Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in

French-speaking countries French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

and the United States as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian and French singer, composer, and musician.

Early and personal life

Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

(now

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

), to an Italian father from

Rocca di Mezzo Rocca di Mezzo (locally ''La Rocca'') is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is home to the seat of the Sirente-Velino Regional Park The Sirente-Velino Regional Park (Italian: ''Parco regio ...

, L'Aquila, and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the

Lycée français Chateaubriand The Lycée français Chateaubriand ( it, Liceo Chateaubriand) is a French international primary and secondary school with two campuses consisting of three buildings in Rome, Italy. Its administration and senior high school/sixth-form college class ...

. He has also lived in France, the United States, and Ireland.

Career

A R&B enthusiast, Cocciante began his musical career as an organ player, and in the late 1960s began performing as a singer at L'Approdo, a Roman club for foreign students. After forming the band GL6 with Marco Luberti and Paolo Casella, in 1971 he started his professional career with the French name Richard Cocciante and three English language songs recorded for the soundtrack of the

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...

's film ''

Roma Bene ''Roma Bene'' is a 1971 Italian comedy-drama film starring Virna Lisi, Nino Manfredi, Irene Papas and Senta Berger. Plot The classic scene of the upper middle-class in Rome: a duchess, the industrial husband and the many apparently respectabl ...

''. In 1972, he released his first album, titled ''MU'' in Italy and ''Atlantì'' in France. After the fair commercial results of his 1973 album ''Poesia'', Cocciante had his breakout one year later with "

Bella senz'anima "Bella senz'anima" is an Italian ballad song written by Marco Luberti, Paolo Casella and Riccardo Cocciante, arranged by Franco Pisano and performed by Riccardo Cocciante. It was the first single from the Cocciante's 1974 album ''Anima''. The s ...

", which turned to be a major hit but also raised controversities, being considered sexist and being censored on Italian television. In 1976, he got another number one spot on the Italian hit parade with "

Margherita Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy". Given name As a name, it may refer to: *Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma *Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...

", his signature song. The same year, he covered the Beatles song " Michelle", featuring the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

, for the musical documentary ''

All This and World War II ''All This and World War II'' is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmma ...

'', and he released his sole English album in the US, with the single "When Love Has Gone Away" peaking at No. 41 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1980, Cocciante began a decade-long collaboration with the lyricist Mogol, who had just stopped his professional association with

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 ...

; their first hit was "Cervo a primavera". In 1983, Cocciante was the first Italian artist to be signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

, andreleased his album "Sincerità", produced and arranged by the American composer James Newton Howard. Following several more hits, notably the 1985 duet with Mina ''Questione di feeling'', in 1987 he moved to Florida, and except for a live album he took a long artistic break. Cocciante made his comeback in 1991, winning the 41st 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 annua ...

with the song " Se stiamo insieme", and getting a significant success with both the single and the following album ''Cocciante''. In 1997, his friend

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with Sarah Brightman and

Helmut Lotti Helmut Lotti (born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers; 22 October 1969), is a Belgian tenorGoldsmith B (2009)Belgian tenor Helmut Lotti wants to find his own style ''WDEZ''. Retrieved 23 April 2010. and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in ...

. In 1996, he was chosen as the singer for the Italian versions of the songs in the ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...

'' movie, singing "Un amico in me", "Che strane cose" and "Io non volerò più". In 1998, Cocciante composed '' Notre-Dame de Paris'', a musical adaptation of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's ''

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...

''; the musical, with lyrics by

Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon, OC, CQ (b. March 2, 1942 in Saint-Raymond, Quebec), is a French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. He is best known for his work on the musicals ''Starmania'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brother of Louis Plamondo ...

in its French version and by

Pasquale Panella Pasquale Panella (born 12 January 1950) is an Italian lyricist, playwright, poet and novelist. He sometimes used the pen names Duchesca and Vanera. Life and career Panella was born in Rome. After graduating from the Istituto Magistrale, he st ...

in its Italian version, proved to be a worldwide success, and the relevant CDs sold about 10 million copies. Other two successful musicals followed: ''Le Petit Prince'', and ''

Giulietta e Romeo ''Giulietta e Romeo'' is a dramma per musica by composer Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli with an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa after the 1530 novella of the same name by Luigi Da Porto and Shakespeare's '' Romeo and Juliet''. The opera ...

''. He also made a Chinese-language adaptation of

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's opera ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

'', which was directed by

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

. In 2013, Cocciante was a coach for ''

The Voice of Italy ''The Voice of Italy'' is a reality singing competition and Italian version of the international syndication ''The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. Th ...

'';

Elhaida Dani Elhaida Dani (; born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Dani performed in diverse singing competitions and started to play piano as a child. She rose to national recognition i ...

, one of the contestants he coached, won the first season of the show. Cocciante's oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish.

''Sincerità'' and other foreign-language releases

Cocciante's oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish. In 1976, he released a cover of The Beatles' song " Michelle", featuring the

.Cocciante recorded his hit song "Pour Elle" as a duet with Francesca Bellenis with English lyrics. The song is part of his 1994 album "Un uomo felice". A Spanish version "Por Ella" and an Italian version "Per Lei" were also recorded.

Discography

* ''Mu'' (1972) *''Poesia'' (1973) *''Anima'' (1974) *''L'alba'' (1975) *''Richard Cocciante'' nglish version of ''Anima''(1976) *''

Concerto per Margherita A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

'' (1976) *''

Riccardo Cocciante Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician. He acquired French citizenship. Personal life Cocciante was ...

'' (1978) *''...E io canto'' (1979) *''

Cervo a primavera Cervo may refer to: Places Italy * Cervo, Liguria, a comune in the province of Imperia in the region of Liguria * Cervo (river), a tributary of the River Sesia in the Piedmont region Portugal * Cervo (Ribeira de Pena), a civil parish in the munici ...

'' (1980) *''Q Concert'' (1981) *''Cocciante'' (1982) *''

Sincerità "Sincerità" is the debut single by the Italian singer Arisa and it was released on 18 February 2009. It placed first in the 'Newcomers' section and won the 'Mia Martini' Critics Award in the Sanremo Music Festival 2009 The Sanremo Music Festival ...

'' (1983) *'' Il mare dei papaveri'' (1985) *''Quando si vuole bene'' (1986) *''La grande avventura'' (1988) *''Viva!'' (1988) *''Cocciante'' (also known as ''Se stiamo insieme''; 1991) *''Empreinte'' (1993) *''Eventi e mutamenti '' (1993) *''Il mio nome è Riccardo'' (1994) *''Un Uomo Felice'' (1994) * ''Je Chante'' (1995) *''Innamorato'' (1997) *''Istantanea'' (1998) *''Notre-dame de Paris live Arena di Verona'' (2002) *''Songs'' (2005)

Musicals

*'' Notre-Dame de Paris'' (1997; lyrics by

) *''

Le Petit Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and ...

'' (2002; lyrics by

Elizabeth Anais Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

) *''

'' (2007; lyrics by

)

References

External links

RICCARDO COCCIANTE Official Web Site

Biography of Richard Cocciante
from

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

Biography of Riccardo Cocciante
from

RAI International Rai Italia is the international English language television service of Rai Internazionale, a subsidiary of RAI, Italy's public national broadcaster. Rai Italia operates a television network that broadcasts around the world via 3 localized feeds. ...

''AyerHoy.com''
(Cada día un perfil de un artista del ayer) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocciante, Richard Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo Cocciante, Riccardo French male singers French people of Italian descent Italian people of French descent Sanremo Music Festival winners Italian musical theatre composers French musical theatre composers Spanish-language singers of Italy Musicians from Ho Chi Minh City 20th-century Italian composers 21st-century Italian composers 20th-century French composers 21st-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians