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
Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwe ...
, Califano lived most of his life in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
(in
whose dialect he usually sang) and
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.
In the 1960s he began his career in music as a lyricist and a record producer; among his first successes as author "", "", "".
[
He was arrested in 1970 and again 1984 for possession of drugs; in both cases, Califano was acquitted with the formula "because the fact does not exist". In 1976 Califano got his first and main success as a singer with the song "", included in his eponymous fourth album, for which the critics paired him to the traditional French .][ During these years he continued his activity as lyricist signing, among others, the ]Sanremo Music Festival 1973
The Sanremo Music Festival 1973 ( it, Festival di Sanremo 1973), officially the 23rd Italian Song Festival (), was the 23rd annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Casinò Municipale in Sanremo, province of Imperia between 8 and 10 March 1973. ...
winner "" (performed by Peppino di Capri
Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...
) and the Mia Martini's classic ""; he also composed a whole album for Mina, .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 autobiographical song ""; he came back to Sanremo two more times, in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
with "" and in 2005 with "".[
He was author of several books, including the autobiographical and .][ He also starred in several genre films, and had the leading roles in the and in the comedy film .
He died of a heart attack in his house in ]Acilia
Acilia is a neighborhood and a ''frazione'' of Rome, Italy, located about half- way between Rome and Ostia, along the Via Ostiense. With a population 66,932 in 2008 it is the third largest Italian ''frazione'' after Ostia and Mestre.
History
Th ...
.
Discography
* (1972)
* (1973)
* (1973)
* (1975)
* (1975)
*'', live at La Bussola in Viareggio'' (1975)
* (1976)
* (1977)
* (1977, collection)
* (1979)
* (1980)
* (1981)
* (1981, collection)
* (1982)
* (1982, live)
* (1983)
* (1983, collection )
* (1984)
* (1985)
* (1987)
* (1988)
* (1989)
* (1990)
* (1991)
* (1992, live)
* (1994)
* (1995)
* (1999)
* (2001, live)
* (2001, EP)
* (2003)
* (2005, collection)
* (2009)
Filmography
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Califano, Franco
1938 births
2013 deaths
People from Tripoli
Libyan people of Italian descent
Italian male film actors
Italian male writers
Italian male singer-songwriters
Italian male composers
20th-century Italian male singers
Libyan emigrants to Italy