Joe Vescovi (1 January 1949 – 28 November 2014) was an Italian progressive rock keyboard player, considered as one of the prominent musicians of the 1970s Italian progressive rock scene, best known for his work in bands The Trip and Dik Dik. A self-proclaimed imitator of

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

, Vescovi was popular for his histrionic stage presence and eccentric clothing as much as for his virtuoso keyboard playing.The Trip: intervista a Joe Vescovi
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Biography

Born in

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

, Vescovi founded his first rock band, The Lonely Boys, at the age of 17. He played with this band in Germany and the Netherlands without achieving much success. After returning to Italy, he played for a while in a band called Toto e i Tati, led by Toto Cutugno. In the late 1960s, Vescovi joined the progressive rock band The Trip from Turin, replacing Ritchie Blackmore, who had left the band to join

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. Blackmore later considered Vescovi to be the keyboardist for his band Rainbow, although David Stone was chosen instead. Vescovi is often called the leader of The Trip, both because of the heavy influence of his keyboard playing style on the sound of the band and his frontman role in live performances.Joe Vescovi
/ref> This became more true after

Pino Sinnone Pino or Piño may refer to: People * Danny Pino (born 1974), American actor * Domenico Pino (1760–1826), Italian general of the Napoleonic Wars * Fernando Solanas (born 1936), aka "Pino" Solanas, Argentine filmmaker * Frank J. Pino (1909–20 ...

left and was replaced in 1972 by

Furio Chirico Furio may refer to: * Furio (given name), including a list of people with the name * Furio (surname), including a list of people with the name * Falcomposite Furio, a kit-plane See also * Furios (disambiguation) * Furiosa (disambiguation) * Furi ...

, the band became a trio, orienting their styles towards more progressive rock. After The Trip, Vescovi joined the Italian prog rock band Acqua Fragile and later Dik-Dik, one of the most popular Italian pop-rock bands ever. He also collaborated with Umberto Tozzi and founded two minor bands of his own, Tarrot (who were hired by ex- Premiata Forneria Marconi

Franz Di Cioccio Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

to play the musical score for the 1982 film ''

Attila flagello di Dio ''Attila flagello di Dio'' ("Attila Scourge of God") is a 1982 Italian Comedy film written and directed by Castellano e Pipolo. Cast * Diego Abatantuono as Attila * Mauro Di Francesco as Tartufo * Rita Rusic as Uraia * Angelo Infanti as Fu ...

'') and Night Fudge.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vescovi, Joe Italian keyboardists Progressive rock musicians 1949 births 2014 deaths