"La prima cosa bella" (Italian for "The first beautiful thing") is a song composed by

Nicola Di Bari Nicola Di Bari (born 29 September 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. He is considered one of the "sacred monsters" of Italian pop music. Life and career Born in Zapponeta, Apulia, Di Bari was the youngest of ten children from a f ...

and Mogol. The song ranked second at the twenth 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 a double performance by

and

Ricchi e Poveri Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

. The Di Bari's version peaked at first place on the Italian hit parade.

Recording

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

, heard the song, offered to Di Bari to record a demo, in which he played the guitar, being accompanied by

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 ...

, Damiano Dattoli, Andrea Sacchi and Flavio Premoli, musicians who often collaborated with Battisti for his recordings. The arranger

Gianfranco Reverberi Gian Franco Reverberi (born 12 December 1934) is an Italian composer and musician. He worked mainly on the soundtracks for Spaghetti Westerns. Reverberi was one of the first Italian rock music artists. He also worked with his brother Gian Pier ...

eventually decided to use this version as the base, just adding the string orchestra conducted by the Reverberi. The song was initially planned to be performed at the

by Di Bari together with

Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the I ...

, who after recording an audition eventually gave up.

Legacy

In 2008 the Ricchi e Poveri's version was included in the musical score of the

Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honoure ...

's film ''

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

''. In 2010 the song named an award-winning film directed by

Paolo Virzì Paolo Virzì (; born 4 March 1964) is an Italian film director, writer and producer. Early life and work Virzì was born in Livorno, Italy in 1964, as the son of a Sicily#Demographics, Sicilian police officer in the Carabinieri and a former sin ...

; a new version of the song performed by Italian-Moroccan singer

Malika Ayane Malika Ayane (; born 31 January 1984) is an Italian pop singer. Early life Malika Ayane was born in Milan, Italy, on 31 January 1984, to a Moroccan father, Ahmed, and an Italian mother. She grew up in the Zone 2 of Milan, the most multi-ethni ...

was included in the soundtrack of the film and reached the fifth place on the Italian hit parade.

Track listing

Nicola Di Bari version

; 7" single # "La prima cosa bella" (Nicola Di Bari, Mogol) # "...e lavorare" (Nicola Di Bari, Mogol)

Ricchi e Poveri version

; 7" single # "La prima cosa bella" (Nicola Di Bari, Mogol) # "Due gocce d'acqua" (

Franco Califano Franco Califano (14 September 1938 – 30 March 2013) was an Italian lyricist, composer, singer-songwriter, author and actor. During his career he sold about 20 million records. Life and career Born in an airplane above Tripoli, Libya, Califan ...

, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti)

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prima cosa bella (song) 1970 singles Italian pop songs Number-one singles in Italy 1970 songs Sanremo Music Festival songs Nicola Di Bari songs Songs written by Mogol (lyricist) RCA Records singles Ricchi e Poveri songs