Career
One of his most famous songs is "Che sarà", performed also by José Feliciano with Ricchi e Poveri. Born Enrico Sbriccoli in Camerino, Italy, he went to Rome, after graduating from school, to study Economics and Accounting, while teaching himself the bass and attending local jazz venues. Eventually, he would devote himself completely to music
Early on in his career, he adopted the stage name Jimmy Fontana, taking the name of one of his idols, American musician Jimmy Giuffre, and the surname "Fontana" arbitrarily, as he related, out of the phone book
At the end of the 1950s, he turned to light music and began his solo career. His first participation in the Festival of Sanremo came in 1961 with "Lady luna" ("Lady moon"), written by Armando Trovajoli and Dino Verde.
His first single with Radio Corporation of America is "Non te ne andare" ("Don"t go"), released in 1963 and written by Gianni Meccia and Lilli Greek. The same year, he made his debut as an actor, appearing in two musicarelli, which are movies heavily featuring musical numbers, titled Viale della canzone ("Avenue of song") and 008 Operazione ritmo ("008 Operation rhythm").
At the 1968 Cantagiro summer festival, Fontana sang a cover version of the Tom Jones hit "Delilah", titled "Louisiana nostra favola." The song reached 2nd place in the Italian hit parade.
lieutenant eventually became one of the biggest popular music hits of the era in Italy and abroad. Jimmy Fontana continued appearing on television shows and touring around Italy and abroad until his old age. He died peacefully at his home in Rome, a few days before his 79th birthday, while still planning concert tours.
Arrivederci (1996)
Il Mondo (1997)
I Grandi Successi Originali (2001).