Stefano Righi (born 9 September 1960), known professionally as Johnson Righeira, is an Italian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the
Italo disco
Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...
duo
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
. After the duo disbanded for the second time in 2016, he pursued a solo career and founded the record label Kottolengo Recordings.
In 1980, Righi debuted as a solo artist with the single "
Bianca Surf". In 1983, he formed the music duo
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
with
Stefano Rota.
Early life
Johnson Righeira was born Stefano Righi on 9 September 1960 in the Borgo Vittoria district of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, to Freddie and Maria Teresa Righi. Righi has a younger sister named Laura.
In 1968, when Righi was 8, his family moved to the Barriera di Milano district.
Righi attended Albert Einstein Scientific High School in Turin.
He was influenced by Italian
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, and
Gipo Farassino
Giuseppe "Gipo" Farassino (11 March 1934 – 11 December 2013) was an Italian singer, songwriter, musician and politician.
Biography
As a songwriter Farassino produced more than 30 albums and virtually 50 singles. Most of his songs were in Pie ...
was one of his schoolboy idols; "
Vamos a la playa" and "
L'estate sta finendo" were written with inspiration from Farassino.
Career
1980–1983
At the age of twenty in 1980, Righi released his debut single, "
Bianca Surf / Photoni
"Bianca Surf / Photoni" is the debut single by Italian singer Johnson Righeira, released in 1980, under the label Italian Records.
Recording
Recording took place at Italian Records Studios in Bologna in 1980. Both songs were played by the loc ...
". The single was re-recorded and released in 1981 under the
CGD record label. Righi had signed a contract with CGD even before
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
was officially founded in 1983, but he had met his friend and future duo member Stefano Rota during the time attending Albert Einstein Scientific High School in Turin. By the New Year's Eve of 1981, Righi and a couple of friends of his had visited a friend's music studio in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
when Righi came up with an idea of a song called "
Vamos a la playa". The song was inspired by the 1960s and was meant to be a beach song which was post-atomic and had an electric sound to it. "Vamos a la playa" was later released in 1983 as a single and on the album ''Righeira'' when Righi was a part of Righeira and became a smash hit which managed to sell millions of copies worldwide.
1983–1992, 1999–2016: Righeira
In 1983, Righi formed the duo
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
with his former schoolmate, Stefano Rota. They became known as Michael and Johnson Righeira, after deciding to become "musical brothers".
In the same year, they released their first album, ''Righeira'', produced by
La Bionda
La Bionda were an Italian disco duo consisting of siblings Carmelo (1949–2022) and Michelangelo La Bionda (born 1952). They are considered among the pioneers of the Italo disco music genre.
The siblings were born in Ramacca, Sicily and moved ...
. "
Vamos a la playa" was extracted from the list but became a hit during the summer of that year.
After the release of the single, Michael Righeira was called to military service. Later, the single "No Tengo Dinero" was released.
In 1985, the album ''Bambini Forever'' was released. The following year, Righeira participated in 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 "Innamoratissimo". In 1987, the duo took part in the
Zecchino d'Oro
Zecchino d'Oro (; meaning "Golden Sequin") is an annual international children's song competition established in 1959 by Niny Comolli. It is broadcast by Rai 1.
The first two contests were held in Milan. In 1961, the contest was taken up by th ...
song competition with the song "Annibale" and in 1988, they released their latest single "Compañero". Unnoticed in 1992, the album ''Uno, Zero, Centomila'' was released. In 1999 the duo got together and in 2001 released a new version of "Vamos a la playa".
Righi's debut solo album, ''Ex punk, ora venduto'', was released in 2006, via the Astroman record label.
''Mondovisione'' was the duo's last recorded album, which obtained moderate success when it was released in May 2007.
2016–present
In 2019, he released the dance single "Formentera" with
La Bionda
La Bionda were an Italian disco duo consisting of siblings Carmelo (1949–2022) and Michelangelo La Bionda (born 1952). They are considered among the pioneers of the Italo disco music genre.
The siblings were born in Ramacca, Sicily and moved ...
.
In 2020, Righi founded his own record label, Kottolengo Recordings. The record label is based in
Canavese, Italy.
On 23 July 2021, Righi released an
electro-
krautrock version of "
Vamos a la playa", remixed by musician and record producer
Gaudi, marking the 40th anniversary since the release of the single.
Personal life
Drugs
On 19 November 1993, Righi was arrested in
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
along with 37 others, for drug dealing. He ended up in prison together with his then-girlfriend Silvia Lunardi. He remained in prison for five months until the trial cleared him completely of the drug charges. In 1995, Italian newspaper ''
la Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...
'' reported that Righi and Lunardi were sentenced to one year and four months of imprisonment as well as a L.2 million fine. Righi later described the situation in an interview, "The world collapsed on me, I felt like I was in a dead end street ... my cellmates helped me a lot."
Politics and activism
Stefano Righi is politically aligned to the left. His friend,
Marco Rizzo, is the leader of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
, to which he acted as a campaigner during the
2016 Turin municipal election
Municipal elections were held in Turin, northern Italy, in May 2016. Chiara Appendino, the candidate of the Five Star Movement, was elected after defeating former mayor Piero Fassino in the runoff.
Voting system
The voting system is used for al ...
.
Football
Righi is a keen
football fan and has publicly professed support for
Juventus F.C.
)''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback)
, founded = as Sport-Club Juventus
, ground = Juventus Stadium
, capacity = 41,507
, owner = Agnell ...
and has also shown favour for
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. In 2012, he became a fan of the Belgian football club, saying in an interview: "I was in Brussels for a few days and I wanted to watch football. My friends then told me about Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. I fell in love straight away. The atmosphere was so old school ... it was just wonderful—just like when I went to the stadium with my father for the first time as a child."
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Ex punk, ora venduto'' (2006)
* ''Italiani'' (2013)
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
* ''
Righeira
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira (lead vocals and keyboards) and Michael Righeira (backing vocals, keyboards and harmonica). Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco m ...
'' (1983)
* ''Bambini Forever'' (1986)
* ''Uno, Zero, Centomila'' (1992)
* ''Mondovisione'' (2007)
Filmography
Film
Television
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Righeira, Johnson
1960 births
Living people
20th-century Italian composers
20th-century Italian male singers
21st-century Italian composers
21st-century Italian male singers
Italian electronic musicians
Italian Italo disco musicians
Italian male singer-songwriters
Italian multi-instrumentalists
Italian people convicted of drug offences
Italian pop singers
Italian record producers
Musicians from Turin
Singers from Turin
Righeira