Jimmy Fontana

Enrico Sbriccoli (13 November 1934 – 11 September 2013), known professionally as Jimmy Fontana, was an Italian actor, composer and singer-songwriter. His most famous songs are "Il mondo" and "Che sarà", the latter also performed by José Feliciano with Ricchi e Poveri.

Born in Camerino, Marche, he moved to Rome after high school to study economics. In his free time, he taught himself bass and went to jazz clubs. He soon devoted himself to music full-time, taking the stage name Jimmy Fontana in tribute to American musician Jimmy Giuffre, with the surname picked at random from a phone book.

In the early 1950s, he formed his own jazz group, Fontana and his Trio, with piano, bass and drums. Around then he met Leda, who became his wife; they had four children: Luigi, Roberto, Andrea, and Paola.

By the late 1950s, he shifted to light music and started a solo career. His first hit, "Diavolo", placed third at the Festival of Barcelona.

In 1960, "Bevo" won the Burlamacco Gold competition in Viareggio. He first performed at the Sanremo Music Festival in 1961 with "Lady luna", written by Armando Trovajoli and Dino Verde. His first RCA single, "Non te ne andare", came out in 1963, written by Gianni Meccia and Lilli Greco.

In 1965, Fontana scored his biggest success with "Il mondo", which he co-wrote with Carlo Pes, arranged by Ennio Morricone, with lyrics by Gianni Meccia. It topped charts in Italy and other European countries and also charted in Latin America. That same year, he debuted as an actor in two musicarelli: Viale della canzone and 008 Operazione ritmo.

His hits include "La mia serenata", which won the Un disco per l'estate festival in 1967. At the 1968 Cantagiro summer festival, he sang a cover of Tom Jones's "Delilah", retitled "La nostra favola", which reached second place on the Italian hit parade.

In 1971, "Che sarà", composed by Fontana with lyrics by Franco Migliacci, was performed by José Feliciano with Ricchi e Poveri at the Sanremo Music Festival, winning second prize. It became one of the era's biggest pop hits in Italy and abroad.

After "Che sarà", Fontana stopped writing songs but continued touring Italy for another decade. In 1982, his son Luigi wrote the first part of a new song, prompting Jimmy to return to composing.