Riccardo Cocciante

Riccardo Cocciante (Italian: [rikˈkardo kotˈtʃante]; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the U.S. as Richard Cocciante (French: [ʁiʃaʁ kɔʃjɑ̃t]), is a French-Italian singer, composer, theatre man and musician.

Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante in 1975
Background information
Born (1946-02-20) 20 February 1946
Saigon, French Indochina (now Vietnam)
GenresPop
Occupation(s)singer, composer, songwriter
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1968–present
LabelsRCA Talent, Delta, RCA Italiana, Virgin Dischi, 20th Century
Websitecoccianteclub.it

Personal life

Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to an Italian father from Rocca di Mezzo (provincia dell'Aquila) and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the Lycée français Chateaubriand. He has also lived in France, the United States, and Ireland.

Career

Cocciante began achieving success as a musician around 1972. In 1976, he covered the Beatles song "Michelle" for the musical documentary All This and World War II. That same year, he released his sole English album in the US, with the single "When Love Has Gone Away" peaking at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1]

In 1983, Cocciante signed to Virgin Records as their first Italian artist.[2][3]

In 1991, he won the Sanremo Festival with the song "Se stiamo insieme",[4] and for Christmas 1997, his friend Plácido Domingo invited him to sing at Domingo's annual Christmas in Vienna concert, together with Sarah Brightman and Helmut Lotti.[5]

In 1996, he was chosen as the singer for the Italian versions of the songs in the Toy Story movie, singing "Un Amico in me", "Che Strane Cose" and "Io non-volerò più".

As of 2008, Cocciante has had three musicals running, including Giulietta e Romeo (musical),[6] Le Petit Prince,[7] and Notre-Dame de Paris.[8][9] His most recent project, the Chinese language adoption of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot is being directed by Zhang Yimou.[10]

In 2013, Cocciante was a coach for The Voice Italy.[11] Elhaida Dani, one of the contestants he coached, won the first season of The Voice Italy.[12]

Sincerità and other foreign-language releases

Cocciante's oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, English, and Spanish. In 1976, he released a cover of The Beatles' song "Michelle", featuring the London Symphony Orchestra.[13] Cocciante recorded his hit song "Pour Elle" as a duet with Francesca Bellenis with English lyrics. The song is part of his 1994 album "Un uomo felice".[14] A Spanish version "Por Ella" and an Italian version "Per Lei" were also recorded. In 1983, Cocciante released his album "Sincerità", produced and arranged by the American composer James Newton Howard.[15]

Discography
  • Mu (1972)
  • Poesia (1973)
  • Anima (1974)
  • L'alba (1975)
  • Richard Cocciante [English version of Anima] (1976)
  • Concerto per Margherita (1976)
  • Riccardo Cocciante (1978)
  • ...E io canto (1979)
  • Cervo a primavera (1980)
  • Q Concert (1981)
  • Cocciante (1982)
  • Sincerità (1983)
  • Il mare dei papaveri (1985)
  • Quando si vuole bene (1986)
  • La grande avventura (1988)
  • Viva! (1988)
  • Cocciante (also known as Se stiamo insieme; 1991)
  • Eventi e mutamenti (1993)
  • Il mio nome è Riccardo (1994)
  • Un Uomo Felice (1994)
  • Je Chante (1995)
  • Innamorato (1997)
  • Istantanea (1998)
  • Notre-dame de Paris live Arena di Verona (2002)
  • Songs (2005)

Musicals

References
  1. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1976-05-01
  2. Billboard. 22 December 1984.
  3. "Riccardo Cocciante | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. Emanuelli, Massimo (2004). 50 anni di storia della televisione attraverso la stampa settimanale (in Italian). GRECO & GRECO Editori. ISBN 978-88-7980-346-5.
  5. Christmas in Vienna V - Sarah Brightman, Riccardo Cocciante, Plácido Domingo, Helmut Lotti | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 3 July 2020
  6. ""Romeo e Giulietta", il musical:un vero amore dev'essere cantato". Spettacoli - La Repubblica (in Italian). 1 October 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  7. Keslassy, Elsa (23 October 2009). "'Little Prince' returns to TV". Variety. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. "2015.11.11 THEATER Ticket". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. "Arriva Notre Dame de Paris in diretta dall' Arena di Verona - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. 董志成. "Hard act to follow - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  11. "Rai Due - The Voice of Italy - Rivivi le emozioni della seconda Blind Audition". www.rai.it. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  12. "The Voice, Elhaida Dani vincitrice dello show della bontà". Spettacoli - La Repubblica (in Italian). 30 May 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. "Michelle - Riccardo Cocciante | 7inch | Recordsale". recordsale.de. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  14. Un Uomo Felice - Riccardo Cocciante | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 26 December 2020
  15. Sincerita - Riccardo Cocciante | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 26 December 2020
  • Asinari, Pierguido. Riccardo Cocciante. 1971–2007. Dalla forma canzone al melodramma. Rome: 2007.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Pooh
with "Uomini soli"		 Sanremo Music Festival
Winner
1991		 Succeeded by
Luca Barbarossa
with "Portami a ballare"
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