Jimmy Fontana (13 November 1934 – 11 September 2013) was an Italian actor, composer and singer-songwriter. Two of his most famous songs are " Che sarà", performed also by

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " F ...

with

Ricchi e Poveri Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

, and " Il Mondo".

Biography

Born Enrico Sbriccoli in

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of C ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, after graduating from high school, he moved to

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 ...

to study Economics. In his spare time, Fontana taught himself bass and attend local

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

venues. Eventually, he dedicated himself completely to music and adopted the stage name Jimmy Fontana in homage to one of his heroes, American musician

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

. (The surname "Fontana" was arbitrarily chosen out of the phone book). In the early 1950s he started his own jazz band, ''Fontana and his Trio'', with piano, bass and drums, and around that time he met Leda, who became his wife and with whom they had four children: Luigi, Roberto, Andrea, and Paola. At the end of the 1950s, he turned to light music and began his solo career. His first success was "Diavolo" ("Devil") that won him third place in the Festival of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. With his song "Bevo" ("Drink"), in 1960, he won the Burlamacco Gold, a music competition in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

. His first participation in the

Festival of Sanremo 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 annual ...

came in 1961 with "Lady luna" ("Lady moon"), written by

Armando Trovajoli Armando Trovajoli (also Trovaioli, 2 September 1917 – 28 February 2013) was an Italian film composer and pianist with over 300 credits as composer and/or conductor, many of them jazz scores for exploitation films of the Commedia all'italiana ...

and Dino Verde. His first single with RCA is "Non te ne andare" ("Don't go"), released in 1963 and written by

Gianni Meccia Giovanni "Gianni" Meccia (born 2 June 1931) is an Italian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. He is often associated with Jimmy Fontana. Life and career Born in Ferrara, in 1950 Meccia moved to Rome to pursue an acting caree ...

and Lilli Greek. In 1965, Fontana had his major success with " Il mondo" ("The world"), a song composed by Fontana and Carlo Pes, and arranged by Ennio Morricone, with lyrics by

, which reached the top of the charts in Italy and other countries in Europe and charted in Latin America as well. The same year, he made his debut as an actor, appearing in two ''musicarelli'', which are movies heavily featuring musical numbers, titled ''Viale della canzone'' ("Avenue of song") and ''008 Operazione ritmo'' ("008 Operation rhythm"). Jimmy Fontana's hits include "La mia serenata" that won the '' Disco per l'estate'' Festival in 1967. At the 1968

Cantagiro Cantagiro was an Italian summer song contest held from 1962 to 1972 and 1990 to 1993. It featured three categories, A for famous artists, B for newcomers and C for groups. The creator of the competition was Ezio Radaelli. The name of the festival ...

summer festival, Fontana sang a cover version of the Tom Jones hit "

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

", titled "La nostra favola." The song reached 2nd place in the Italian hit parade. In 1971, the song "Che sarà", composed by Fontana with lyrics by

Franco Migliacci Francesco "Franco" Migliacci (born 28 October 1930 in Mantua) is a lyricist, producer, and actor. Biography He studied in Florence where his family had settled, here he entered in a competition for young players, in which he won a stay of ...

, was performed by

with the

group at that year's

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 ...

, winning 2nd prize. It eventually became one of the biggest pop music hits of the era in Italy and abroad.International hits
'' Billboard'', 26 June 1971 After "Che sarà", Fontana stopped writing songs, but continued to tour around Italy for another decade. In 1982 his son Luigi wrote the first part of the music for a new song and this fact brought Jimmy back to compose and create again: he completed the song "Beguine" and sung it at 1982

, joining the 6th place; Luigi was on stage with his father in Sanremo and from that moment on they were performing together around Italy and abroad until Jimmy died. They were joined in 1992 by Andrea (Jimmy's 3rd son), creating some beautiful and emotional "family shows". Jimmy Fontana also continued appearing on TV shows until his old age. He died peacefully at his home in

, a few months before his 79th birthday, while still planning concert tours.

Discography

Albums

* ''Arrivederci'' (1996) * ''Il Mondo'' (1997) * ''I Grandi Successi Originali'' (2001)

Filmography

Actor

* ''Il Sole è di tutti'' (1968) * ''Quando dico che ti amo'' (1968) * ''

Viale della canzone ''Viale della canzone'' is a 1965 Italian " musicarello" film directed and written by Tullio Piacentini. Cast *Marisa Solinas *Bobby Solo * Roby Ferrante * Edoardo Vianello *Peppino Di Capri * Los Marcellos Ferial *Ricky Gianco *Sacha Distel *Ro ...

'' (1965) * ''Canzoni in bikini'' (1963) * '' La voglia matta'' (1962) * ''Io bacio, tu baci'' (1961)

Soundtrack composer

* ''

The Three Fantastic Supermen ''The Three Fantastic Supermen'' ( it, I fantastici tre supermen) is a 1967 superhero film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. The film was the first in a series of Three Supermen films. Cast * Luciano Stella as Tony * Brad Harris as Brad McCallum * ...

'' (1967) * '' Le belle famiglie'' (1964: "Caro amore mio") * ''Io bacio, tu baci'' (1961: "Diavolo")

Soundtrack singer

* ''Io bacio, tu baci'' (1961: "Diavolo"; "Il tempo si è fermato"; "Mare di dicembre"; "Cha cha cha dell'impiccato")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Jimmy 1934 births 2013 deaths Italian male singer-songwriters Italian male composers Italian male film actors 20th-century Italian male singers Italian jazz musicians Italian jazz double-bassists