Gianni Morandi

Biography

Gian Luigi "Gianni" Morandi (Italian: [ˈdʒanni moˈrandi]; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. It is estimated that Morandi has sold about 50 million recordings.

Early life

Born in Monghidoro, Emilia-Romagna, the son of a cobbler, Morandi interrupted his studies after primary school to help support his family. While working in a cinema as a candy vendor he began performing as a singer between films. At 14 years old he entered the Scaglioni Orchestra, with whom he made his first tour in north Italy.

1960s

After winning a music festival for newcomers in Bellaria – Igea Marina, in 1962 Morandi made an audition for RCA Italiana, and while his performance left dubious a large part of the commission he was put under contract for the insistence of Franco Migliacci, who became its producer and main author for the first part of his career. The same year Morandi made his record debut with "Andavo a 100 all'ora" and his television debut in the RAI show Alta pressione, where he launched his first hit "Fatti mandare dalla mamma a prendere il latte" and which gave him and Rita Pavone an early popularity as teen idols. In 1964, he got his first number one hit with "In ginocchio da te", which won the Cantagiro festival and was adapted into a musicarello film which turned to be a massive success, grossing over 800 million lire. The same year, he got another major hit with the Canzonissima winning song "Non son degno di te", and he held his first successful tour in Japan.
In 1965, Morandi had other two number one hits with "Se non avessi più te", with whom he placed second at Cantagiro, and the melanchonic "Si fa sera", and held a successful tour in South America. The following year was as well massimally successful thanks to "La fisarmonica", runner-up at Canzonissima, "Notte di ferragosto", which gave him a second Cantagiro win, the protest song "C'era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones", and "Se perdo anche te", a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man". In early 1967, Morandi centered another major hit with the romantic "Un mondo d'amore" before taking a one-year break due to mandatory conscription. He reprised his career in April 1968, closing the decade with another string of hits, notably Cantagiro runner-up "Chimera", Canzonissima winning song "Scende la pioggia" (a cover of the Turtles' "Elenore") and "Bella Belinda".

1970s

The new decade opened in January for Morandi with another victory at Canzonissima, with the song "Ma chi se ne importa". The same year he enjoyed critical acclaim for his acting performance in Pietro Germi's A Pocketful of Chestnuts and represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 with the Lucio Dalla's penned "Occhi di ragazza". Following the two minor hits "Capriccio" and "Al bar si muore" he slowed his activities. In 1972 he took part for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival with "Vado a lavorare", which was a commercial disappointment, and enjoyed a stage success with the musical Jacopone. In the following years, his career suffered a commercial downturn, with his ambitious 1975 album Il mondo di frutta candita×Il mondo di frutta candita1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1La caccia al bisonteA2Sette di seraA3Autostrade, no!A4Favole di mareB1Il mondo di frutta canditaB2Io vado a sudB3Due ore di polvereB4Io domani me ne vadoB5La mia gente, enterely penned by Oscar Prudente and Ivano Fossati, being a resounding failure.
In 1976, Morandi got an unexpected number one hit with the ecologist children song "Sei forte papà", opening song of the Saturday night show Rete Tre he co-hosted with Ombretta Colli and Arnoldo Foà. The same year he took part in the Tokyo Music Festival, winning the award for best performance with "Per poter vivere×Per poter vivere1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Per poter vivereA2Sei già quiA3Peggio di primaA4Avevamo stretto un pattoA5Giorni miglioriB1Sei forte papàB2Più in altoB3Amarti a metàB4È già mattinaB5Per poter vivere (finale)". At the end of the year he decided to take a hiatus from showbiz to study double bass at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia.

1980s

Morandi made his professional comeback in 1980, taking part in the 30th Sanremo Music Festival with a song penned by Ron and Francesco De Gregori, "Mariù", which got unnoticed. His career started rebounding with the Mogol-penned songs "Canzoni stonate" and "La mia nemica amatissima", the latter being his 1983 Sanremo entry. The same year he recorded a cover of Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonite" in a duet with Amii Stewart, "Grazie perchè"; the song was chosen as opening theme of Domenica in and reached the third place on the hit parade. Also important for his professional relaunch were three television miniseries he starred in between 1984 and 1987, Voglia di volare, Voglia di cantare, and Voglia di vincere.
After two well received albums (Immagine italiana×Immagine italiana1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Mi manchi4:30A2Luna nuova4:35A3Nel silenzio splende4:15A4Romanzo d’appendice4:29B1Nuova gente4:03B2Scivolando3:28B3L’uomo misterioso3:30B4Azzurra storia3:32B5La storia3:55 and Uno su mille×Uno su mille1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Canta ancora per me3:57219504:333Uno su mille4:084Solo lui, solo lei4:265Lontana da me3:556Quante volte nella mia vita4:277Facile così3:428Rossa4:199Animalibera3:4010Ancora mia3:3811Questi figli3:06, whose title-track became a classic in his repertoire) and a Targa Tenco for best performer,
Morandi won the Sanremo Music Festival 1987 with "Si può dare di più" together with Enrico Ruggeri and Umberto Tozzi. In 1988, he recorded a successful album in couple with Lucio Dalla, Dalla/Morandi×Morandi1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Giovane amante mia4:552Fino alla fine del mondo4:163Sentimento4:394Dammi il massimo4:145La voce4:326Penso a quando ti vedrò4:257La regina dell'ultimo tango4:128Momenti bellissimi4:489La vita è una canzone4:5110In amore3:5311Marinaio9:35, which launched by the singles "Dimmi dimmi" and "Vita" sold over one million copies. In July 1988, the duo embarked on a long tour, which ended in Madrid in April 1989. The decade ended for Morandi with another significant success, the half a million copies-selling album Varietà×Varietà1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Varietà4:222Bella signora4:283Occhi chiusi3:504Ti comunico amore5:025Animale5:056Negro4:457Un pugno in faccia4:358Figli dei nostri figli3:53 and its top ten singles, the Mogol-Lavezzi title-track and "Bella signora" by Lucio Dalla and Mauro Malavasi.

1990s

In 1992 Morandi released the album Morandi×Morandi1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Giovane amante mia4:552Fino alla fine del mondo4:163Sentimento4:394Dammi il massimo4:145La voce4:326Penso a quando ti vedrò4:257La regina dell'ultimo tango4:128Momenti bellissimi4:489La vita è una canzone4:5110In amore3:5311Marinaio9:35 Morandi, that included "Banane e lamponi", which became one of his best known songs of his repertoire. In 1995, he made his return at the Sanremo Festival, ranking second with "In amore", a duet with Barbara Cola. Anticipated by the lead single "Dove va a finire il mio affetto", in 1997 he released the album Celeste azzurro e blu×Celeste azzurro e blu1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dove va a finire il mio affetto3:572Blu3:523Forse non ci lasceremo mai4:564Io sono un treno4:325I Love You3:216Vento3:587Caro Alfredo4:188Sta tranquilla stupida4:189Là nel paese dei sogni (La ola)3:5710Gli occhi tuoi davanti ai miei4:2911La mia storia infinita4:1012Volevo farti innamorare4:06. In 1999, he hosted the Rai 1 autobiographical musical show C'era un ragazzo, which achieved a large success, with an average of over 9 million viewers per episode.

2000s

In 2000, Eros Ramazzotti produced and penned all songs in Morandi×Morandi1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Giovane amante mia4:552Fino alla fine del mondo4:163Sentimento4:394Dammi il massimo4:145La voce4:326Penso a quando ti vedrò4:257La regina dell'ultimo tango4:128Momenti bellissimi4:489La vita è una canzone4:5110In amore3:5311Marinaio9:35's album Come fa bene l'amore. The lead single "Innamorato" premiered at the 50th Sanremo Festival, placing third. In 2002, Morandi co-hosted with Lorella Cuccarini and Paola Cortellesi the Rai 1 Saturday night show Uno di noi, and released the album L'amore ci cambia la vita×L'amore ci cambia la vita2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1L’amore ci cambia la vita4:162L’amante3:543Una vita normale4:044Ricominciamo da qui3:335Abbracciami4:496Questo grande pasticcio3:287Dimmi adesso con chi sei3:568Giallo come un limone3:319Non è così3:4310Americana4:1811Il mio amico4:00, which was certified double platinum. In 2004, he released A chi si ama veramente, an album to which collaborated Gaetano Curreri, Luca Madonia and Mariella Nava, which like the previous one sold over 200,000 copies.
In 2006, Morandi hosted a new Rai 1 show, Non facciamoci prendere dal panico, released the new album Il tempo migliore×Il tempo migliore6 October 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Il tempo migliore3:412Da qui all'eternità3:313Un miracolo3:464Sei bella vita4:155Adesso tocca a lui3:396Tanto è solo un gioco3:587Abbiam bisogno di sognare3:538Io sto bene con te3:479Il ritorno3:2110Amor y cha cha cha4:1011Basta così3:5812Tu sei nel mio presente3:56, and penned an autobiography in a diary form, Diario di un ragazzo italiano. In 2009, he took part in the charity single "Domani 21/04.09", co-hosted with Alessandra Amoroso the television show Grazie a tutti and released the album of cover songs Canzoni da non perdere×Canzoni da non perdere13 November 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Inevitabile follia4:102Storie di tutti i giorni3:313A te4:414L’isola che non c’è3:545Ogni volta3:526Tu sei l’unica donna per me3:317Perché no4:268Fiore di maggio3:579Tu non mi basti mai4:2310Rimmel3:5311Avrai5:0512Luna4:0513Credo nell’amore3:5214Grazie a tutti3:49.

2010s

Morandi was chosen to be the presenter of Sanremo Music Festival 2011, together with Belén Rodríguez, Elisabetta Canalis and comedians Luca Bizzarri and Paolo Kessisoglu from Italia 1's satire show Le Iene. In October 2011, he was confirmed as the presenter of the Sanremo Music Festival 2012.
At the beginning of 2016, Morandi started a tour called "Capitani Coraggiosi Tour" with Claudio Baglioni. A double album will be published on 5 February. In 2017, he recorded with Fabio Rovazzi the hit "Volare×Volare19 May 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Volare3:47".
In 2019, his 1964 song "In ginocchio da te" gained renewed popularity as it was featured in one of the main scenes of the Academy Awards winning film Parasite.

2020s

In 2020, Morandi participated in the charity single "Ma il cielo è sempre più blu", in support of the work of Italian Red Cross during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, Morandi had a serious domestic accident that left his right hand badly burnt and almost without mobility. In June he released the Jovanotti-penned single "L'allegria", and one year later he participated at the Sanremo Music Festival 2022, finishing third with "Apri tutte le porte×Apri tutte le porte3 February 2022 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Apri tutte le porte3:43", also penned by Jovanotti. One year later, he co-hosted with Amadeus the Sanremo Music Festival 2023.

Personal life

In June 1966, Morandi married actress Laura Efrikian, with whom he starred in several musicarelli films, and they had two children, actress Marianna (b. 1969) and actor and singer Marco (b. 1974). The couple divorced in 1979.
From his relationship with Anna Dan, who became his second wife in November 2004, he had another son, Pietro (b. 1997), also a singer.

Live albums

Cantare (1980)
Morandi in teatro (1986)
Live @RTSI Gianni Morandi (1999)
Grazie a tutti, il concerto (2009)
Capitani coraggiosi – Il live (2016)

Honours

Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (24 January 2005)
Honorary citizenship of the Municipality of Carloforte (Carloforte, 28 June 2019)
Golden Neptune of the City of Bologna (Bologna, 3 March 2022)