Discovering Massimo Ranieri

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Massimo Ranieri is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists on the Italian music scene. Eclectic and versatile, he juggles so many arts that he is a singer, actor, showman and theatrical recordist.

His long career has focused primarily on the music, but in his 50-year career he has devoted much of his time to film, television, dubbing and theater. With more than 14 million records sold and 31 recorded albums, is one of the most beloved Italian singers in Italy and abroad and an emblem of the Neapolitan musical tradition.

From beginnings to success

Massimo Ranieri is the stage name of. John Calone, born May 3, 1951, in Naples. The fifth of 8 children, he grew up in Pallonetto di Santa Lucia, a working-class area in the San Ferdinando neighborhood. Even as a child he did small jobs and was often invited to sing for tourists.

In 1964 he came to Gianni Aterrano, thanks to whom he became a sidekick to the singer-songwriter Sergio Bruni who at age 13 took him with him on a tour of the United States. In 1966 pianist Enrico Polito offered him a recording contract, and at just 15 he made his debut under the name Massimo Ranieri, chosen to pay homage to Princess Grace of Monaco, of whom he was a great admirer. In 1967 Ranieri won the Cantagiro in the round dedicated to young artists, and the following year he took part in the Sanremo Festival with the song Da bambino insieme ai Giganti. Also in 1968 he recorded Red Roses, which initially went unnoticed, only to explode the following year.

In 1969 he participated in the Canzonissima edition and came in third place with the song Se bruciasse la città, and in 1970 his first album Massimo Ranieri was released. In this same period he filmed the movie Metellus by Bolognini with Lucia Bosè, her film debut. This film was to be followed by others, such as Incontro, Cerca di capirmi, Il faro in capo al mondo and the television film La sciantosa, in which she starred alongside the legendary Anna Magnani.

Between 1972 and 1973 Massimo Ranieri participated 2 times in the Eurofestival and appeared again in Canzonissima, where he won with Grass of my house. Parallel to his musical endeavors, the Neapolitan artist is still involved in various film productions, including Salvo D'Acquisto and La patata bollente.

Instead, in 1980 Ranieri met maestro Giorgio Strehler and was involved in a European theater tour. Instead, in 1983 he made his debut as a juggler and tightrope walker in the musical Barnum, while in 1988 he triumphed at the Sanremo Festival with the song Losing love, now a classic of Italian pop music. Finally, in 1989 he presented with Anna Oxa the famous Saturday night variety show Fantastico 10.

From the 1990s to the present

In 1992 Massimo Ranieri is again at Sanremo and comes in fifth place with the song of Ti penso. Then in 1996 he lends the voice to Quasimodo in the Disney cartoon The Hunchback of Notre Dame and in 2001 he is in the theater with the musical The Great Champion, which tells the love story between Edith Piaf and boxer Marcel Cerdan. In September of that same year he is on television with the show Citofonare Calone.

Between 2001 and 2005, there is time to record 3 albums dedicated to classical Neapolitan song, which prove to be a great success with the public. In 2006 it was the turn of the album I've been singing because I can't swim...for 40 years to celebrate precisely 40 years of his career. Between 2010 and 2012, Ranieri produced four comedies by Eduardo de Filippo for Rai, in which he was both director and lead actor. In 2016 the artist was hired to play Pier Paolo Pasolini in David Grieco's film La macchinazione, considering Massimo Ranieri's great physical resemblance to the great director and actor who died in 1975.

In the following years, the Neapolitan singer returned to TV to present a number of programs on RAI primetime, including Sogno e son desto (2014-2016) and Qui e adesso (2020). In the fall of 2021, Ranieri's autobiography "Tutti i sogni ancora in volo" is published. Instead, 2022 is the year of his big return to the Sanremo Festival after 25 years, in which he takes part with the song Letter from across the sea placing eighth and for which he received the Mia Martini Critics' Award.

On February 8, Massimo Ranieri will again be in Sanremo as a superhost to perform together with Albano and Gianni Morandi. Finally, in late spring 2023 he will debut his new TV show on Rai in the company of Spanish actress Rocío Muñoz Morales.