Il corvo Alfredo durante la tappa di Fiuggi al Cantagiro 1966

I Corvi (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

for "The Crows") is an Italian beat group who were successful in the 1960s. The group was formed in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

in 1965, to perform

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular American and British records. The original members were Angelo Ravasini (vocals, guitar), Fabrizio "Billo" Levati (guitar), Italo "Gimmi" Ferrari (bass), and Claudio Benassi (drums). In early 1966, they took part in the first Rapallo Davoli national singing competition, finishing second. They were signed by

Ariston Records Ariston Records was a record company established in Milan, Italy, by Alfredo Rossi (1925–2008). It was active from 1964 to 1989. It was part of the larger Ariston Group, which was founded in 1949 by Alfredo and his brother, the composer Car ...

, whose director, Alfredo Rossi, encouraged them to use a stage costume of black capes, and to always appear with a stuffed raven, either attached to the

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

or, in publicity photos, on the shoulder of one of the band members; the band duly christened the raven "Alfredo".Cesare Rizzi (ed.), ''Enciclopedia del Rock italiano'', Milan, Arcana Editrice, 1993, pp.58-59 Their first record, "Un Ragazzo di Strada" ("A Street Kid"), was a rewriting of The Brogues' " I Ain't No Miracle Worker", written by

Annette Tucker Annette May Tucker is an American songwriter, who found success in the 1960s as co-writer of songs for The Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", "Get Me to the World on Time"), The Brogues (" I Ain't No Miracle Worker"), The K ...

and Nancie Mantz and with new Italian lyrics by

Nicola Salerno Nicola Salerno, also known as Nisa (11 March 1910 – 22 May 1969) was an Italian lyricist. He formed a famous songwriting duo with Renato Carosone. Career Nicola Salerno was born in Naples, Italy. His first hit was "Eulalia Torricelli" of ...

and Franco Califano. The song was entered in the 1966

Cantagiro Cantagiro was an Italian summer song contest held from 1962 to 1972 and 1990 to 1993. It featured three categories, A for famous artists, B for newcomers and C for groups. The creator of the competition was Ezio Radaelli. The name of the festival ...

musical contest, becoming a popular success and the group's biggest

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.Cesare Rizzi (ed.), ''Enciclopedia del Rock italiano'', Milan, Arcana Editrice, 1993, pp.58-59"I Corvi", ''L'Isola Felice''. Retrieved 1 July 2015 The group followed up with a version of " Bang, Bang" (written by

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...

and originally recorded by Cher), and their first album, ''Un Ragazzo di Strada'', which included versions of two Donovan songs. Later successful singles included "Sospesa ad un Filo" ("Hanging by a thread", a rewrite of

The Electric Prunes The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." Th ...

' "

I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" is a song written with music by Annette Tucker and lyrics by Nancie Mantz, which was recorded in late 1966 by the garage rock band The Electric Prunes. Released as the band's second single, it reached number ...

", also written by Tucker and Mantz), "Bambolina" (a version of " Any Day Now", co-written by Burt Bacharach), and "Datemi un biglietto d'aereo" (a version of The Box Tops' hit " The Letter", written by

Wayne Carson Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015), sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most fam ...

). Levati and Ferrari left the group in 1969 and were replaced by guitarist Antonello Gabelli, keyboard player Massimo Vessella and bassist Ennio Tricomi, but shortly afterwards the group disbanded. Ravasini formed a new group, Angelo ei Corvissimi, while Benassi and Tricomi formed another group, I Nuovi Corvi ("The New Crows"), with Pino Corvino (guitar) and Giancarlo Lazzini (keyboards). They continued to perform until 1972. In 1983, I Corvi re-formed with a line-up of Ravasini, Ferrari, Tricomi, and Gabelli, and in 1989 recorded the album ''Hanno preso la Bastiglia!'' ("They took the Bastille!") in a hard rock style. Gianluca Antolini later replaced Ferrari on bass, but the band continued to perform, with some further changes of personnel, until the late 1990s. Around 2000, Ravasini reconstituted the band with his sons Stefano and Luigi Ravasini, and other musicians. After leaving the band, Fabrizio "Billo" Levati became a club and radio DJ; I Corvi, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 1 July 2015. he died in 2000, aged 53. Gimmi Ferrari died in 2006, and Angelo Ravasini in 2013. In 2014 the band was reformed by the original drummer Claudio Benassi. The renewed group started live promotion touring Italy. In 2017 a new album of rearranged songs was released. In 2020 a new song, the first original since 1989, "L'ultimo dei Corvi", was released. In 2021 Benassi wrote the official biography of the band.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corvi Italian rock music groups 1965 establishments in Italy Musical groups established in 1965