Jimmy Fontana

Jimmy Fontana (13 November 1934 – 11 September 2013) was an Italian actor, composer and singer-songwriter. Two of his most famous songs are "Che sarà", performed also by José Feliciano with Ricchi e Poveri, and "Il Mondo". Born Enrico Sbriccoli in Camerino, Italy, after graduating from high school, he moved to Rome to study Economics. In his spare time, Fontana taught himself bass and attend local jazz venues. Eventually, he dedicated himself completely to music and adopted the stage name Jimmy Fontana in homage to one of his heroes, American musician Jimmy Giuffre. (The surname "Fontana" was arbitrarily chosen out of the phone book). In the early 1950s he started his own jazz band, Fontana and his Trio, with piano, bass and drums, and around that time he met Leda, who became his wife and with whom they had four children: Luigi, Roberto, Andrea, and Paola. At the end of the 1950s, he turned to light music and began his solo career. His first success was "Diavolo" ("Devil") that won him third place in the Festival of Barcelona. With his song "Bevo" ("Drink"), in 1960, he won the Burlamacco Gold, a music competition in Viareggio. His first participation in the Festival of Sanremo ...