Biography:

Roberto Ferri ( Bologna , 15 October 1947 – 10 December 2022 [1] ) was an Italian singer-songwriter , lyricist and writer .

Roberto Ferri made his debut at the Castrocaro Festival in 1967 , and participated in Settevoci towards the end of the sixties .

Also in the 1960s, Ferri joined Mina ‘s PDU , for which he recorded four 45s; he also wrote songs for Dori Ghezzi , Iva Zanicchi , Giorgia Fiorio , Toto Cutugno , Cristiano De André , Carmen Villani , Gianni Morandi , Adriano Celentano , New Trolls , Alexia , Noemi . In 1983 he won the San Remo Festival as an author with Sara che che sia by Tiziana Rivale . At the same time he followed various theater courses directed by Antonio Fava and also met Fabrizio De André with whom he collaborated writing Faccia di cane (even if De André was not officially among the authors [2] ), a piece which took part in the Sanremo Festival, finishing third but winning the Critics’ Award, and with his son Cristiano co-signing (plus Franco Mussida ) Beautiful more than me . [3]

In 1991 the Italian-French Association of Bologna entrusted Ferri with the task of commemorating the tenth anniversary of Brassens ‘ death with some concerts of French songs. In 1997 Ferri wrote, together with Vasco Rossi and Gaetano Curreri , …e tell me you don’t want to die sung by Patty Pravo . [4] Ferri also translated the song Memory , taken from the musical Cats entitled Piano and sung by Sarah Brightman and Stephen Hansen . He also wrote for Hervé Vilard .

In the summer of 2000 Roberto Ferri participated in the Fano Festival with his show Il violino e la selce under the artistic direction of Franco Battiato . At the same time he performed as a supporter, in Banda Orchestrale , also by Battiato. He participated in the International Meetings of Music festival in Salerno, where he opened Juliette Gréco ‘s concert . In Genoa , at the Memorial dedicated to Fabrizio De André, he presented La Romance de Marinelle , the French version of La canzone di Marinella , which he translated and sang: the song was then published in 2003 on the CD Faber amica fragili . In the following years Roberto Ferri took part in two tours with Franco Battiato, opening his concerts.

He created a CD of classic French songs and others by contemporary Italian singer-songwriters which he translated and sang in French. In 2002 she participated in the San Remo festival during the Tenco Prize conferences on translation, the following year she spoke at the Fano Festival in the evening dedicated to singer-songwriters. From a recording point of view you released Marinelle et le Chat and later Vivo d’arte and Se per caso un giorno la folli… both recorded live. Also in 2002 she was competing at the 45th Zecchino d’Oro with the song Grande diventrò .

In 2010 he published together with the Artists for organ donation I love you even if I don’t know who you are, produced together with his wife and supervised by Franco Battiato. The album also contained the video of Com’èdeep il mare by Lucio Dalla , sung by him together with other artists. In April 2012 the audiobook/CD Tutta dell’Amore will be released , again in collaboration with the Artists for organ donation. The album was sponsored, like the previous one, by the FIRE Foundation, the ANTF non-profit association and the Epac non-profit association. In the following years Ferri gave concerts in Italy and France. In his last years Ferri dedicated himself to writing poems and aphorisms.

He died on December 10, 2022.

Private life

Ferri had a degree in Chemistry and was married to the singer Marinella . Being specialized in Cosmetic Sciences and Technologies, he worked as a cosmetologist and perfumer.

Credits: