Massimo Ranieri (name in art of Giovanni Calone), Italian is a pop singer, a film and stage actor, and a show-business personality. He was born in Naples (at Santa Lucia) on May 3 1951.
One of the most popular entertainers in Italy today, he came to public awareness by winning two editions of the Canzonissima song festival in 1970 and 1972 with L'Amore È Un Attimo and Chi Sarà, and by representing Italy in the Eurovision song contest in 1971 in which he came 5th with L'amore è un attimo, as well as in 1973 when he came 13th with Chi sara con te. In 1988 he won the San Remo Festival with the song "Perdere l'amore", which became one of his greatest hits.
He is a constant presence on Italian TV as singer and master of ceremonies. He co-starred in the movie La Sciantosa with Anna Magnani. Recently, his CD, Oggi e dimane—renditions of his native Neapolitan songs set to North African instrumentation—has had a great success.
Probably his most popular disc was Rose rosse, which featured his hits Rose rosse and Quando l'amore diventa poesia.
