Calogero
Encyclopedia
- For the Italian saint of this name, see CalocerusCalocerusSaint Calocerus was a 2nd century Christian martyr. He was probably an officer in the Roman army under the Roman emperor Hadrian and was stationed in Brescia in Lombardy, Italy...
.
Calogero (born Calogero Joseph Salvatore Maurici on 30 July 1971 in Échirolles
Échirolles
Échirolles is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.It is the second-largest suburb of the city of Grenoble, and is adjacent to it on the south. In the 1999 census, Échirolles had a population of 35,383. Its inhabitants are called the Échirollois...
, near Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
) is a French singer.
Early years
By the age of six, Calogero had already taken an interest in music. He quickly learned to play several instruments, including the fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, piano, and bass, and in 1986 became the lead singer and song-writer for a band called Les Charts
Les Charts
-History:This band was composed of Charly , his brother Jacky and their childhood friends Francis and Fred Mattia who left the group six months after its foundation. They are all from Échirolles...
he started with his brother, Gioacchino, and a childhood friend, Francis Maggiulli. Between 1989 and 1997, Les Charts released five albums.
Solo career
As the band began to lose its momentum, Calogero decided to launch himself as a solo artist and gathered important connections by writing songs and collaborating with already popular artists such as ZazieZazie
Zazie is a French singer and songwriter. Zazie co-produces all her albums.-Early life:...
and Pascal Obispo
Pascal Obispo
Pascal Michel Obispo is a French singer/songwriter.Pascal Obispo started singing in 1980. He got his first record deal in 1990, Le long du fleuve. With his second album, Plus que tout au monde, selling over 2 million albums, his songs became a popular success...
. The latter helped produce Calogero's first solo album Au milieu des Autres (2000). His second album, Calogero (2002) was a huge success with the hit singles "En apesanteur" (In Weightlessness), "Aussi libre que moi" (As Free as Me), "Tien an men" and "Prendre racine" (To Take Root). Finally, in 2004, Calogero released 3, featuring "Face à la mer" a duet with French rapper Passi
Passi
Passi is a French hip hop artist who became famous in the mid-1990s with the group Ministère AMER, which included himself and Stomy Bugsy. He is most widely known, however, as a solo artist, as well as a participant in many other groups, such as Bisso Na Bisso and Dis l'heure 2 zouk.- Biography...
and several other top singles such as "Yalla" and "Si seulement je pouvais lui manquer".
Calogero's moving lyrics and frail, tender voice have made him one of France's top pop/rock singers.
Calogero released his fourth studio album Pomme C on 12 March 2007.
Collaborations as composer
Since the late 1990s, Calogero composed songs for many artists, often in collaboration with his brother Gioacchino. For example, he composed songs for Florent PagnyFlorent Pagny
Florent Pagny is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Italian, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" and "Caruso" .As of 2008, he has sold 4,268,980 copies of singles,...
("Châtelet-les-Hâlles"), Hélène Ségara
Hélène Ségara
Hélène Ségara is a French female singer revealed in her interpretation of Esmeralda in the french musical Notre Dame de Paris.-Her childhood in the French Riviera:...
("Au Nom d'une Femme" and "Regarde"), Ismael Lo
Ismaël Lô
Ismaël Lô is a Senegalese musician. He was born in Dogondoutchi, Niger on 30 August 1956, to a Senegalese father and a Nigerien mother. Shortly after Lo's birth the family returned to Senegal where they settled in the town of Rufisque, near the capital Dakar. He also plays the guitar and the...
("L'Amour a tous les droits" and "Faut qu'on s'aime"), Pascal Obispo
Pascal Obispo
Pascal Michel Obispo is a French singer/songwriter.Pascal Obispo started singing in 1980. He got his first record deal in 1990, Le long du fleuve. With his second album, Plus que tout au monde, selling over 2 million albums, his songs became a popular success...
("Millesime"), Jenifer Bartoli
Jenifer Bartoli
Jenifer Yaël Dadouche-Bartoli , better known as simply Jenifer, is a pop singer who has, since 2002, had a number of hit singles in the French, Belgium and Swiss charts...
("C'est de l'or"), Julie Zenatti
Julie Zenatti
Julie Zenatti, born 5 February 1981, is a French singer celebrity. She first played the role of Fleur-de-Lys and later Esmeralda on stage for the musical Notre-Dame de Paris. Zenatti was involved with Notre-Dame de Paris co-star Patrick Fiori from 2002–2006 and the pair were engaged for 2 years...
("La Vérité m'attire" et "Toutes les douleurs"), Patrick Fiori
Patrick Fiori
Patrick Fiori is a French singer.-Biography:Fiori was born to an Armenian father and a Corsican mother in Marseille, France. When he was only 12 years old, he was offered his first role in the musical La légende des santonniers...
("Que tu reviennes", "Être là", "Encore", "Tout le monde", "Tera umana" et "Il n'y a pas grand chose à dire"), Fred Blondin ("Je manque de toi" and "Perso et les Aimants"), Mario Barravecchia ("On se ressemble"). He also composed three songs for the musical The Ten Commandments: "Je n'avais jamais prié", "Une Raison d'espérer" and "Y'a tant d'amour".
Calogero also participates in numerous charities. He is currently member of Les Enfoirés
Les Enfoirés
Les Enfoirés , is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur .-History:...
, he also participated in the single "Noël ensemble" recorded by many artists in 2002, he sang for the Sidaction
Sidaction
Sidaction is a major French public event that started in 1994 in France for raising awareness and collecting charitable funds for AIDS. It donates important sums to various AIDS charities, AIDS research, institutions specializing in medical care and social aid for those suffering of HIV/AIDS in...
with Jenifer, and recently, he participated in the single "Douce France" led by Marc Lavoine
Marc Lavoine
Marc Lucien Lavoine is a French singer and actor. In 1985, his hit single "Elle a les yeux revolver" allowed him to reach the top of the French chart and marked the beginning of his successful singing career....
to fight discrimination and help young people to have work.
In 2008, Stanislas Renoult recorded a duet with Calogero entitled "La Débâcle des sentiments".
Musical style
Calogero describes his own musical style as "pop rock". He also said that he listens musical work of various artists such as Barbara, William ShellerWilliam Sheller
William Sheller is a French classical composer and singer.-Biography:William Sheller was born William Hand in Paris.He left school at 16 to study composition with teacher Yves Margat and later harmony, fugue and counterpoint at the Paris conservatoire. He turned to pop music after hearing the...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and that "words and melodies are very important to [him]".
He has a great admiration for the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, especially for Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
whose song "Live and Let Die" is covered on Live 1.0. Calogero said about McCartney, "Paul McCartney? A myth [legend]! For all bassists he is Uncle Paul". Between his first solo album and his last tour, the musical style evolved significantly to a more percussive rock, and he also said that his fourth album, Pomme C, had the closest sound to him.
Calogero is a bass player but he also plays keyboards and guitar. His initial musical training was on the organ. On his first solo album, he plays the guitar, while on the next two he plays bass. He is left handed.
Albums
- Au milieu des autres, 1999
- CalogeroCalogero (album)Calogero is the name of the second studio album recorded by the French singer and songwriter Calogero. It was released in 2002 and achieved a great success, notably when the next album, 3, came out.-Album information:...
, 2002 - 33 (Calogero album)3 is the name of the third studio album recorded by the French singer and songwriter Calogero. It was released in 2004 and achieved smash success, becoming the second best-selling album of the year in France.-Album information:...
, 2004 - Live 1.0Live 1.0Live 1.0 is the name of an album recorded in 2005 by the French artist Calogero. It was his first live album and was released on August 22, 2005, and hit success in France and Belgium , topping the albums charts of these countries....
(double live album), 2005 - Pomme CPomme CPomme C is the fourth studio album recorded by the French singer and songwriter Calogero. It was released on 12 March 2007 and achieved great success....
, 2007 - L'EmbellieL'EmbellieL'Embellie is the fifth studio album recorded by French singer Calogero, and was released on 20 April 2009.-Background:The album was preceded by lead single "C'est dit," written by Jean-Jacques Goldman....
, 2009
Singles
- "Prendre l'air", 1999
- "De Cendre et de Terre", 2000
- "Devant toi", 2000
- "Aussi libre que moi", 2001
- "En apesanteurEn apesanteur"En apesanteur" is the name of a 2001 song recorded by the French singer Calogero. It was the second single from Calogero's second studio album, Calogero, on which it features as first track, and his fifth single overall...
", 2002 - "Tien An Men", 2003
- "Prendre Racine", 2003
- "Yalla", 2003
- "Face à la merFace à la mer"Face à la mer" is the name of a 2004 song recorded as a duet by singers Calogero and Passi. It was the second single from Calogero's third studio album, 3, on which it features as third track...
", 2004 - "Si seulement je pouvais lui manquerSi seulement je pouvais lui manquer"Si seulement je pouvais lui manquer" is the name of a 2004 song recorded by the French singer Calogero. It was the third single from Calogero's second studio album, 3, on which it features as fourth track, and his tenth single overall...
", 2004 - "Safe Sex", 2005
- "Devant toi", 2005
- "Un Jour parfait", 2005
- "Le Saut de l'ange", 2007
- "Pomme C", 2007
- "Danser encore", 2008
- "La débâcle des sentimentsLa débâcle des sentiments"La débâcle des sentiments" is a 2007 song recorded by French singer and composer Stanislas, as a duet with Calogero. It was the third single from his debut album L'Équilibre instable on which it appears as fourth track on the first edition of the album and was released on 19 January 2009. It was...
", 2008 - "C'est ditC'est dit"C'est dit" is a 2009 song recorded by French singer and composer Calogero. It was the first single off his fifth studio album L'Embellie and was released on 16 February 2009. It was highly successful in Belgium and on French digital chart....
", 2009 - "L'ombre et la lumière", duet with Grand Corps MaladeGrand Corps MaladeFabien Marsaud better known by his stage name Grand Corps Malade, often abbreviated GCM, born on July 31, 1977 in Le Blanc-Mesnil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France is a French slam poet-Biography:...
, 2009 - "La fin de la fin du monde", 2009
- "Le passage des cyclones", 2009
- "Nathan", 2010
External links
Calogero Official Website- Biography of Calogero, from Radio France InternationaleRadio France InternationaleRadio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...