Piero Cassano | |
|---|---|
 Cassano in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 13 September 1948 Genoa, Italy |
| Genres | Synth pop, prog rock, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, singer |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1971–present |
Piero Cassano (born 13 September 1948) is an Italian keyboardist, singer and composer, a founding member of the Genoan band Matia Bazar.
Cassano started playing the piano at a young age. In 1971 he founded the progressive rock band JET with fellow musicians Aldo Stellita and Carlo Marrale. The band released an album, Fede, speranza, carità and unsuccessfully participated to the Sanremo Music Festival 1973 with the song Anika na-o.
In 1975 vocalist Antonella Ruggiero and drummer Giancarlo Golzi joined Jet, resulting in a new band: Matia Bazar. In a six-year span, Cassano composed many of their hits, namely Stasera...che sera! (1975), Per un'ora d'amore (1975), Cavallo bianco (1975), Solo tu (1977), ...e dirsi ciao – the winning song of the Sanremo Music Festival 1978, Raggio di luna (the Italian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1979) and C'è tutto un mondo intorno (1979). [1]
In 1981 Cassano decided to leave Matia Bazar to pursue other projects.
In 1983, Cassano started a collaboration with lyricist Adelio Cogliati. Together, they helped launch newcomer Eros Ramazzotti, writing for him hits like Una storia importante, Adesso tu , Questo mio vivere un po' fuori, Musica è, Ti sposerò perché, Ciao pà, Cose della vita from 1985 to 1993. [1]
Cassano also collaborated with many other Italian and international artists like Anna Oxa, Laura Bono, Mina, Milva, Fausto Leali, Demis Roussos, Ginette Reno, Mireille Mathieu, Mocedades, Sergio Dalma. [1]
He also composed the Italian openings of several popular anime, notably Little Pollon [2] and Sailor Moon , sung by Cristina D'Avena.
In 2000 Cassano rejoined Matia Bazar, releasing six more studio albums and taking part in five editions of the Sanremo Music Festival: in 2000 (with Brivido caldo, reaching the 8th place), in 2001 (with Questa nostra grande storia d'amore, ranked #3) and in 2002, this time winning the contest with Messaggio d'amore; then again in 2005 (with Grido d'amore, #3) and finally in 2012 (with Sei tu, which failed to qualify for the finals). [3]
Following a long hiatus due to bandmate Giancarlo Golzi's unexpected death in 2015, Cassano left the band again in May 2017. [4]
Adriano Celentano is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed il Molleggiato because of his dancing.
Enzo Ghinazzi, best known as Pupo, is an Italian singer, lyricist, television presenter, writer and voice actor.
Iva Zanicchi is an Italian pop singer and politician. She has a mezzo-soprano voice and is nick-named by the press as "Eagle of Ligonchio".
Mango, stage name of Giuseppe Mango(6 November 1954 – 8 December 2014), was an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He was known for his style which fuses pop, rock, folk, world music and for his extensive vocal range. He is best known for the song "Oro", from his 1986 breakout album release Odissea. Other hits include "Lei verrà", "Mediterraneo", "Bella d'estate", "Amore per te", "Come Monnalisa", "Nella mia città" and "La rondine".
Antonella Ruggiero is an Italian singer.
Matia Bazar is an Italian pop band formed in Genoa in 1975. The original members of the group were Piero Cassano (keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Carlo Marrale, Giancarlo Golzi (drums) and Antonella Ruggiero (vocals). They represented Italy in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called "Raggio di luna". They are known for the quality of their female vocalists: after Antonella Ruggiero, Laura Valente, Silvia Mezzanotte, Roberta Faccani and currently Luna Dragonieri. Their major hits were Solo tu (1978), Vacanze Romane (1982), Souvenir (1985) and Ti Sento (1985), which peaked on the charts in Belgium, Netherlands and Italy.
Roberta Faccani, is an Italian singer and actress.
I Cugini di Campagna is an Italian pop band formed in 1970 in Rome. They are well known for the use of falsetto and for their eccentric look, a cross between glam and kitsch.
Massimiliano Pani is an Italian songwriter, producer and composer born on 18 April 1963 in Milan to parents Corrado Pani and Mina. His mother has always aroused great curiosity and interest not only for her career but the events that have characterized her private life Corrado Pani was married at the time and due to Mina's refusal to hide the relationship, the singer was banned from performing on public Italian television or radio channels. Within a year, her affair with Corrado ended.
Giuliano Illiani, best known as Donatello, is an Italian singer, mainly successful in the first half of the 1970s.
The Sanremo Music Festival 1978, officially the 28th Italian Song Festival, was the 28th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia between 26 and 28 January 1978. The final night was broadcast by Rai 1, while the first two nights were broadcast live only by radio.
Kim & The Cadillacs was a Milan-based English rock band, active from the late seventies until the late eighties. For the majority of their career they recorded with Alfredo Rossi's label Ariston Records.
Collage are an Italian pop music group, mainly successful in the seventies.
Laura Valente, stage name of Laura Bortolotti, is an Italian singer and musician.
Silvia Mezzanotte, is an Italian singer.
Aldo Salvatore Stellita, was an Italian bassist and songwriter, a founding member of the Genoan band Matia Bazar.
Carlo Marrale, is an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.
Giancarlo Golzi, was an Italian drummer and songwriter, a founding member of the Genoan band Matia Bazar.
Adelio Cogliati was an Italian lyricist and record producer.
"Vacanze romane" is a 1983 single composed by Aldo Stellita and Carlo Marrale (music) and performed by Matia Bazar. The song premiered at the 33rd edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, where it ranked fourth, winning the critic's award. It eventually became one of the band's signature songs.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
