Born in Ferrara, the younger of 21 children, Carboni began performing in the 1930s in the ballrooms of Emilia-Romagna.

[1][2] He started his professional career as a singer in 1940, after having won an EIAR contest for new musical artists.

[3] At the peak of his success, with the outbreak of World War II he was drafted, even if he was allowed to perform for the troops instead of going to the battlefield.

[1] In 1948, Carboni moved to Brazil for a long and successful tour in Latin America, which he eventually extended until 1951; during this time his domestical popularity and repertoire were inherited by other singers, namely Claudio Villa, Luciano Tajoli, and Giorgio Consolini.

[1] In 1960 he left the Angelini orchestra, and until the 1980s he continued to perform in liscio dance halls,[1] and also worked as an impresario and an agent.