Fausto Leali
| Fausto Leali | |
|---|---|
Fausto Leali in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Born | 29 October 1944 |
| Origin | Nuvolento (Brescia), Lombardy, Italy |
| Genres | Pop, soul, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | Music, Jolly, Ri-Fi, Philips Records, CBS, CGD, Itaca, Dischi Ricordi |
| Website | faustoleali.com |
Fausto Leali (born 29 October 1944, Nuvolento, Brescia, Italy) is an Italian singer, famous for his rough and aggressive voice, in sharp contrast with Italian melody conventions. Due to his voice, he is nicknamed "The black white" ("Negro bianco").
Leali began his musical career as a singer in several bands in his native Brescia. His first guitar teacher was Tullio Romano, of the band Los Marcellos Ferial. He released his first single in 1962 as 'Fausto Denis', for the magazine Nuova Enigmistica Tascabile.
Then he joined a group from Alessandria, the Novelty, which had already released an EP in 1961. With the group he managed to obtain a recording contract with the record label, and began to release singles, including two covers of Beatles songs, "Please Please Me" and "Lei ti ama" ("She Loves You"). Most of the other tracks released in the period were included in their first album, released in 1965. In 1966 Leali and the band Novelty changed their record label from Music to Ri-Fi.
His first real success was "A chi" in 1967 (an Italian version of an 1954 American song "Hurt", written by Roy Hamilton, which was also issued years later by Francesco De Gregori). "A chi" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. In the same year Leali took part for the first time in the television festival Un disco per l'estate, with the song "Senza di te", but he did not progress beyond the first round.
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