The Life of Italy’s “Piano Man”. Featured peformers: London Symphony Orchestra (orchestra), Harry Rabinowitz (conductor), David Measham (conductor), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Les Hurdle (bass), Barry Morgan (drums), Ronnie Verrell. Rated 1256 in the best albums of 1976. Genres: Pop Rock, Film Soundtrack. Released 25 November 1976 on 20th Century (catalog no. All This and World War II, a Various Artists Album.He quickly became fluent in Italian, English, and later Spanish and other languages (his plurilingualism would subsequently prove beneficial in his career). At age 11, his family moved to Rome, where Richard (Riccardo) attended the French international school Lycée Français Chateaubriand. A naturalized citizen of both Italy and France, he grew up speaking French (not Italian). Riccardo Cocciante (Italian: born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking.LP (1972 only) Mu: RCA (DPSL 10549) 1972: four pages gatefold cutout cover with lyric insert - as 'Richard Cocciante' RCA (PL 31352) 1978: single cover : RCA (NL 71913) 1980: single cover: CD (1972 only) Mu: RCA (ND 71913) late 70s: reissue of 1972 album: SINGLES (up to 1972 - with picture cover) Down memory lane Rhythm: Delta (ZD 50158) 1971Riccardo (Richard Vincent) Cocciante was bornin 1946 to a French mother and Italian father (from Abruzzo) in Saigon (Vietnam), at the time part of French Indochina.
Cocciante’s partnership with producers and lyricists Amerigo Cassella and Marco Luberti jump-started his Italian singing career and proved to be a fruitful collaboration that produced Cocciante’s biggest hits. He signed with RCA as ‘Richard Conte’ in 1968 for an English single, then joined Delta Records before going back to RCA. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY ABOUT OUR SERVICE.Fueled by his intense passion for music, the self-taught ‘piano man’ began playing the 1960s club scene in Rome with his band the Nations, singing predominantly in English. The landmark album also cements the inimitable Cocciante style: one continuous verse (replacing the traditional 2 verses + chorus structure) that slowly builds into a crescendo, culminating into a passionately explosive and raspy, high-pitched finale. But it is his third album, Anima (1974), that truly catapults him to fame.In collaboration with Luberti and Cassella, and with arrangements by the legendary Ennio Morricone, every song on the Anima LP is meticulously written and produced. The title song garnered more attention after being covered by pop-singer Patty Pravo. Cocciante’s second album, Poesia (1973), marks the emergence of his distinctive sound and vocals. This concept album was quite derivative of the Progressive rock movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, specifically the British group King Crimson (the iconic 1969 LP In the Court of The Crimson King) and, in Italy, The New Trolls ( Concerto Grosso, 1971). Aside from a dedication to his father (“A mio padre”), the title track, “L’alba”, has the vocal and musical characteristics present in Anima: a soft, melodic beginning and a crescendo (with a more pronounced beat) that builds until it erupts into an intense, gravelly cry. “Se io fossi” also holds literary significance as it is an adaptation of the medieval poem: “Se io fossi foco” by Cecco Angiolieri (1260-1312), also adapted by Fabrizio De André in 1968.Cocciante’s popularity continued with his fourth album, L’alba (1975). The latter three songs should be of interest to students of Italian language and literature, since they make abundant use of the Subjunctive tense (specifically, Il Periodo Ipotetico). Also impressive on the LP are: “Il mio modo di vivere”, “Qui”, “Lucia”, “L’odore del Pane”, and “Se io fossi”. Ffxi hd overhaul downloadRe-surfacing as a duet with the famed Lara Fabian, “Io canto” was re-recorded in an Italian-French version for Pausini’s Greatest Hits album (2013). Once again, the title track of the latter album, “Io canto”, climbed the charts quickly and remained so enduring that Laura Pausini decided not just to cover the song, but also title her 2006 album Io canto. Cocciante ends the decade, after releasing almost one LP every year, with two more albums: Riccardo Cocciante (1978) and E io canto (1979). Given its international success in and outside of Italy (Spain, Latin America, France etc.), as well as its hypnotic melody, I would be remiss if I did not give “ Margherita” its due merit with a translation and a worthy commentary. The title song, “ Margherita“, is assuredly his most celebrated and best-selling ballad and most requested still today. Who killed dea agent camarenaHis next LP, Cocciante (1982), marks a musical shift for Riccardo, who ̶ influenced by Mogol ̶ leaves his trademark crescendo behind and adopts a more Battisti-like style, quite evident in the song “Celeste Nostalgia”. Riccardo’s next collaborative release, Q Concert (1981), a live recording with Rino Gaetano and the group New Perigeo, leaves a lot to be desired (especially their rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine”). In 1980, the LP Cervo a primavera is released, whose title track is subtitled “Io rinascerò”, alluding no doubt to a new collaboration and musical phase. The decade opens with Cocciante’s first collaboration with Mogol (lyricist and long-time collaborator with Lucio Battisti). ![]() Moreover, Cocciante’s various collaborations and shifting genres suggest to me, if not a slight creative slump, at least the search for a more innovative style or direction.The 1990s get off to a felicitous start with the birth of Catherine and Riccardo’s first and only son, David, and with the singer’s long-awaited victory at the prestigious Festival of Sanremo with the beautifully melodic (and still popular) “Se stiamo insieme”, a track on the CD Cocciante (1991), which also includes a duet with Paola Turci, “E mi arriva il mare”. Overall, however, the 1980s paled by comparison to the success achieved in the 1970s. The decade closes with two CDs: Viva! (1988), another concert album, and La grande avventura (1988), produced by Mogol and Lucio Dalla, whose fascinating title track offers a preview of the type of musical composition that Cocciante will develop towards the end of the 1990s. Quite impressive indeed for someone who never studied musical composition! But along with fame and fortune came serious financial complications, as Riccardo and his wife Catherine were later convicted by the French government for tax evasion, even though they were not residents of France at the time. Critically acclaimed performances followed in 18 countries throughout the world propelling Notre Dame into the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musical in its first year. Collaborating with French-Canadian lyricist Luc Plamondon, Riccardo composed the music for the French musical Notre-Dame de Paris (adapted from Victor Hugo’s novel, Hunchback of Notre Dame), which debuted triumphantly in Paris in 1998. Finally, it is most important to note that for almost 30 years, Cocciante has managed to record an impressive 35 albums in other languages: 4 in English (from 1976-2008), 15 in French (from 1974 to 2005) and 16 Spanish (from 1974 to 2005), a sign of a truly renowned international singer-songwriter.In addition to performing and recording, during the past two decades Cocciante has realized one of his lifelong dreams: composing musical operas. Riccardo’s songwriting, performances and recordings with other artists, in and outside Italy, are too numerous to list, and range from concerts with Andrea Bocelli (who also covered Cocciante’s songs), and collaborations with female singers to recording the Italian soundtrack of Disney’s Toy Story. The decade closes on a ‘high note’ with three live concert DVDs released in 1998: Istantanea (a concert tour), Notre-Dame de Paris (a musical opera in the Arena of Verona, discussed in the next section), and Christmas In Vienna V (a concert organized by Plácido Domingo, with Sarah Brightman, Helmut Lotti and Riccardo Cocciante). The latter debuted in 2005 to a few hundred special invitees in Rome’s most identifiable monument, the Coliseum, followed by performances in 2007 to sold-out audiences in another ancient Roman amphitheatre, the Arena of Verona (the city in which the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet was originally set), before embarking on worldwide tours.Riccardo’s latest project was announced in 2019 in Beijing China’s Forbidden City: a musical based on Giacomo Puccini’s famed opera Turandot (set in China).
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