Michele Torpedine

Last updated

Michele Torpedine (born 1952 in Minervino Murge) is an Italian record producer, television personality, drummer and music manager. He has been the producer of many renowned Italian artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, and Il Volo, among many others.

Biography

Also known internationally as Michael Torpedine, [1] [2] he began his career as a drummer for Orietta Berti, Iva Zanicchi and Gino Paoli.

In the eighties, through an entertainment agency based in Bologna, he looked after the image of artists Lucio Dalla, Loredana Bertè and Francesco De Gregori and planned the stages of Gianna Nannini's America tour. As a record producer, he brought success and, in some cases, revived the fortunes [3] of numerous Italian artists such as Zucchero Fornaciari, Luca Carboni, Gino Paoli, Pino Daniele, Lucio Dalla, Fabrizio De André, Biagio Antonacci, Ornella Vanoni, Andrea Bocelli, Giorgia, Vittorio Grigolo and Il Volo. [4] [5] He is also occasionally involved in forming duets between Italian and international artists; the latter include Barbra Streisand, Joe Cocker, Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, Paul Young and Ray Charles. His idea of bringing the duet of Italian artists Gino Paoli and Ornella Vanoni to theatres on the Insieme tour has received much public acclaim.

He is the executive producer of several of Zucchero's albums, including Rispetto, Blue's, Oro incenso e birra and Miserere; the first three alone have sold 3,200,000 copies in Italy. In 1989 he joined Zucchero in a supergroup, formed in Cortina d'Ampezzo and called Adelmo e i suoi Sorapis, which included Dodi Battaglia, Maurizio Vandelli, Fio Zanotti and Umberto Maggi. In 1990 he organised an extraordinary musical event inside the Kremlin, broadcast by RAI in several countries around the world, which saw Zucchero as the first artist ever to perform in the main seat of the Russian government. A VHS video and a double album entitled Live at the Kremlin were made of the concert in Moscow. Since 1994 he has been Zucchero's representative for Italy and privileged consultant for the rest of the world, working alongside the American record producer Miles Copeland III for the rest of the world; he therefore follows him behind the scenes of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. With Zucchero the relationship will end in the following years. [6]

Torpedine also produced Andrea Bocelli's albums, who sold more than 2,500,000 copies of records in Europe in 1996 with the Romanza collection alone, which reached the top of all the charts. During the years of managing the image of the Tuscan artist, aimed at ensuring him a high-profile career, he was responsible for the organisation of numerous national and international events, including the Michael Jackson & Friends benefit concert held in Munich in 1999.

He produced albums for Gerardina Trovato and Luca Carboni and was the artistic director of the first two editions of Pavarotti & Friends.

In 2007 he accused Zucchero, when the association with the artist had been over for some time, of plagiarism; in particular, he contested the fact that he credited himself with songs and music written or composed by others. [7]

On 16 July 2010, he presided over the jury at the final of the Castrocaro Music Festival hosted by Fabrizio Frizzi. [8]

In January 2012 he is hired as a consultant by the company that takes care of the affairs for Eros Ramazzotti. [9]

At the 2015 Sanremo Festival, he consolidates also in Italy, through the victory of the singing competition, the success of the young boys that form the trio called Il Volo [10] and that, together with Tony Renis, he made famous in the world and in particular in the United States of America. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zucchero Fornaciari</span> Italian musician (born 1955)

Adelmo Fornaciari, more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero, is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his primary school teacher used to call him. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul, blues and rock music, and alternates between Italian ballads and more rhythmic R&B-boogie-like pieces. He is credited as the "father of Italian blues", introducing blues to the big stage in Italy. He is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoys great international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eros Ramazzotti</span> Italian musician (born 1963)

Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti is an Italian pop singer and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in both Italian and Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornella Vanoni</span> Italian singer

Ornella Vanoni is an Italian singer. She is one of the longest-standing Italian artists, having started performing in 1956. She has released about 112 works between LP, EPs and greatest hits albums, and is considered one of the most popular interpreters of Italian pop music. During her long career she has sold over 65 million records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gino Paoli</span> Italian singer-songwriter (born 1934)

Gino Paoli is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: "Il cielo in una stanza", "Che cosa c'è", "Senza fine", "Quattro amici al bar" and "Sapore di sale".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Festivalbar</span> Italian song popularity contest

The Festivalbar was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by RAI. The competition was held throughout the summer and the final round always took place at the Arena in Verona after 3-4 events in various cities of Italy.

<i>Miserere</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Zucchero

Miserere is the sixth studio album by Italian blues rock singer-songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari released in 1992 by Polydor Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Il mare calmo della sera (song)</span> 1994 single by Andrea Bocelli

"Il mare calmo della sera" is a song written by Zucchero Fornaciari, Gian Pietro Felisatti and Gloria Nuti, for Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli won the Sanremo Festival 1994 with the song, which was later released as his debut single. It is among Bocelli's most popular and well-known songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Il Volo</span> Italian operatic pop trio

Il Volo is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone, and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, they represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Grande amore", finishing first in the televote and third overall.

The Castrocaro Music Festival, also known as Concorso per Voci Nuove, is an Italian musical contest which takes place every year in the town of Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole, near Forlì, from 1957. The competition is exclusively reserved for new talents, and it had its maximum popularity from 1962 to early Eighties when, under the direction of Gianni Ravera, based on an agreement with the Sanremo Music Festival the top two finishers of the competition gained the access to the Sanremo Festival. Singers who were launched by the event include Gigliola Cinquetti, Iva Zanicchi, Zucchero Fornaciari, Fiordaliso, Caterina Caselli, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Franco Simone and Alice. Winners of the singing kermesse who have subsequently become famous include singer-songwriter Giuni Russo (1967), Gigliola Cinquetti (1963), Alice (1971), Michele Zarrillo (1979), Luca Barbarossa (1980), Zucchero Fornaciari (1981), Fiordaliso (1981), Donatella Milani (1982) and Silvia Salemi (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Il cielo in una stanza (song)</span> 1960 single by Mina

"Il cielo in una stanza" is a song written by Gino Paoli and originally recorded by Italian singer Mina for the album of the same name. The song was released as a single in June 1960 by Italdisc. It became a commercial success in Italy, topping the charts for eleven consecutive weeks and later returning to number one for three additional weeks. It is also Mina's best-selling single in Italy, with estimated sales of 400.000 copies.

Emilio Munda is an Italian songwriter, arranger, composer and producer.
He won the 69th Sanremo Festival as an author and composer of the song "Musica che resta" for the international group Il Volo and ranked second at the 70th Sanremo Festival as author and composer of the song "8 Marzo" interpreted by Tecla Insolia also winning the critics' award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gianfranco Baldazzi</span> Italian lyricist, record producer, author and journalist (1943–2013)

Gianfranco Baldazzi was an Italian lyricist, record producer, author and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacifico (singer)</span> Italian singer-songwriter

Luigi (Gino) De Crescenzo, best known as Pacifico, is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insieme a te non ci sto più</span> 1968 single by Caterina Caselli

"Insieme a te non ci sto più" is an Italian pop song written by Paolo Conte, Michele Virano and Vito Pallavicini and performed by Caterina Caselli. Years later Conte revealed that he and Pallavicini auditioned many singers before giving the song to Caselli, as she was the only one who could deliver a strong enough performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimmo Cavallo</span> Italian singer-songwriter

Cosimo Cavallo, best known as Mimmo Cavallo, is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer.

Adelio Cogliati was an Italian lyricist and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Vessicchio</span> Italian composer, arranger, musician and record producer

Giuseppe Vessicchio is an Italian conductor, composer, arranger, musician and television personality. He is often spelled as Beppe Vessicchio or Peppe Vessicchio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma il cielo è sempre più blu</span> 1975 single by Rino Gaetano

"Ma il cielo è sempre più blu" is a 1975 song composed and performed by Rino Gaetano.

References

  1. ↑ Zucchero, Paul Young – Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman) (1991, Vinyl) , retrieved 2021-10-08
  2. ↑ "No – no (non gli dire no) – Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari | Sito Ufficiale" (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  3. ↑ "A Catania in cerca di talenti: parla Michele Torpedine, il Re Mida della musica italiana (VIDEO)". Corriere Etneo (in Italian). 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  4. ↑ "Torpedine, il cercatore di cantanti. 'E così alla fine ho preso Il Volo'". Quotidiano Nazionale (in Italian). 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  5. ↑ "Michele Torpedine: a world tour and a fiction about Il Volo in 2015! | All About Il Volo" . Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  6. ↑ "Zucchero: "Dopo questo monumento farò il mio disco più bello"". lastampa.it (in Italian). 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  7. ↑ "Tgcom - "Zucchero? Prese pezzi di altri"". 2015-02-20. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  8. ↑ "Castrocaro, vince Nicola Traversa". Excite. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  9. ↑ "Eros Ramazzotti, arriva Michele Torpedine (e una smentita) | News | Rockol". 2015-02-20. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  10. ↑ "Il Volo conquista anche l'Italia «Ci ha scelto il popolo»". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  11. ↑ "Il Volo - Un progetto di Michele Torpedine e Tony Renis". EarOne. Retrieved 2021-10-08.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.