5 Essential Nadia Cassini Tracks

Spanning the full disco spectrum—including funk and Italo—Nadia Cassini left behind gems still waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

Among the many features and byproducts of disco music, one can’t forget about the fact that it worked both as a career booster and a second act both for show-business professionals across disciplines and for classically-trained singers whose career needed a refresh for them to maintain some relevance.

Italian-American actress and showgirl Nadia Cassini experienced this firsthand. Born Gianna Lou Müller, she rose to prominence for her roles in Italian erotic comedies, known as “commedia sexy all’italiana.” Relevant participations include the sexually dissatisfied bride Paola in Il dio serpente, known for its soundtrack penned by Augusto Martelli; a supporting role in Mike Hodges’s 1972 movie Pulp; the lead role in the 1979 flick L’insegnante balla…con tutta la classe (the teacher dances…with the entire classroom), where she plays a dancing-enthusiast gym teacher; the titular character in the 1979 comedy L’infermiera nella corsia dei militari (the nurse in the military ward) and the sexually forward titular character in the 1980 comedy La dottoressa ci sta con il colonnello (the doctor is getting it on with the colonel).

In the 1980s, she was a fixture on variety TV shows, such as Premiatissima alongside Amanda Lear; Drive In; and Risatissima. Mainstream success was always out of reach, however, due to an allegedly abrasive personality and a lack of fluency in the Italian language, which led her movie appearances to be overdubbed—something that could not readily be done for tv shows.

Her music production has, in our opinion, cult-like status. While her vocals are not on a par of those of other Italian singers, she always worked with top-tier composers and arrangers who crafted elegant, dance-floor-ready tracks.

“Passaporto Per La Follia”

Nadia debuted her music career in 1977 with the single Giorno Per Giorno. It was a time in Italian entertainment when an artist—especially a beautiful woman—had to branch out across all possible fields to win over diverse audiences. During those years, Nadia appeared in films, theater productions, TV shows, magazines, and of course, in music.

The true gem of the record lies on the B-side: Passaporto Per La Follia. The track was produced by Andrea Lo Vecchio, who had already been working with major names like Mina, Patty Pravo, and Raffaella Carrà, as well as with newer, more “experimental” acts such as Eva Eva Eva and Cassini herself. This cosmic Italian disco rarity clearly reflects the influence Donna Summer’s I Feel Love was having on young producers around the world.

“Encounters”

Riding the wave of success she was enjoying on TV and in film, Nadia’s label CGD brought together a dream team of producers and writers in 1978 to craft her first solo album, Encounters of the Loving Kind. Here, Andrea Lo Vecchio joined forces with Alberto Radius and Arturo Zitelli to create a fantastic disco album that reflects all the musical trends Italy was embracing at the time—disco, cosmic, rock, and funk.

While Nadia may not be a traditional vocalist, her voice works surprisingly well on these tracks, many of which she performed on television. The album is sung entirely in English, thanks to a mysterious Nicoletta Berenice Barton, about whom, unfortunately, very little is known. It's hard to choose a standout, but we selected the lead single Encounters—a track where Nadia truly shines.

“Get Ready”

By 1983, producer Bobby Orlando had risen to international fame with hits like Passion by The Flirts, Fantasy by Hotline, and Shoot Your Shot by Divine. Nadia’s new label saw an opportunity to pair the two, resulting in an album that perfectly captured the musical zeitgeist: Italo Disco meets Hi-NRG, the aerobics craze, and the box office and chart-topping success of Flashdance.

Get Ready is the lead single from this anonymous album, and we recommend the Disco Mix version as the definitive one.

“Sophisticated Lady”

The Get Ready album includes two genre outliers. One of them is Sophisticated Lady, a funk-soul number that cuts through the album’s otherwise synthetic feel. Here, Andrea Lo Vecchio returns to production duties, delivering a track that arguably would’ve been a better fit on the Encounters album.

“Mysteries of the Night”

By 1985, Nadia had become a fixture on Canale 5, the main rival to Italy’s national broadcaster RAI. It was only natural that she would sign with FIVE, the network’s official record label. Her final album, Dreams, attempts to ride the wave of a shifting Italo Disco scene—one increasingly shaped for television appearances.

While most of the tracks on the album are forgettable, Mysteries of the Night is a standout. With shades of Patrizia Pellegrino’s Automaticamore, the track sparkles with potential. The only issue? It’s too short. An extended version would have been perfect.