the Japanese ritual of relaxation, meditation, peace and tranquility that calm the spirit. It can be said - I have proven it - that it is a true harmony.
Harmony recalls music, so we return (a little amazed, let's admit it) to the best-known Dallara, to the good singer of pop music. The last question, as usual, is about his current activities and programs.
— Needless to say, the Japanese experience was not dry. In fact, I have already recorded some records of songs from that country, which I hope will interest my fans; they are very beautiful songs, very close to our taste. They have just entered the circuit, in stores, and I think they will be successful. Then, I have already recorded something on television, soon you will have to... endure my face again, and suffer my voice. Finally, among the numerous offers that were made to me, I accepted that of a long tour in Yugoslavia, and when these impressions of mine come out I think I will already be in Belgrade or Zagreb: I hope you will send me a copy of the "Pipe Club" there. , a magazine that I really like. Other programs? Songs, songs, songs. And a few good pipes…
A handshake and the “king of screamers” drives away in his roaring car; with the pipe tight in his mouth. Yes, because Tony Dallara claims that - for him at least - there is no better time to smoke a pipe than when you are driving a car or in good company. Let's note... As for following his advice and example, that may be another matter. However, the pipe-smoking, nice-guy Tony Dallara is exactly what we presented to you.

Giorgio Colarossi