Giovanni "Gianni" Meccia (2 June 1931 – 9 April 2024) was an Italian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. He was often associated with Jimmy Fontana.
Life and career
Born in Ferrara, in 1950 Meccia moved to Rome to pursue an acting career, eventually only getting some bit roles in some RAI TV series.[1][2] An autodidact guitarist specialized in composing black humorous and nonsense songs, he was first noted by lyricist Franco Migliacci and later by Mario Riva, and had his breakout in 1959 with the song "Odio tutte le vecchie signore", which he launched in the Riva's popular music show Il Musichiere.[2] In 1960 he reached the height of his popularity thanks to the hits "Il barattolo" (arranged by Ennio Morricone) and "Il pullover".[2][3] In 1961 he took part in the eleventh edition of the Sanremo Music Festival with "Patatina", and had a good success with "Cha-cha dell'impiccato", a duet with his friend and frequent collaborator Jimmy Fontana.[2][3]
^ abcNicola Sisto. "Meccia, Gianni". Gino Castaldo (edited by). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 1050-1.
^ abcdefgEddy Anselmi (2009). "Gianni Meccia". Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics, 2009. ISBN978-8863462296.
^ abcdEnrico Deregibus. "Meccia, Gianni". Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana. Giunti Editore, 2010. p. 329. ISBN8809756258.