Cristiano Minellono (born 27 March 1946) is an Italian songwriter and actor. He is also known as Popi Minellono.

Life and career

Born in

Arona, Piedmont Arona (; pms, Aron-a ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Aruna ) is a town and ''comune'' on Lake Maggiore, in the province of Novara (northern Italy). Its main economic activity is tourism, especially from Milan, France and Germany. History Archaeol ...

, Minellono debuted as a lyricist in 1967, with the song "È ancora giorno", performed by

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

. In 1968 he got his first successes, Patrick Samson's "Soli si muore" 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 ...

's "

Il primo giorno di Primavera "Il primo giorno di primavera" (literally "The first day of spring") is a 1968 song composed by Mario Lavezzi, Cristiano Minellono and Mogol and performed by the musical group Dik Dik. The song was one of the band's major hits, its lyrics were ...

". After further hits for

Umberto Balsamo Rosario Umberto Balsamo, best known as Umberto Balsamo (born 10 March 1942) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. Background Born in Catania, Balsamo was the youngest of five brothers. In 1964 he moved to Milan, where he started worki ...

Nomadi Nomadi (or I Nomadi, meaning "Nomads") is an Italian band formed in 1963 and still present on the music scene. Career Origins In 1961, Beppe Carletti and Leonardo Manfredini formed the group I Monelli (‘Urchins’). In 1962, Carletti met Franco ...

and

Wess Wesley Johnson known by his stage name Wess (August 13, 1945 — September 21, 2009) was an American-born Italian singer and bass guitarist, perhaps mostly known for representing Italy along with Dori Ghezzi in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 i ...

Dori Ghezzi Dori Ghezzi (born 30 March 1946) is an Italian singer who was active as a recording artist between 1966 and 1989. In the 1970s, Ghezzi worked mainly in a duo with American singer Wess, and the couple represented Italy in the 1975 Eurovision Song ...

, in 1980 he started a fruitful collaboration as producer and lyricist with

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 ...

and

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

, notably writing the lyrics for Cutugno's major hit "

L'Italiano "L'Italiano" (; Italian for "The Italian") is an Italian pop song by Toto Cutugno released in 1983. It was his biggest international hit and is his best-known composition. The song was forgotten during the 1990s and was re-discovered when Toto Cu ...

".Antonio Virgilio Savona; Michele L. Straniero. "Minellono, Cristiano". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. In the first half of the 1980s, Minellono was the usual lyricist for Al Bano and Romina Power's and

Ricchi e Poveri Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

's songs, contributing to relaunching their careers. Two of his songs won the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Al Bano and Romina's "

Ci sarà "Ci sarà" (Italian for "There Will Be") is a song by Italian duo Al Bano and Romina Power, released in 1984. It was met with an international commercial success and remains one of their best-known hits. The duo performed the song at the 1984 San ...

" and in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Ricchi e Poveri's "

Se m'innamoro "Se m'innamoro" is an Italian song composed by Cristiano Minellono and Dario Farina, arranged by Fio Zanotti and performed by the Europop group Ricchi e Poveri. The song won the 35th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival. The group also r ...

". Also active as a creative director, since early 1980s Minellono collaborated as a television writer to numerous

Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., known as Fininvest S.p.A., is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is co ...

and later

Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...

television programmes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minellono, Cristiano 1946 births Living people People from Arona, Piedmont Italian lyricists Italian songwriters Male songwriters Italian record producers Italian television writers Male television writers