| Little Tony | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Antonio Ciacci |
| Born | 7 February 1941 |
| Origin | Tivoli, Italy |
| Genres | Rock and roll, pop music |
| Occupations | Singer, actor |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Associated acts | Little Tony & His Brothers |
| Website | http://www.littletony.it/ |
Little Tony (born Antonio Ciacci, 7 February 1941) is an Italian-born Sammarinese pop singer and actor. He achieved success in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s, as the lead singer of Little Tony & His Brothers, before returning to Italy where he continued a successful career as a singer and film actor.
He was born in Tivoli, Italy, but is a citizen of San Marino, where his parents were born, and has never applied for Italian citizenship. He formed a rock and roll group with his two brothers, Alberto and Enrico, in 1957, naming himself Little Tony in emulation of Little Richard. The following year, the group were signed by Durium Records, who released a series of covers of American rock and roll songs by them in Italy.
In 1959, the Italian singer Marino Marini, when in London, recommended the group to TV pop show producer Jack Good. Good visited Italy to meet the group, was impressed, and signed them up to appear in his British TV show Boy Meets Girls. They made their first appearance on the programme in September 1959, and released their first single in the UK, "I Can't Help It" - the 11th single of their career in Italy - on the Decca label soon afterwards. For their third British single, Good recorded the group in London for the first time, and the resulting single, "Too Good", written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, reached # 19 on the UK singles chart in January 1960, their only chart success in Britain. The group continued to appear regularly on TV shows in Britain until 1962.[1]
The group first revisited Italy in 1961 to appear at the San Remo Festival, returning more permanently the following year. Little Tony then worked as a solo singer, having his first #1 in Italy with "Il ragazzo col ciuffo" in 1962. He also began working as a movie actor, notably appearing in 5 marines per 100 ragazze in 1962. In all, he has appeared in over 20 movies in Italy.[1] He also continued to record regularly through the 1960s, one of his biggest hits being "Cuore matto", #1 for nine consecutive weeks in 1967. He formed his own record label, Little Records, in 1969. He has continued to record and perform successfully in Italy, despite suffering a heart attack in 2006.