Baltimora was an Italian music project active in the 1980s. They are best known for their 1985 single "Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States due to the song's success compared to their other singles. In other European countries, including their native Italy, Baltimora enjoyed more success.
History
Early years
In early 1984, Maurizio Bassi, a music producer and musician from Milan, met Jimmy McShane, a native of Derry, Northern Ireland. McShane was an emergency medical technician who worked for the Red Cross in Northern Ireland. They decided to form an act fronted by McShane, a trained actor and dancer, who had previously tried to break into the West End theater scene. Bassi recruited prominent Italian sessionmen to record their first album, such as Giorgio Cocilovo on guitar and Gabriele "Lele" Melotti on drums. The lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi, as he'd done with Carrara, with McShane sometimes providing the backing vocals. The bulk of Baltimora's song writing fell on Bassi and American lyricist Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to their track "Survivor in Love".
Success with "Tarzan Boy"
Baltimora's first single, "Tarzan Boy", was released in April 1985, and became a huge European success, peaking at No. 6 on the Italian single chart and entering the top 5 in numerous European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Norway. The song eventually made it to the United Kingdom charts, where it reached No. 3 in August 1985. "Tarzan Boy" was released in Canada in October 1985 and peaked on the Canadian charts at No. 5 by the end of the year. However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States. When it did, it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months, peaking at No. 13 in February 1986. Baltimora performed on the AmericanTV showSolid Gold, which helped further their success in America. The second single, "Woody Boogie", which also gained notable success, entered the top 20 in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985 and in United States in 1986. Despite the success of "Tarzan Boy", Living in the Background only charted moderately, entering the top 20 album charts only in a few countries in Europe, including Sweden, reaching the no. 49 spot on the US charts. When Baltimora's second album, Survivor in Love and the single "Key Key Karimba" failed to chart, Baltimora lost label support and Bassi decided to disband. Jimmy McShane died of an AIDS-related illness in March 1995.
Studio personnel
Maurizio Bassi session arranger, musician, producer, and songwriter from Milan, Italy.
Gaetano Leandro is an Italian pop keyboardist known for his collaboration with American singer Amii Stewart. He joined the group in the studio for the Survivor in Love album, supplementing Bassi's keyboards.
Giorgio Cocilovo is an Italian jazz fusion guitarist and music teacher from Milan.
Claudio Bazzari is an Italian blues and country rhythm guitarist, he has played in various groups and as a session musician and has collaborated with many artists, including Fabrizio De André and Mario Lavezzi.
Pier Michelatti is an Italian session bassist, known for his collaboration with Pink Project, Fabrizio and Cristiano De André and Baltimora.
Dino D'Autorio is an Italian pop, rock, jazz, funk and blues bassist, and music teacher/arranger from Penne, Italy. He replaced Pier Michelatti as Baltimora's bassist in 1987.
Gabriele "Lele" Melotti is an Italian session drummer and percussionist from Bologna, Italy.
Style
Baltimora's music style is mainly described as Italo disco and sometimes as new wave, including their first album, Living in the Background.
