Gaetano Savio (18 November 1937 – 25 July 2004), better known as Totò Savio, was an Italian composer, lyricist, producer, guitarist and occasional singer.

Early life

Born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Savio started playing guitar at six years old, and at 13 he won a radio contest for guitarists. In 1955 he became a member of the musical group of Marino Marini, with whom he toured in Europe and Africa. In 1961 he founded a band that bore his name, with whom he toured across Italy and participated to several radio and television programs.

Career

In the second half of the 1960s Savio started composing songs, getting his first hit in 1967, Little Tony's "

Cuore matto "Cuore matto" is a song composed by Armando Ambrosino and Totò Savio, and performed by Little Tony. The song premiered at the seventeenth Sanremo Music Festival, in which Little Tony presented the song in couple with Mario Zelinotti. The sing ...

". In 1973 he co-founded the comedy group Squallor, serving as composer and also occasionally performing as a singer. Other hits written by Savio include Renato dei Profeti's " Lady Barbara",

Massimo Ranieri Massimo Ranieri (born Giovanni Calone on 3 May 1951) is an Italian singer, actor, television presenter and director. Biography Early life Ranieri was born in Naples ( at Santa Lucia), the fifth of eight children in the family. When he was 10, y ...

's " Vent'anni" and "Erba di casa mia" (winning songs of the 1970 and 1972 editions of

Canzonissima ''Canzonissima'' was an Italian musical variety show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1958 to 1974, aired on Saturday evening except for the last two editions in which it was aired on Sunday afternoon. The program was referred to as "the synthesis and the ...

Loretta Goggi Loretta Goggi ( born 29 September 1950) is an Italian singer, actress, comedian and TV host. Goggi is also an acclaimed singer and her records have sometimes entered the Italian pop charts. She was the first runner-up at the 1981 ''Festival del ...

's " Maledetta primavera",

Michele Zarrillo Michele Zarrillo (born 13 June 1957) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is mainly known for hits such as "Una rosa blu" (A blue rose), "Cinque giorni" (Five days), L'elefante e la farfalla (The elephant and the butterfly) and "La notte dei pens ...

's "Una rosa blu",

I Camaleonti I Camaleonti ("The Chameleons") are an Italian pop group from Milan, mostly active between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Background I Camaleonti were formed in 1963 in Milan. The original line-up included Livio Macchia (guitar), Anton ...

's "Perchè ti amo" (winning song of the 1973

Un disco per l'estate Un disco per l'estate (translation "A Record for the Summer") was an Italian Summer festival held from 1964 to 2003. It was organized and sponsored by the Italian record industry association, AFI, and by RAI, except for the editions between 1995 ...

Festival),

Il Giardino dei Semplici Il Giardino dei Semplici (also spelled just as Giardino dei Semplici and often referred as GDS) are an Italian pop-rock music group, mainly successful in the 1970s and 1980s. Formed in late 1974, throughout various decades they have released 17 stu ...

's "Miele".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savio, Toto 1937 births 2004 deaths Composers from Naples Italian lyricists Italian male composers Italian male songwriters Italian songwriters Male songwriters Italian record producers 20th-century Italian male singers Italian pop singers