Franco Califano (14 September 1938 – 30 March 2013) was an Italian lyricist, composer, singer-songwriter, author and actor. His songs sold about 20 million records during his career.
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, Califano lived most of his life in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
.
Music career
In the 1960s, he began his career in music as a lyricist and a record producer; among his first successes as author "", "", "".
He was arrested in 1970 and again 1984 for possession of drugs; in both cases, Califano was acquitted with the formula "because the fact does not exist". In 1976, Califano got his first and main success as a singer with the song "", included in his eponymous fourth album, for which the critics paired him to the traditional French . During these years he continued his activity as lyricist signing, among others, the Sanremo Music Festival 1973 winner "" (performed by Peppino di Capri) and the
Mia Martini
Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè (; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995), known professionally as Mia Martini (), was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.comMina, . In 1978, he released his best-sold album, .
In 1988, he entered the
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...
with the autobiographical song ""; he came back to Sanremo two more times, in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
with "" and in
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
with "".
Books
He was author of several books, including the autobiographical and . He also starred in several genre films, and had the leading roles in the and in the comedy film .