Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was aged ten.

He then released the songs "Manuela" / "Marina" as a single in 1959; the B-side became an international hit, reaching #1 in Belgium and in Germany as well as charting across Europe and in the United States.

[1] It has been covered many times by artists such as Willy Alberti, Marino Marini, Ilham al-Madfai, Dalida and Louis Armstrong.

In 1989, Granata commissioned a dance remix of "Marina", which again topped the Belgian charts as well as those of Italy, France and Germany.

He has appeared regularly on Belgian television, and served as a jury member for the 2002 Flemish preliminaries for the Eurovision Song Contest.