Giovanni "Gianni" Meccia (born 2 June 1931) is an Italian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. He is often associated with

Jimmy Fontana Jimmy Fontana (13 November 1934 – 11 September 2013) was an Italian actor, composer and singer-songwriter. Two of his most famous songs are " Che sarà", performed also by José Feliciano with Ricchi e Poveri, and " Il Mondo". Biography Born ...

Life and career

Born in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, in 1950 Meccia moved to Rome to pursue an acting career, eventually only getting some bit roles in some

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

TV series.Nicola Sisto. "Meccia, Gianni". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 1050-1. An autodidact guitarist specialized in composing black humorous and nonsense songs, he was first noted by lyricist

Franco Migliacci Francesco "Franco" Migliacci (born 28 October 1930 in Mantua) is a lyricist, producer, and actor. Biography He studied in Florence where his family had settled, here he entered in a competition for young players, in which he won a stay of ...

and later by

Mario Riva Mario Riva (26 January 1913 – 1 September 1960) was an Italian television presenter and actor. He appeared in 51 films between 1941 and 1960. Life and career Born in Rome as Mariuccio Bonavolontà, the son of a composer, Giuseppe (Joseph) ...

, and had his breakout in 1959 with the song "Odio tutte le vecchie signore", which he launched in the Riva's popular music show ''

Il Musichiere Il Musichiere was an Italian game show based upon Name That Tune. It ran from 1957 to 1960 and ended with untimely death of its host Mario Riva. It ran for 90 episodes, airing on Saturday evenings during prime-time. It was directed by Antonello Fa ...

''. In 1960 he reached the height of his popularity thanks to the hits "Il barattolo" (arranged by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

) and "Il pullover".Enrico Deregibus. "Meccia, Gianni". ''Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana''. Giunti Editore, 2010. p. 329. . In 1961 he took part in the eleventh edition of 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 ...

with "Patatina", and had a good success with "Cha-cha dell'impiccato", a duet with his friend and frequent collaborator

. In the following years Meccia gradually focused on composing, writing songs for Mina (the hit "Folle bandieruola"),

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

Patty Pravo Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli on 9 April 1948) is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in popularity in the followin ...

Rita Pavone Rita Pavone (; born August 23, 1945) is an Italian-Swiss ballad and rock singer and actress, who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Singing career She was born in Turin, Italy. In 1962 she participated in, and won, the first Festival degli Scon ...

Nilla Pizzi Nilla Pizzi, stage name of Adionilla Pizzi (; 16 April 1919 – 12 March 2011), was an Italian singer and actress. Born in Sant'Agata Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She won the first edition of the ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

("Ma piano - per non svegliarti"); he got his major success as a composer with the song " Il Mondo", brought to success by Jimmy Fontana. In 1970 he co-founded with

Bruno Zambrini Bruno Zambrini (born 5 April 1935) is an Italian composer and record producer. Born in Francavilla al Mare, Chieti, Zambrini graduated in composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory. In the 1960s he became a successful composer of pop songs, n ...

and directed the record label Pull, with whom he launched the career of the glam-pop group

I Cugini di Campagna I Cugini di Campagna ("The Countryside Cousins") is an Italian pop band formed in 1970 in Rome. They are well known for the use of falsetto and for their eccentric look, a cross between glam and kitsch. Background The band achieved some succes ...

. In the early 1980s the label closed and Meccia reprised his singing career as a member of the group Superquattro, together with Fontana,

Nico Fidenco Nico Fidenco (artistic name Domenico Colarossi; 24 January 1933 – 19 November 2022) was an Italian singer and film soundtrack composer who gained considerable popularity in 1960 with the release of the song "What a Sky" (Italian: "''Su nel cie ...

and

Riccardo Del Turco Riccardo Del Turco (born September 7, 1939) is an Italian singer and songwriter, born in Fiesole. His song '' Luglio'' topped the Italian Hit Parade Singles Chart for two weeks in July 1968, selling over 500,000 copies. ''Luglio''s tune was mar ...

Filmography

Actor

* ''Moana, Virgin of the Amazon'' (1955) * ''

Ragazzi del Juke-Box ''Ragazzi del Juke-Box'' (a.k.a. ''Juke-Box Kids'') is a 1959 Italian "musicarello" film directed (and co-written) by Lucio Fulci and starring Mario Carotenuto, Elke Sommer and Anthony Steffen. Lucio Fulci has a cameo in the film as a festival or ...

'' (1959) as Gianni * '' Nel blu dipinto di blu'' (1959) as Plainclothesman * ''

Howlers in the Dock ''Howlers in the Dock'' ( it, Urlatori alla sbarra) is a 1960 Italian "musicarello" film directed (and co-written) by Lucio Fulci. It is also known as ''Howlers of the Dock'' in some reference books. The film was shown on Italian TV under a longer ...

'' (1960) as Gianni aka Satana * ''Io bacio... tu baci'' (1961) as The Singer with a grey Pullover * ''

Eighteen in the Sun ''Eighteen in the Sun'' ( it, Diciottenni al sole, also known as ''Beach Party-Italian Style'') is a 1962 Italian teen comedy film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque.The movie was shot in Naples and in island of Ischia. Cast *Catherine Spaak *Gi ...

'' (1962) * ''Canzoni in... bikini'' (1963) as Himself * ''Djurado'' (1969) as Ricky - Guitar Player (uncredited) (final film role)

Composer

* ''Io bacio... tu baci'' (1961, "Diavolo", "Patatina") * ''

Girl with a Suitcase ''Girl with a Suitcase'' ( it, La ragazza con la valigia) is a 1961 cinema of Italy, Italian romantic drama film by Valerio Zurlini starring Claudia Cardinale as a spirited but naive young woman who lives on the fluctuating good will of others. It ...

'' (1961, "Folle banderuola") * ''Sentivano uno strano, eccitante, pericoloso puzzo di dollari'' (1973)

Singer

* ''Io bacio... tu baci'' (1961, "Patatina" and "Cha cha cha dell'impiccato") * ''

L'Amore difficile ''L'amore difficile'' (internationally released as ''Of Wayward Love'' and as ''Sex Can Be Difficult'') is a 1962 Italian comedy anthology film. The film represents the directorial debut of the four authors, who were however all experienced in ot ...

'' (1962, "Sole magico di luglio")

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meccia, Gianni Italian male actors Italian composers Italian male composers Italian male singers 1931 births Living people Italian singer-songwriters Italian record producers Italian film actors