Born on October 21, 1947, in Pontedera, Italy, Riccardo Fogli (pronounced FOL'-yee) began his musical career at an early age, initially singing at country festivals and then at local dancehalls. Later, he teamed up with the Slenders, one of the countless rock groups inspired by the success of the Beatles. During one of their tours, Fogli met the members of Pooh, already an established band with a couple of singles under their belt. In 1966, he joined Pooh, with whom he recorded the albums Opera Prima and Alessandra. He left the group in 1973 to pursue a solo singing career and the following year debuted at the Sanremo festival with "Complici." The partnership with Maurizio Fabrizio and Guido Morra that began in 1979 resulted in such hits as "Malinconia" and "Storie di Tutti i Giorni," the latter winning first prize at Sanremo in 1982. Fogli's subsequent Sanremo appearances with "Sulla Buona Strada" (1985), "Lo Ti Prego di Ascoltare" (1991), and "In una Notte Così" (1992) were less successful, but they never passed unnoticed. In 1995, he issued the acoustic album Fogli Su Fogli, where he revisited some of his greatest hits. In 1998, Fogli recorded the album Ballando, featuring new songs written in collaboration with his friend Fabio Pianigiani. ~ Yuri German