Félix Francisco "Litto" Nebbia Corbacho (born 21 July 1948) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and producer prominent in the development of

Argentine rock Argentine rock (known locally as ''rock nacional'' , "national rock" in the sense of "local", "not international") is rock music composed or performed by Argentine bands or artists mostly in Spanish. Argentine rock began by recycling hits of Engl ...

Life and work

Félix Francisco Nebbia Corbacho was born in Rosario, Santa Fe to Martha and Félix Nebbia (two sons of Italian immigrants), in 1948. His parents were struggling musicians, though during his early teens, ''Litto'' left secondary school to join a friend, keyboardist Ciro Fogliatta, in a band ("Wild Cats"). The duo moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1963, and lived hand-to-mouth in a Balvanera ward tenement. They appeared in a television show, ''Escala Musical'', a number of times, and became regulars at a popular neighborhood recital hall, ''La Cueva''. Gatos-1967

Nebbia and Fogliatta formed "

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...

" in 1966. The group became known for their all-night performances, and composed most of their own songs, many in the well-known neighborhood café, "La Perla del Once" (facing Plaza Miserere). One such composition, '' La balsa'' (''The Raft''), was written at that location by Nebbia and the ill-fated songwriter Tanguito on May 2, 1967, and following its release on the RCA Victor label on July 3, sold over 250,000 copies.Pintos, Víctor. ''Tanguito. La verdadera historia''. Buenos Aires: Planeta, 1993. The album, which also included Moris Birabent's ''Ayer nomás'' (''Just Yesterday'') was the first local rock production to outsell either American or

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

titles locally, and the milestone became known as the birth of Argentine rock. The Argentine edition of ''

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

'', in a 2007 retrospective, named the melancholy ''La balsa'' number one in the list of the 100 best albums in Argentine rock. Commercially, the album rescued the struggling group. Invited to perform the hit on television following its release, the group could only see themselves when the show aired at the kindness of an appliance store owner, who tuned a window display set to the program at their request. Controversy ensued shortly after the hit's release however. A contentious debate soon arose as to whether Nebbia or Tanguito had contributed more to the composition (particularly after the latter's tragic, 1972 death). La balsa also aggravated officials in General

Juan Carlos Onganía Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (; 17 March 1914 – 8 June 1995) was President of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as dictator after toppling the president Arturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named ''Revolución Argen ...

's conservative dictatorship, who stopped short of banning a song they believed encouraged

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or gener ...

and drug abuse, but retaliated by shuttering La Cueva, whose stage had become the focal point for local rock groups (including Los Gatos). The band itself began losing cohesion, as well: guitarist Kay Galiffi relocated to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and Nebbia left the group in 1969; by 1970, Los Gatos had dissolved. Nebbia began a solo career with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, and his first album, ''Litto Nebbia'', benefited from having a number of its tracks included in local filmmaker Julio Porter's ''El extraño de pelo largo'' (''The Long Haired Stranger''). His work drew from the folklorical Chacarera genre in 1971 and 1972, and in 1973, he founded the Litto Nebbia Trio, whose repertoire centered on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. Nebbia produced

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

duo Pastoral's ''En el hospicio'' (''In the Hospice'') in 1975, enjoying success in his first foray into record production. The advent of a new dictatorship in 1976, and his subsequent intimidation and detainment, forced Nebbia to seek exile in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, however. He remained creatively productive in exile, and released some of his most successful albums during this era, including ''Canciones para cada uno'' (''Songs for Each of You'') in 1978, and ''Sólo se trata de vivir'' (''It's Only About Living''), in 1981. Expecting a daughter, Miranda, and heartened by an improving civil liberties climate, Nebbia returned to Argentina in 1982.Melopea
/ref> His return was followed by the ''Rosariazo'', a May 1983 concert in which he was joined by Silvina Garré, Juan Carlos Baglietto, and

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez Ávalos, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director. Biography Early career Paez was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province; hi ...

, among others; his 1986 release, ''Demasiadas maneras de no saber nada'' (''Too Many Ways to Know Nothing''), was his fiftieth. Martha Nebbia, his mother, had recently converted a former

Villa Urquiza Villa Urquiza is a barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located between the barrios of Villa Pueyrredón, Belgrano, Villa Ortúzar, Coghlan, Saavedra and Agronomía. Its limits are the streets and avenues Constituyentes, ...

shoe store into her new residence, and invited her son to install a recording booth there. Reunited with Salvador Barresi, the recording engineer from his days with Los Gatos, they improved and equipped the ad hoc space, which was opened as a recording studio in 1988, and which Barresi named ''El Nuevo Mundo'' ("The New World"). El Nuevo Mundo Studios led to Nebbia's 1989 establishment of Melopea Records, which he named after both the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

music theory, and his own, 1974 album of that name. Melopea Records became known for discovering and promoting new talent, as well as producing unreleased

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

compositions from decades earlier. Some of these latter included works by consular figures in the genre, such as Juan Carlos Cobián, Enrique Cadícamo, and

Roberto Goyeneche Roberto Goyeneche (January 29, 1926 in Saavedra, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires – August 27, 1994 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango singer of Basque descent, who epitomized the archetype of 1950s Buenos Aires' bohemian life, and became ...

. Nebbia was named Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires in 2002. Los Gatos, save for drummer Oscar Moro (who had died a year earlier), were reunited for a revival in 2007. Nebbia presented a nine disc anthology of Argentine rock in 2010, and hosted a gathering of fellow

greats on 9th of July Avenue as part of official celebrations of the Argentina Bicentennial. Two of the most influential in the genre, Charly García and

Luis Alberto Spinetta Luis Alberto Spinetta (23 January 1950 – 8 February 2012), nicknamed "El Flaco" (Spanish for "skinny"), was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is regarded as one of ...

, acknowledged Nebbia and Los Gatos as inspirations for their own beginnings.''Clarín'': Somos hermanos de la vida (29 May 1998)

Discography

*''Litto Nebbia'', 1969 *''Litto Nebbia, Vol. 2: Hijo de America'', 1970 *''Nebbia's Band'', 1971 *''Despertemos en America'', 1972 *''Muerte en La Catedral'', 1973 *''Melopea'', 1974 *''Fuera del Cielo'', 1975 *''Bazar de Los Milagros'', 1976 *''Cosas Que No Quieren Morir'', 1976 *''El Vendedor De Promesas''. 1977 *''Canciones Para Cada Uno, Vol. 1'', 1978 *''Canciones Para Cada Uno, Vol. 2'', 1979 *''Toda Cancion Sera Plegaria'', 1979 *''Creer'', 1980 *''1981'', 1981 *''Solo Se Trata De Vivir''. 1981 *''Solopiano, Vol. 1'', 1981 *''Tres Noches en la Trastienda'', 1981 *''Llegamos De Los Barcos'', 1982 *''Solopiano, Vol. 2'', 1982 *''Canciones Para Conocernos Mas'', 1983 *''La Guerra No Sabe'', 1983 *''1992'', 1984 *''Con La Banda Sinfonica Nacional'', 1984 *''Para Que Se Encuentren Los Hombres'', 1984 *''En Brasil, Aqui Y Ahora'', 1985 *''Luna Caliente'', 1985 *''Demasiadas Maneras de No Saber Nada'', 1986 *''Musiquieros'', 1987 *''Buscando en el Bolsillo del Alma'', 1988 *''Nostalgias del Harlem Espanol'', 1990 *''Esperando El Milagro'', 1992 *''Argentino de America'', 1992 *''Seguro'', 1992 *''Paginas de Vida'', Vol. 1-4 1994 *''Evita: Quien Quiera Oir Que Oiga'', 1996 *''Homenaje a Gardel Y Le Pera'', 1997 *''Nebbia Canta Cadícamo'', 1997 *''El Hombre Que Amaba A Todas Las Mujeres'', 1997 *''Matar al abuelito'', 1998 *''Siempre bailan dos'', 2000 *''El jardín de la esquina'', 2001 *''Tributo a Brian Wilson'', 2002 *''Celebración'', 2003 *''La Noche del Colibri'', 2004 *''Tango & Nocturno'', 2004 *''Bazar de los milagros'', 2006 *''Danza del Corazon'', with La Luz, 2007 *''El Jardin de La Esquina'', 2007 *''Península Valdes'', with Alfredo Lichter, 2007 *''The Blues'', 2007 *''Bella Madrid'', 2008 *''Calamaro querido!'', 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebbia, Litto 1948 births Living people Singers from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine bass guitarists Argentine rock musicians Argentine male singer-songwriters Argentine record producers Argentine multi-instrumentalists Argentine singer-songwriters Male bass guitarists