Giovanni
"Gianni" Meccia was born in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy on June 2,
1931. After moving to Rome to work as a film actor, he began performing in
local clubs of the capital, singing some songs of his own composition, and in
1954 he also managed to make an impromptu appearance on the television program ‘Primo
applause’. In this period he knew Franco Migliacci, with whom he will later have the opportunity
to collaborate, and it is Migliacci who manages to get him an audition at the
Italian RCA; during this audition, in which he performs some of his songs
characterized by humorous and surreal texts (such as I hate all the old ladies,
Il tarlo, Even the guards can lose their balance, Diomira) he was listened to
by chance by Mario Riva, who decided to cast him as a guest on his ‘Il
Musichiere program’. His television appearance in this broadcast caused quite a
stir at the beginning of 1959, in which, accompanying himself only with his
guitar, he performed ‘Odio tutte le vecchie signore’, an ironic piece perhaps
too much ahead of its time (which the singer-songwriter will only reach years
later); in the same year RCA decides to offer him a contract, for which he
begins to record his first 45s for the Camden sub-label: it is for him that the
term singer-songwriter is coined for the first time. In the meantime, however,
one of his songs is recorded by Domenico Modugno: Non restare fra gli angeli,
that the Apulian singer-songwriter inserts as B side of Farfalle, and of which
Meccia writes the text (the music is from Enrico Polito and Modugno).
After
the first 45, Jasmine, had gone unnoticed, success came with the second, Il
barattolo, arranged by Ennio Morricone, who had the idea of inserting in
various parts of the song the sound of a real jar rolling (dropped on a slide
with a surface covered with gravel and concrete); success is replicated by his
next single, Pissi pissi bao bao, and, at the end of the year, by Il pullover.
In the same period he was very successful as a songwriter with S'è fatto tardi
(with music by Lilli Greco ) Folle banderuola, sung by Mina, Alzo la vela,
played by Jenny Luna, Primo sguardo, written for Nilla Pizzi, and Così, a poco
a poco, sung by Teddy Reno .
In
1961 he debuted at the Sanremo Festival with the song Patatina, written
together with Franco Migliacci and sung in tandem with Wilma De Angelis; in the
same year is the song Io lavoro and he participated in the film "musicarello"
Io bacio... tu baci, also that year, he finds himself in the company of Jimmy
Fontana (with whom he sings Cha-cha dell'impiccato, accompanied by the Flippers
), Adriano Celentano and Mina . He then collaborated with the master Piero
Umiliani, with whom he wrote In un mare di guai for the soundtrack of the movie
“Mariti a congress” (directed by Luigi Filippo D'Amico ) and Un milione per uno
per I soliti rapinatori a Milano (directed by Giulio Petroni). In 1962 he again
participated as a songwriter in Sanremo, with the song Cose inutili (whose text
was written by the actor Ugo Tognazzi), interpreted by Fausto Cigliano and
Jenny Luna, which was eliminated; in the same year he published another 45 rpm
for a mythological film, Arrivano i titani (directed by Duccio Tessari).
His
greatest success as an songwriter, however, is Il mondo, written together with
his friend Jimmy Fontana for the text
(music
by Carlo Pes, Lilli Greco, and by Jimmy Fontana himself ) who records it, and
becomes a worldwide success.
In
1969 he dedicated himself to the cinema, composing soundtracks and also acting
in some films. With Bruno Zambrini he wrote the theme songs for the 1970s TV
series ‘Qui mobile team’. In the seventies he decided to become a recording
artist and founded, in 1970, Pull, together with Bruno Zambrini: among others,
he will discover and launch I Cugini di Campagna. The activity of the author
continues: in 1972 he writes together with Zambrini the song L'amore viene,
l'amore va that Ada Mori presents at the Venice International Light Music Show.
MECCIA, Gianni (Giovanni Meccia) [6/2/1931, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna,
Italy - ] – producer, composer,
songwriter, musician (guitar), actor.
Djurado
– 1966 [sings “Solo il vento so la”]
Behold
the Strange, Exciting, Dangerous Scent of Dollars* – 1973 (co)
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