1967–1980: formation and early years The group was formed in 1967 in
Genoa as a
polyphonic quartet by singers Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena in 1967. They were all originally of the city, with Sotgiu having
Sardinian roots from
Trinità d'Agultu e Vignola. The band got their name from Roman songwriter
Franco Califano who once joked that they were "spiritually rich but financially poor". The quartet earned its own unique vocal style, based on the intertwining of four different voices: bass (Gatti), tenor (Sotgiu), alto (Occhiena) and soprano (Brambati). Their first public appearance was in
Cantagiro 1968 with "
L'ultimo amore". Ricchi e Poveri have participated in the
Sanremo Music Festival several times since
1970; in
1971 they sang there "
Che sarà", which was written by
Jimmy Fontana and
Franco Migliacci. 1971 was the last year of the festival in which each song was performed twice, each time by a different artist. Ricchi e Poveri gave the second performance of the song, following
Nicola di Bari. The song was also released by
José Feliciano, who had worldwide hits with Italian, Spanish and English versions of the song. Ricchi e Poveri represented at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1978 with the song "
Questo amore", finishing 12th in a field of 20 participants.
1981–2009: new formation and subsequent projects In 1981, Marina Occhiena left the group to pursue a solo career. Ricchi e Poveri has recorded in
Italian and
Spanish some of their 1980s and 1990s hits, including "
Mamma Maria", "Made in Italy", "M'innamoro di te" and "
Se m'innamoro", the latter of which won the
Sanremo Music Festival 1985.
"Sarà perché ti amo" In 1981, the band recorded a Spanish version of the single "
Sarà perché ti amo". The song, retitled "Será porque te amo", became a hit in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Several groups covered the song, adapting it to different genres, including tropical, dance, and various forms of Mexican folk music known as
Grupera. The Latino boy band projects Los Chicos and Los Chamos, and the Italo-Dance band
Eu4ya also covered the song, but the lyrics were heavily altered; only the chorus line was kept in one verse, and the rest was rearranged to make the song more appealing to teenagers. The song is featured in some film soundtracks: ''L'Effrontée
(1985), Spike of Bensonhurst
(1988), High Tension
(2003) and Unmade Beds'' (2009). As of 2007, the song is still being covered in all genres, and it has achieved somewhat of a cult/nostalgia status in several Spanish-speaking countries, as a symbol of a generation. The song was remade in 2008 in German, by
Diana Sorbello as "Das ist, weil ich dich liebe" and in 2011, in Dutch, by Monique Smit and Tim Douwsma as "Eén zomeravond met jou".
Recent years Ricchi e Poveri held two massive concerts in the
Mediterranean island of
Malta on the 12 and 13 June 2009. The band's popularity in Malta resulted in another concert on 6 November 2010. Ricchi e Poveri completed a tour of Italy and
Slovenia in 2012, followed at the beginning of 2013 with a three-song set in the Discoteka 80's concert in Moscow. In 2016, the group's founder, Franco Gatti, retired from the group at the age of 74. The death of his son Alessio at the age of 23 in 2013 had changed his life to the extent that he was no longer able to make jokes about his moustache and big nose, and he felt he could no longer carry on touring the world. in 2024 In 2020, the original line-up reunited at the
Sanremo Music Festival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band's debut. Gatti died on 18 October 2022 at the age of 80. In 2023, Ricchi e Poveri toured Australia with concerts in
Sydney,
Melbourne and
Adelaide. They competed in the
Sanremo Music Festival 2024 with the song "
Ma non tutta la vita". == Personnel ==