Federico "Freddy" Curci (born October 30, 1962) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was lead vocalist for the rock band

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and later founded and became frontman for the band

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

, a position he retains to this day. Curci provided lead vocals on the

song " When I'm with You", which reached the number one spot in 1989, and the

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

More Than Words Can Say "More Than Words Can Say" (also known as "(I Need You Now) More Than Words Can Say" for promotional purposes) is a song by Canadian rock band Alias. It was released in September 1990 as the second single from their debut eponymous album. The pow ...

", which reached the number two spot in 1990 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' charts. BMI presented Curci with the Million-airs award for "More Than Words Can Say". According to BMI's website, only 1,500 songs have achieved Million-air status (one million air plays) among the 4.5 million songs by 300,000 BMI represented artists. One million performances is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay. In January 2009, Alias announced the release of their long delayed second album, '' Never Say Never'', which was recorded in 1992 but not released due to the rapidly evolving music scene of that time where

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

was the new rage and metal was out. A few of the songs from this "lost" album were re-recorded and appeared on Curci's solo album ''Dreamer's Road'', but the rest remained unreleased.

Early influences

Of Italian descent, Curci grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. At an early age Curci listened mostly to classical opera music. He started listening to

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

and other rock music in his teenage years. Aside from opera music, some of Curci's musical influences were

Lou Gramm Lou Gramm (born Louis Andrew Grammatico; 2 May 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Foreigner from 1977 to 1990 and 1992 to 2003 during which time the band had numerous successful albu ...

of Foreigner and Tom Johnston of

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

. Before

, Curci performed in Italian wedding bands in Toronto.

Songwriting career

As a ''Billboard'' top 10 hit songwriter, Curci co-wrote with his Sheriff and Alias bandmate

Steve DeMarchi Steven DeMarchi is a Canadian guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the bands Sheriff (1979–1985) and Alias (1988–1991). DeMarchi also played guitar for The Cranberries (1996� ...

the number 2 hit song "

", and the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

number 18 hit song "Haunted Heart". He also co-wrote most of the songs on the ''Alias'' album, his solo album ''Dreamer's Road'' and the ''Zion'' album. Curci is also a songwriter for the motion picture industry. In 2007, Curci's songs were featured in several episodes of the Lifetime's

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

. Curci was the primary composer for the sitcom

Two Guys and a Girl ''Two Guys and a Girl'' (titled ''Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'' for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-sea ...

(2000–2001), and also wrote the title theme. In addition to DeMarchi, accomplished writers Curci has collaborated with include

Brett Walker Carl Brett Walker (November 14, 1961 – July 8, 2013) was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer. Walker was involved in music publishing on TV and film. As singer-songwriter, musician, and publisher Walker's music was heard on ...

; Jeff Paris;

Romina Arena Romina Arena is an Italian American, Italian-American popera, operatic pop, pop Crossover (music), classical crossover, rock opera and New-age music, new-age singer-songwriter. Early life Romina Arena was born and raised in Palermo, Sicily, to a ...

;

Jason Hook Jason Hook (born Thomas Jason Grinstead) is a Canadian guitarist, best known as the former lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. Early life Born in Toronto, Ontario, Hook started his music career at the age of six ...

; his wife,

Lara Cody Lara Cody is an American voice actress. She also goes under the name Deanna Morris and is best known for voicing Rosemary in '' Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty'' and '' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots''. Roles Anime *''A Little S ...

; F. Grossi; Donny Hackett and Douglas Vallance.

Discography

With Sheriff *''

'' (1982),

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

*''Sheriff Live'' (1983), Capitol (Promo Only) With Alias *''

'' (1990), EMI *''Haunted Heart'' (1990, EP), EMI *'' Waiting for Love'' (1991, EP), EMI *''Perfect World'' (1992, EP), EMI *'' Never Say Never'' (2009), EMI Solo albums *''Dreamer's Road'' (1994), EMI *''Then & Now'' (2000), EMI, Frontiers (Italy) Compilation inclusions *''The Boys of Summer'' (1994), EMI With Zion *''Zion'' (2006), Frontiers With Who's Your Daddy! *''Who's Your Daddy!'' (2010), WYD Recordshttp://www.whosyourdaddymusic.comwww.whosyourdaddymusic.com *''Paternity Suit'' (2012), WYD Records *''Anti-Social Security'' (2015), WYD Records Singles with Alias

Filmography

*1991

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age black comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz and Josh Char ...

Soundtrack: Performer / Producer "Perfect World" *1999

and a Pizza Place : Au Revoir Pizza Place (#3.2) Primary Composer *1999

and a Pizza Place (#3.4) Primary Composer *2006

Metal Mania ''Metal Mayhem'' (formerly ''Metal Mania'' or ''Headbangers'') is a block of classic heavy metal/ hard rock music videos that first aired on VH1 Classic. The series originally featured music videos from 1970s to early 1990s, but since VH1 Classi ...

: Stripped Across America Live *2007

: After Birth (#1.2) TV Episode oundtrackSongwriter / Performer: "Whatcha Tryin' To Do" and "Echoes in the Darkness" *2007

: Independence Day (#1.5) TV Episode oundtrackSongwriter / Performer: "Home" *2007

: Only The Lonely (#1.8) TV Episode oundtrackSongwriter / Performer "Crazy Day" and "Carrie"

Footnotes

Citations

References

Freddy Curci interview
Strutter Magazine
"''Billboard''"
Billboard ''Hot 100 airplay and sales charts''. Retrieved 2006-06-11 * Feldman, Christopher (2000). ''The Billboard Book of Number Two Hits''.
BMI Website

Sheriff Album review
written by Robert Lunte, author of Four Pillars of Singing, Amazon.com

www.melodicrock.com

External links

Freddy Curci
(archived copy)
Freddy Curci Myspace Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curci, Freddy 1962 births Canadian hard rock musicians Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian people of Italian descent Living people Musicians from Toronto Place of birth missing (living people) Alias (band) members Sheriff (band) members