Francesco "Franco" Califano (14 September 1938 – 30 March 2013) was an Italian singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. His songs sold about 20 million records during his career.
Early life Born in an airplane above Tripoli, Libya, Califano lived most of his life in Rome (in whose dialect he usually sang) and Milan.
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".Melania Rizzoli, Detenuti, Sperling & Kupfer, 2012. 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's classic ""; he also composed a whole album for Mina, . In 1978, he released his best-sold album, .
In 1988, he entered the Sanremo Music Festival with the autobiographical song ""; he came back to Sanremo two more times, in 1994 with "" and in 2005 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 .
Death He died of a heart attack in his house in Acilia.
Discography
(1972) (1973) (1973) (1975) (1975) , live at La Bussola in Viareggio (1975) (1976) (1977) (1977, collection) (1979) (1980) (1981) (1981, collection) (1982) (1982, live) (1983) (1983, collection ) (1984) (1985) (1987) (1988) (1989) (1990) (1991) (1992, live) (1994) (1995) (1999) (2001, live) (2001, EP) (2003) (2005, collection) (2009)
Filmography Film TitleYearRole(s)Director NotesAppuntamento a Ischia 1960 Mimmo's Double Bass Player Mario Mattoli Appuntamento in riviera 1962 Himself Mario Mattoli CameoNotti nude 1963 Himself Ettore Fecchi DocumentaryCherchez l'idole 1964 The Director Michel BoisrondGardenia 1979 Gardenia Domenico PaolellaDue strani papà 1983 Franco Mariano LaurentiViola Kisses Everybody 1998 Samuele's Father Giovanni VeronesiThis Night Is Still Ours 2008 Franco Cicchillitti Paolo GenoveseRoma nuda 2012 Romo Sebastiani Giuseppe Ferrara Final film role
Further reading
References
External links