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Born Giuseppe Faiella on the island of Capri, he has been for decades one of Italy's most iconic singers and songwriters. Famous as Peppino di Capri, his popularity eventually spread well beyond his native Italy. He performed many of his songs in the Napoletano dialect, beginning with his first big hits "Malatia" and "Nun è Peccato" in 1957/8.
Peppino came from a family of musicians. He first started singing and playing piano at the age of four, regaling American troops stationed on Capri. Two years later, he took on piano studies with a German teacher in Naples. At fourteen, Peppino began performing in nightclubs on Capri and on the neighbouring island of Ischia. Fast forward another five years and he had organized his own band, comprising the drummer Ettore Falconieri, bassist Pino Amenta, guitarist Mario Cenci and the saxophonist Gabriele Varano. Known as the 'Capri Boys', they presented a mix of reinterpreted American songs and both traditional and new Neapolitan melodies. In August 1958, the group was noticed by a Milanese record executive and commissioned to record ten numbers for the music publishing house Carisch. It was at this time, that band member Cenci proposed the band's name be changed to "Peppino di Capri and his Rockers".
Influenced by the late Buddy Holly, the group initially turned out Italian versions of American rock'n'roll and twist numbers, including "Don't play that song" and "St. Tropez Twist". Peppino di Capri became known in Italy as 'the king of twist'. To reinforce his image, he famously purchased an American Ford Thunderbird cabriolet.
Between the late 50s and early 70s, he recorded a string of hits which have become evergreens of Italian music: "Nessuno al mondo", "Luna Caprese", "Parlami d'amore Mariù ","I te vurria vasà", "Per un attimo", "Lassame", "Anema e core", "Freva", "Torna piccina", "A pianta 'e stele", "Roberta" (dedicated to his wife), "Melancolie", "Scetate", "Accarezzame", "Ghiaccio", "Ieri", "Frennesia" and "L'ultimo romantico". In 1970, he created his own record label, Splash, as an outlet for his ever-mounting sales of singles and albums. He was represented fifteen times at the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1973 with "Un grande amore e niente più" and in 1976 with "Non lo faccio più". Later successes included "Champagne" (which was especially popular in Germany, Spain and Brazil), a 1978 cover version of The Bee Gees "How Deep is your Love" (as "Fiore de carta"), "Nun chiagnere" and "La panchina". In 1987, he recorded his first live album, performing at London's Royal Albert Hall. He has also appeared in several Italian films with musical content, usually as himself.
In 1969, Peppino met Roberta Stoppa, a model from Turin. They lived together on Ischia for two years before getting married in 1961. Their union ended in divorce in 1976. In 1978, Peppino married a former Neapolitan biology student named Giuliana Gagliardi with whom he had two sons. She died from cancer in July 2019 at the age of 68.
In February 2023, the popular cantautore was honored at the 73rd edition of the Sanremo Festival, by being presented the "Città di Sanremo" Lifetime Achievement Award.
