Ricchi e Poveri

Formation and early success

The group was formed in 1967 by Franco Gatti (born 4 October 1942 in Genoa), Angela Brambati (born 20 October 1947 in Genoa), Angelo Sotgiu (born 22 February 1946 in Trinità d'Agultu e Vignola) and Marina Occhiena (born 19 March 1950 in Genoa). Their first public appearance was in Cantagiro 1968 with "L'ultimo amore". Ricchi e Poveri has participated in the Sanremo Music Festival several times since 1970 and in 1971 they sang "Che sarà". Ricchi e Poveri represented Italy in Eurovision Song Contest 1978 with song "Questo amore" finishing 12th with 53 points. In 1981 Marina Occhiena left the group.

Ricchi e Poveri has recorded in Italian and Spanish and the group had some of the most popular Italian songs of the 1980s and 1990s, including "Mamma Maria", "Made in Italy", "M'innamoro di te", "Se m'innamoro", and many others.

Their hit "Che sarà" has also been performed by José Feliciano and by the composer of the song's music, Jimmy Fontana. 1971 was the final year of the Sanremo festival in which each song was performed twice, each time by a different artist. Ricchi e Poveri gave the second performance of the song, following Feliciano, who had worldwide hits with Italian, Spanish and English versions of the song.

"Sarà perché ti amo"

A crossover version for Latin American countries of the single "Sarà perché ti amo" was recorded with Spanish lyrics. The song, now titled "Será porque te amo", also became a huge hit in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

Several groups covered the song, adapting it to different genres including tropical, dance, and various forms of Mexican folk music known as Grupera. The Latino boy band projects Los Chicos and Los Chamos, and the Italo-Dance band Eu4ya also covered the song, but the lyrics were heavily altered; only the chorus line was kept in one verse and the rest was rearranged to make the song more appealing to teenagers.

The song is featured in some film soundtracks: L'Effrontée (1985), Spike of Bensonhurst (1988), High Tension (2003) and Unmade Beds (2009).

As of 2007 the song is still being covered in all genres and it has achieved somewhat of a cult/nostalgia status in several Spanish-speaking countries, as a symbol of a generation. The song was remade in 2008 in German, by Diana Sorbello as "Das ist, weil ich dich liebe" and in 2011, in Dutch, by Monique Smit and Tim Douwsma as "Eén zomeravond met jou".

Ricchi e Poveri held two massive concerts in the Mediterranean island of Malta on the 12 and 13 June 2009. The band remains popular in Malta and it returned for another concert on 6 November 2010. Ricchi e Poveri completed a tour of Italy and Slovenia in 2012.

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles in English