I Camaleonti ("The Chameleons") are an Italian pop group from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, mostly active between the late 1960s and the early 1970s.

Background

I Camaleonti were formed in 1963 in

. The original line-up included Livio Macchia (guitar), Antonino Cripezzi (keyboards), Paolo de Ceglie (drums) and Gerardo Manzoli (bass). In 1965 the band's line-up was augmented with the arrival of Riki Maiocchi on vocals and guitar. The band's first hit was a cover of the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

' "

Sha-La-La-La-Lee "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" was the third song by English R&B-influenced group Small Faces, recorded in December 1965 and released on 28 January 1966, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart. It was also the first single by the group to feature I ...

", and coincided with the popularity of the

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

genre. In 1966, vocalist and guitarist

Riki Maiocchi Riccardo Maiocchi ( 27 May 1940 - 2 February 2004), best known as Riki Maiocchi, was an Italian singer and musician, mainly successful in the second half of the 1960s. Life and career Born in Milan, Maiocchi started his career as guitarist and s ...

left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by

Mario Lavezzi Bruno Mario Lavezzi (born 8 May 1948) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and guitarist. Life and career Born in Milan, he studied piano and guitar at the Scuola Civica di Milano. He started his career in 1963, as the s ...

. With Lavezzi on board, the group gradually began to switch to a more melodic pop sound, soon achieving success with a modern rendition of a popular 1935 tune penned by

Cesare Andrea Bixio Cesare Andrea Bixio (11 October 18965 March 1978) was an Italian composer. He was one of the most popular Italian songwriters of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Bixio was born in Naples, Italy. His hits included Vivere; Mamma; Parlami d'amore, M ...

and Michele Galdieri, "Portami tante rose". Between 1968 and 1973 I Camaleonti had four singles topping the Italian charts, including "

Applausi "Applausi" is a 1968 song composed by Claudio Cavallaro and Luciano Beretta and performed by the musical group I Camaleonti. One of the band's major hits, the song consists of the alternating between soul-style vocal cues and choral moments. Tr ...

", "Io per lei" and " L'ora dell'amore". Between 1970 and 1993 they entered 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 ...

five times, (the last time along with

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 ...

and

Equipe 84 Equipe 84 were an Italian Beat band formed in 1964 in Modena. The name translates as Team 84, and it was originally suggested by a friend of the band, Pier Farri. 'Equipe' was thought to be a word that would resonate more easily outside of thei ...

's lead singer Maurizio Vandelli), finishing third in 1979 with "Quell'attimo in più". Despite numerous line-up changes, the band is still active to these days.

Members

Current members

* Livio Macchia: vocals, guitar (1963–present) * Valerio Veronese: guitar, vocals (1985–present) * Massimo Brunetti: keyboards, flute (1990–present) * Massimo di Rocco: drums (2004–present) * Matteo Arosio: Tibetan bell (2006–present)

Past members

* Paolo de Ceglie: drums (1963–2004, d. in 2004) * Gerardo "Gerry" Manzoli: bass (1963–1982) * Riki Maiocchi: vocals, guitar (1965–1966) * Mario Lavezzi: vocals, guitar (1966–1968) * Gabriele Lorenzi: keyboards (1967–1968) * Dave Sumner: guitar (1973–1980) * Vincenzo Mancuso: guitar, flute (1981–1984) * Antonio "Tonino" Cripezzi: vocals, keyboards (1963–2022, d. in 2022)

Discography

Studio albums

* 1966 – ''The Best Records in The World '' * 1967 – ''Portami tante rose'' * 1968 – ''Io per lei'' * 1969 – ''Vita d'uomo'' (EP) * 1973 – ''I magnifici Camaleonti'' * 1974 – ''Amicizia e amore'' * 1975 – ''Piccola Venere ed altri successi'' * 1976 – ''Che aereo stupendo… la speranza'' * 1977 – ''In vendita'' * 1979 – ''...e camminiamo '' * 1993 – ''Come passa il tempo e i più grandi successi '' * 1996 – ''Libero '' * 1997 – ''Applausi ed altri successi'' * 2001 – ''2001 ed oltre'' * 2004 – ''40 anni di musica e applausi '' * 2006 – ''Storia '' * 2010 – ''Camaleonti Live''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camaleonti Musical groups established in 1962 Italian pop music groups 1962 establishments in Italy Musical groups from Milan