Joe Vescovi (1 January 1949 – 28 November 2014) was an Italian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

keyboard player A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

, considered as one of the prominent musicians of the 1970s

Italian progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

scene, best known for his work in bands The Trip and

Dik Dik Dik Dik is an Italian beat- pop-rock band, named after the antelope Dik-dik, formed in the 1960s and still in activity. They were most popular in the late 1960s, when they released a string of hit singles with the contribution of renowned lyric-w ...

. A self-proclaimed imitator of

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

, Vescovi was popular for his histrionic stage presence and eccentric clothing as much as for his virtuoso keyboard playing.The Trip: intervista a Joe Vescovi
/ref>

Biography

Born in

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

, Vescovi founded his first rock band, The Lonely Boys, at the age of 17. He played with this band in Germany and the Netherlands without achieving much success. After returning to Italy, he played for a while in a band called Toto e i Tati, led by

Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; born 7 July 1943) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the Eurovision Song Conte ...

. In the late 1960s, Vescovi joined the

band The Trip from

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, replacing

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

, who had left the band to join

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. Blackmore later considered Vescovi to be the keyboardist for his band

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

, although David Stone was chosen instead. Vescovi is often called the leader of The Trip, both because of the heavy influence of his keyboard playing style on the sound of the band and his frontman role in live performances.Joe Vescovi
/ref> This became more true after

Pino Sinnone Pino or Piño may refer to: People * Danny Pino (born 1974), American actor * Domenico Pino (1760–1826), Italian general of the Napoleonic Wars * Fernando Solanas (born 1936), aka "Pino" Solanas, Argentine filmmaker * Frank J. Pino (1909–200 ...

left and was replaced in 1972 by

Furio Chirico Furio may refer to: * Furio (given name), including a list of people with the name * Furio (surname), including a list of people with the name * Falcomposite Furio, a kit-plane See also * Furios (disambiguation) * Furiosa (disambiguation) * Furi ...

, the band became a trio, orienting their styles towards more

. After The Trip, Vescovi joined the Italian prog rock band

Acqua Fragile Acqua Fragile was an italian progressive rock band, active from 1971 to 1975. The band was established in the city of Parma. , leader and vocalist of the band, is best known for his work with Premiata Forneria Marconi and has played in many other ...

and later

Dik-Dik A dik-dik is the name for any of four species of small antelope in the genus ''Madoqua'' that live in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa. Dik-diks stand about at the shoulder, are long, weigh and can live for up to 10 years. Dik- ...

, one of the most popular Italian pop-rock bands ever. He also collaborated with

Umberto Tozzi Umberto Antonio Tozzi (; born 4 March 1952) is an Italian pop and rock singer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 70 million records in different languages internationally, and his biggest international hits are: "Stel ...

and founded two minor bands of his own, Tarrot (who were hired by ex-

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

Franz Di Cioccio Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

to play the musical score for the 1982 film ''

Attila flagello di Dio ''Attila flagello di Dio'' ("Attila Scourge of God") is a 1982 Italian Comedy film written and directed by Castellano e Pipolo. Cast * Diego Abatantuono as Attila * Mauro Di Francesco as Tartufo * Rita Rusic as Uraia * Angelo Infanti as Fu ...

'') and Night Fudge.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vescovi, Joe Italian keyboardists Progressive rock musicians 1949 births 2014 deaths