Litto Nebbia

Litto Nebbia (born July 21, 1948) is a singer, songwriter and producer prominent in the development of Argentine rock.

Félix Francisco Nebbia was born in Rosario, Santa Fe to Martha and Félix Nebbia, in 1948. His parents were struggling musicians, though during his early teens, Litto left secondary school to join a friend, keyboardist Ciro Fogliatta, in a band ("Wild Cats"). The duo moved to Buenos Aires in 1963, and lived hand-to-mouth in a Balvanera ward tenement. They appeared in a television show, Escala Musical, a number of times, and became regulars at a popular neighborhood recital hall, La Cueva.

Nebbia and Fogliatta formed "Los Gatos" in 1966. The group became known for their all-night performances, and composed most of their own songs, many in the well-known neighborhood café, "La Perla del Once" (facing Plaza Miserere). One such composition, (The Raft), was written at that location by Nebbia and the ill-fated songwriter Tanguito on May 2, 1967, and following its release on the RCA Victor label on July 3, sold over 250,000 copies.

The album, which also included Moris Birabent's Ayer nomás (Just Yesterday) was the first local rock production to outsell either American or British rock titles locally, and the milestone became known as the birth of Argentine rock. The Argentine edition of Rolling Stone Magazine, in a 2007 retrospective, named the melancholy La balsa number one in the list of the 100 best albums in Argentine rock. Commercially, the album rescued the struggling group. Invited to perform the hit on television following its release, the group could only see themselves when the show aired at the kindness of an appliance store owner, who tuned a window display set to the program at their request.

Controversy ensued shortly after the hit's release however. A contentious debate soon arose as to whether Nebbia or Tanguito had contributed more to the composition (particularly after the latter's tragic, 1972 death). La balsa also aggravated officials in General Juan Carlos Onganía's conservative dictatorship, who stopped short of banning a song they believed encouraged escapism and drug abuse, but retaliated by shuttering La Cueva, whose stage had become the focal point for local rock groups (including Los Gatos). The band itself began losing cohesion, as well: guitarist Kay Galiffi relocated to Brazil, and Nebbia left the group in 1969; by 1970, Los Gatos had dissolved.

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