Gaio Chiocchio (25 May 1954 – 28 July 1996) was a Brazilian-born Italian lyricist, record producer, composer, and singer-songwriter.

Life and career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Chiocchio was the nephew of the musicians and composers Oscar and Umberto Chiocchio.Nicola Sisto. "Chiocchio, Gaio". Gino Castaldo (ed.). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. In 1974 he started his professional career co-founding the progressive band

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a me ...

, where he served as composer, vocalist, guitarist and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

ist. After the group disbanded, Chiocchio became producer and artistic director of the record company IT, and collaborated with the label Una sors coniunxit. In 1980, Chiocchio released his first solo work as singer-songwriter, the EP ''Londra'', which was followed by the single "Piccolo fuso" and by a tour with

Mario Castelnuovo Mario Castelnuovo (born 25 January 1955) is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. Life and career Born in Rome, after the diploma in surveying Castelnuovo studied French literature at the university, specializing in Provençal and Troubado ...

, Marco Ferradini and Goran Kuzminac. In 1981, he started a 6 years-collaboration as a lyricist with

Amedeo Minghi Amedeo Minghi (born 12 August 1947) is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer and producer. Life and career Born in Rome, Minghi started his career in the mid-1960s participating in a large number of musical contests, and then making his profess ...

. Their songs of the time, notably "1950", received large critical acclaim. Since 1987, he collaborated with other artists, including

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 b ...

and

Paola Turci Paola Turci (born 12 September 1964 in Rome), is an Italian singer, songwriter, performer and author. 1980s Turci's musical debut was in 1986 when she participated in Sanremo Music Festival with the song "L'uomo di ieri", written by Mario ...

. In 1989 Chiocchio collaborated with a multimedia project, ''Il Poliedro di Leonardo'', which was screened as a Special Event at the 46th Venice International Film Festival. He suffered heart failure and died prematurely on 28 July 1996, aged 42 years old.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiocchio, Gaio 1954 births 1996 deaths People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Italian record producers Italian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian male singers