Ricchi e Poveri

Ricchi e Poveri
A.Sotgiu, A.Brambati, F.Gatti (foto: Cristina Cava)
Background information
Origin	Italy
Genres	Pop
Years active	1967 —
Members
Franco Gatti, Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu
Former members
Marina Occhiena

Ricchi e Poveri is one of the most famous Italian pop music groups in Europe and Latin America. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million records.

Formation and early success

The group was formed in 1967 by Franco Gatti (born October 4, 1942 in Genova), Angela Brambati (born October 20, 1947 in Genova), Angelo Sotgiu (born February 22, 1946 in Trinità d'Agultu e Vignola) and Marina Occhiena (born March 10, 1950 in Genova). Their first public appearance was in Cantagiro 1968 with "L'ultimo amore". Ricchi e Poveri has participated in Sanremo Music Festival several times since 1970. 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 boasts some of the most popular Italian songs of the 80s and 90s such as "Mamma Maria", "Se m'innamoro", "Made in Italy", "M'innamoro di te" and many others. Their hit "Che sarà" has also been performed by José Feliciano and Jimmy Fontana.

Sarà perche ti amo, crossover success

The single Sarà perché ti amo became such a hit in Europe that a crossover version for Latin American countries 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.

Many groups started covering the song adapting it to different genres, including tropical, dance, and various forms of Mexican folk music known as Grupera. The Latin boy band project Menudo (featuring Ricky Martin) 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.

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 by Diana Sorbello as Das ist, weil ich dich liebe.

Ricchi e Poveri held two massive concerts in Malta on the 12 and 13 June 2009. The band is still very popular in the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Discography (only LP albums, without the compilations)

• I musicanti (1976)
• Questo amore (1978)
• La stagione dell'amore (1980)
• E penso a te (1981)
• Mamma Maria (1982)
• Voulez vous danser (1983)
• Dimmi quando (1985)
• Pubblicita` (1987)
• Una domenica con te (1990)
• Allegro italiano (1992)
• I grandi successi (1994) remakes+ new song
• Parla col cuore (1998) remakes+4 new songs

Background

Their Song Mamma Maria was covered in German in 1982 by Conny & Jean. In 2003 Italian dance project Eu4ya covered the song Sara Perche Ti Amo and in 2008 was German schlager from Diana Sorbello released as Das ist, weil ich dich liebe. Their song Sarà perche ti amo was covered by the Danish pop duo Laban in 1983, with the title "Hvor skal vi sove i nat?"

Links

• bmamusic.com Informations from Ricchi e Poveri
• Fanclub