Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in

French-speaking countries The French language became an international language, the second Lingua franca, international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... ...

and the United States as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian and French singer and songwriter.

Early and personal life

Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

(now Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam), to an Italian father from

Rocca di Mezzo Rocca di Mezzo (locally ''La Rocca'') is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western ...

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the

Lycée français Chateaubriand The Lycée français Chateaubriand () is a French international primary and secondary school with two campuses consisting of three buildings in Rome, Italy. Its administration and senior high school/sixth-form college classes are located in the hi ...

. He has also lived in France, the United States, and Ireland. Cocciante has been married to Catherine Boutet since 1983. They have one child together.

Career

An R&B enthusiast, Cocciante began his musical career as an organ player, and in the late 1960s began performing as a singer at L'Approdo, a Roman club for foreign students. After forming the band GL6 with

Marco Luberti Marco Luberti (born 13 February 1941) is an Italian lyricist, record producer and singer-songwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, after graduating from the liceo artistico Luberti started studying piano and performing as a keyboardist in a num ...

and Paolo Casella, in 1971 he started his professional career with the French name Richard Cocciante and recorded three English language songs for the soundtrack of the

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero'', ...

's film ''

Roma Bene ''Roma Bene'' is a 1971 Italian comedy-drama film starring Virna Lisi, Nino Manfredi, Irene Papas and Senta Berger. Plot The classic scene of the upper middle-class in Rome: a duchess, the industrial husband and the many apparently respectable ...

''. In 1972, he released his first album, titled ''MU'' in Italy and ''Atlantì'' in France. After the fair commercial results of his 1973 album ''Poesia'', Cocciante had his breakout one year later with "

Bella senz'anima "Bella senz'anima" is an Italian ballad song written by Marco Luberti, Paolo Casella and Riccardo Cocciante, arranged by Franco Pisano and performed by Riccardo Cocciante. It was the first single from the Cocciante's 1974 album ''Anima''. Overvi ...

", which turned to be a major hit but also raised controversities, being considered sexist and being censored on Italian television. In 1976, he got another number one spot on the Italian hit parade with "

Margherita Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy". The name is related to Margaret. Given name As a name, it may refer to: * Margherita da Trento (anglicized as Margaret of Trent) compa ...

", his signature song. The same year, he covered the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

song " Michelle", featuring the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, for the musical documentary ''

All This and World War II All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...

'', and he released his sole English album in the US, with the single "When Love Has Gone Away" peaking at No. 41 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. In 1980, Cocciante began a decade-long collaboration with the lyricist Mogol, who had just stopped his professional association with

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums from 1969 ...

; their first hit was "

Cervo a primavera Cervo may refer to: Places Italy * Cervo, Liguria, a comune in the province of Imperia in the region of Liguria * Cervo (river), a tributary of the River Sesia in the Piedmont region Portugal * Cervo (Ribeira de Pena), a civil parish in the munici ...

". In 1983, Cocciante was the first Italian artist to be signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, andreleased his album "Sincerità", produced and arranged by the American composer

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

. Following several more hits, notably the 1985 duet with Mina "

Questione di feeling "Questione di feeling" is a duet song recorded by Italian singers Mina and Riccardo Cocciante. The song was released as a single and anticipated Mina's album '' Finalmente ho conosciuto il conte Dracula...'' in which it is contained. Cocciante put ...

", in 1987 he moved to Florida, and except for a live album he took a long artistic break. Cocciante made his comeback in 1991, winning the 41st edition of 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 song "

Se stiamo insieme Se stiamo insieme (lit. 'If we stay together') is a 1991 Italian song written by Riccardo Cocciante (music) and Mogol (lyrics) and performed by Riccardo Cocciante. This song won the 41st edition of the Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo M ...

", and getting a significant success with both the single and the following album ''Cocciante''. In 1994, he recorded an English-language version of his hit song "Pour elle" as a duet with Francesca Bellenis, under the title " I'd Fly", and included it in his album ''Un uomo felice''; a Spanish version "Por ella" and an Italian version "Per lei" were also recorded. In 1996, Cocciante was chosen as the singer for the Italian versions of the songs in the ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'' movie, singing "Un amico in me", "Che strane cose" and "Io non volerò più". In 1997, his friend

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

and

Helmut Lotti Helmut Lotti (born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers; 22 October 1969), is a Belgian tenorGoldsmith B (2009)Belgian tenor Helmut Lotti wants to find his own style '' WDEZ''. Retrieved 23 April 2010. and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in ...

. In 1998, Cocciante composed ''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

'', a musical adaptation of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's ''

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (, originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. I ...

''; the musical, with lyrics by

Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon (born March 2, 1942) is a French Canadians, French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. His work includes the musicals Starmania (musical), ''Starmania'' and Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brot ...

in its French version and by

Pasquale Panella Pasquale Panella (born 12 January 1950) is an Italian lyricist, playwright, poet and novelist. He sometimes used the pen names Duchesca and Vanera. Life and career Panella was born in Rome. After graduating from the Istituto Magistrale, he st ...

in its Italian version, proved to be a worldwide success, and the relevant CDs sold about 10 million copies. Other two successful musicals followed: ''Le Petit Prince'', and ''

Giulietta e Romeo ''Giulietta e Romeo'' is a dramma per musica by composer Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli with an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa after the 1530 novella of the same name by Luigi Da Porto and Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. The opera p ...

''. He also made a Chinese-language adaptation of

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's opera ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'', which was directed by

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...

. In 2013, Cocciante was a coach for the first season of ''

The Voice of Italy ''The Voice of Italy'' is a reality singing competition and Italian version of the international syndication '' The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created by Dutch television producer John de Mol Jr ...

'';

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, one of the contestants he coached, won the show. Cocciante's oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish. It was announced that Cocciante is scheduled to perform a retrospective of his career at the Lucca Summer Festival July 2025.

Discography

* ''Mu'' (1972) *''Poesia'' (1973) *''Anima'' (1974) *''L'alba'' (1975) *''Richard Cocciante'' nglish version of ''Anima''(1976) *''Concerto per Margherita'' (1976) *''Riccardo Cocciante'' (1978) *''...E io canto'' (1979) *''Cervo a primavera'' (1980) *''Q Concert'' (1981) *''Cocciante'' (1982) *''Sincerità'' (1983) *''Il mare dei papaveri'' (1985) *''Quando si vuole bene'' (1986) *''La grande avventura'' (1988) *''Viva!'' (1988) *''Cocciante'' (also known as ''Se stiamo insieme''; 1991) *''Empreinte'' (1993) *''Eventi e mutamenti'' (1993) *''Il mio nome è Riccardo'' (1994) *''Un uomo felice'' (1994) * ''Je chante'' (1995) *''Innamorato'' (1997) *''Istantanea'' (1998) *''Notre-Dame de Paris live Arena di Verona'' (2002) *''Songs'' (2005)

Musicals

*''

'' (1997; lyrics by

) *''

Le Petit Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English language, English and French language, French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock i ...

'' (2002; lyrics by Élisabeth Anaïs) *''

'' (2007; lyrics by

)

References

External links

RICCARDO COCCIANTE Official Web Site

Biography of Richard Cocciante
from

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...

Biography of Riccardo Cocciante
from

RAI International Rai Italia is the international Italian language television service of Rai Com, a subsidiary of RAI, Italy's public national broadcaster. Rai Italia operates a television network that broadcasts around the world via four localized feeds. Progra ...