(AGI) Rome, Mar 25 - Italian pop star Mina celebrated her 75thbirthday on Wednesday. Anna Maria Mazzini, also known as theTigress of Cremona, is still singing and making albums. She haslived in Switzerland for some years, and was said to have hadthe most beautiful voice in Italian music. Her career began atthe Bussola theatre in Versilia during the economic boom, justas other famous singers such as Adriano Celentano, Bobby Solo,Little Tony and Gianni Morandi were beginning to make theirmark. Her big break came at the Bussola in Versilia in 1958,launching her as a singer and television host. She was offereda three-year contract by Matalon, owned by Italdisc, and issuedher first 45 rpm discs. She appeared at San Remo in 1960 with'E vero', which was followed by other successes such as 'Cieloin una stanza', 'Mille bolle blu', 'Citta vuota' and 'E l'uomoper me'. She was a huge hit and frequently appeared on thecovers of weekly lifestyle magazines and was the subject ofmuch gossip. Constantly in the public eye, she was frequentlyreported to be having love affairs and disappointments. Hergreat love was with the married actor Corrado Pani, for whichshe was harshly judged, especially after the birth of a son,Massimiliano. It led to her being sidelined by televisionproducers and the press and may have been the catalyst for hermove to Switzerland some years later. She continued to makerecords such as 'Grande, grande, grande', 'E poi', Parole,parole', 'Insieme', 'Amore mio' and 'Io e te da soli'. 'Setelefonando', written by Maurizio Costanzo, was a great hit in1966, cover versions of which are still being produced, one ofwhich won the cover version prize at the latest San RemoFestival - sung by Nek. Mina is famous in America, and FrankSinatra wanted her to appear onstage with him. She starred intelevision programmes such as Canzonissima, Studio Uno andTeatro 10, alongside respected artists like Walter Chiari,Johnny Dorelli, Alberto Lupon, Don Lurio and Raffaella Carra,with whom she co-hosted Milleluci in 1974. The closing themefor Milleluci was 'Non gioco piu', which may have been acryptic message announcing her withdrawal from the scene. Herfinal appearance was again at the Bussola, where it had allbegun, in 1978. She continues to record songs, however, andmany artists, not least Adriano Celentano, still hope that shewill appear live on television again one day.. .