I Profeti

I Profeti ("The Prophets") were an Italian pop group, mainly successful in the late sixties and in the seventies.

I Profeti in 1972

Career

The group formed in 1964 in Milan.[1][2] They initially adopted a beat repertoire, and they released their first single in 1966, "Bambina sola", a cover of The Grass Roots' "You're a Lonely Girl".[1] In 1967 the band released their first album, Bambina sola, which was widely influenced by American contemporary folk music.[1] In 1968 the group got their first hit with " Gli occhi verdi dell'amore", a cover of "Angel of the Morning", which started a progressive distancing from beat genre.[1]

In 1970 the lead singer Renato Brioschi recorded, with the name "Renato dei Profeti", the song ″Lady Barbara″ which turned out to be a hit that peaked at first place on the Italian hit parade; following the success of the song Brioschi left the group to pursue a solo career.[1][3] From then the group gradually began to perform more melodic songs,[1][2] and their singles "Era bella", "Prima notte senza lei" and "Io perché, io per chi", released between 1971 and 1973, all charted on the Italian hit parade, respectively peaking at sixth, eighteenth and tenth place.[3]

In 1976 the group entered the main competition at the Sanremo Music Festival, ranking fifteenth with the song "Cercati un'anima".[2] The group disbanded shorty later, before shortly reuniting in the late 1980s only for live performances and television appearances.[1]

Personnel
  • Renato Brioschi – voice, electric guitar (1964–1970)
  • Nazareno La Rovere – guitar (1964–1968; 1970–1977)
  • Donato Ciletti – bass guitar(1964–1966; 1969–1977)
  • Danny Besquet – bass guitar (1966–1967)
  • Roberto Margaria – electric bass guitar, guitar (1967–1969; 1969–1970)
  • Maurizio Bellini – Hammond organ (1969–1973)
  • Osvaldo Bernasconi – drums (1964–1967; 1968–1972; 1974–1977)
  • Franco D'Onofrio – drums (1967–1968)
  • Claudio Belloli – drums (1972–1974)
  • Raffaele Favero – drums, flute (1967–1968)
  • Beppe Tiranzoni – Hammond organ, keyboards (1974–1977)

Discography
Albums
  • 1967: Bambina sola (CBS, S 52436)
  • 1971: Era bella (CBS, S 64758)
  • 1974: L'amore è... (CBS, S 69033)
  • 1976: Cercati un'anima (CBS, S 69144)

References
  1. Enrico Deregibus. Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana. Giunti Editore, 2010. ISBN 8809756258.
  2. Eddy Anselmi. Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics, 2009. ISBN 8863462291.
  3. Dario Salvatori. Storia dell'Hit Parade. Gramese, 1989. ISBN 8876054391.
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