In a lot of Mob movies (think Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco or even The Sopranos), the soundtracks are full of Doo Wop like Lou Christie, Dion, and '60s Phil Spector pop, or if set in the 70s, Disco. I'm curious as to what kind of music actual mafiosos in the 60s and 70s would've been into?
My father was in the jukebox business from the '40s through the early '80s. He had a lot of machines in Italian neighborhoods and mob hangouts. They favored Italian singers like Sinatra, Jimmy Roselli, Tony Bennett, Al Martino, etc. in the '50s/early '60s and then the Italian doowop from the Four Seasons and Dion & the Belmonts, etc.
It was a treat for me to go to work with my dad when I was a little kid (which meant I would go inside the bar with him and help empty the coins and then separate them so my dad could roll the coins). I would also bring in a box of new records to replace the older ones or those that wore out. Without a doubt the most popular requested and played song was from 1958 - "Volare".
