"Che sarà" (; "What [it] will be") is an Italian song, written by Jimmy Fontana (music) and Franco Migliacci (lyrics) for the Sanremo Music Festival 1971. Until that year, each song was interpreted by two artists/performers to showcase the songwriters' craft rather than the singers' interpretations.
"Che sarà" was sung by José Feliciano and the Ricchi e Poveri group; it came second in the Festival to "Il cuore è uno zingaro". RCA's Italian producers saw the song and the festival as a way to bring José Feliciano — already an international star — to Italy, as he already knew Jimmy Fontana. Although Ricchi e Poveri was a new, young group, it was chosen to sing the second version after Gianni Morandi — a well known Italian singer and RCA artist — had declined to sing the song. Jimmy Fontana, reportedly, was disappointed by RCA's decision and withdrew from the music business for many years.
Recordings Feliciano's recorded version was successful in Italy, in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Japan.... "Che Sarà", a mega-success in Europe, Asia and South America ..., http://www.josefeliciano.com, biography page. Feliciano's Spanish version, titled "Qué será" was an even greater success in Latin America and Spain, peaking at number one in Spain. An English-language version titled Shake A Hand charted in Scandinavia but not in the Top Tens of the US or the UK.
The song is featured in the classic Bulgarian film from 1982, A Nameless Band. In the particular scene the singer Reni (played by Katerina Evro) announces "Che sarà" as "a song for love, parting, and something more."
In 2021 Ricchi e Poveri recorded the song with José Feliciano for the album ReuniON (DM Produzioni, 19439875041), also released in Russia.
Song The lyrics of the song describe the singer's sadness at having to leave his native village (; "Oh my village set on the hill, lying down like an old sleeping man") and were inspired by Cortona, a small town in Tuscany where the lyricist, Franco Migliacci, had lived for many years.. For Jimmy Fontana, who wrote the music, the song is devoted to Bernalda, his wife's home village.... by Jimmy Fontana, one of the authors of the song played by Ricchi e Poveri and by Feliciano, the song is dedicated to Bernalda, in Basilicata, the village where his wife comes from (in Italian)].
Coincidentally, the Cortona story echoes the personal history of José Feliciano, who was born in the hill village of Lares in Puerto Rico, and who left it for New York, joining many other Puerto Rican migrants to the US. In fact, the Spanish version of the song is considered by many in the Latino population to be a "migrants' hymn". José Feliciano – Che sarà
Chart positions Version/Title° Country Position IT / Che Sarà The Netherlands 1 IT / Che Sarà Italy 2Hit parade Italia 1971 IT / Che Sarà Germany 7 IT / Che Sarà Belgium 2 EN / Shake a Hand Sweden 1List of Nr.1 in Sweden EN / Shake a Hand Norway 9
Foreign-language versions Country Title Artist Iceland Góða ferð BG og Ingibjörg Bulgaria Spri do men Lea Ivanova Finland Toivotaan, toivotaan Eero Raittinen Sweden Aldrig mer Hootenanny Singers Denmark Aldrig mer Katy Bødtger Czech republic Nádherná Pavel Novák France Qui saura Mike Brant Vietnam Đôi bờ Anh Tú, Lê Cát Trọng Lý Hungary Mit remélsz? Kati Kovács Germany Che Sara Karel Gott Estonia Lootus jääb Eesti Raadio Meeskvartett
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