Ezio Leoni

Ezio Leoni was one of the pioneering forces behind the Italian music scene of the "anni d'oro" of Italy's "musica leggera". Composer, arranger, orchestra conductor, producer and A&R Executive, "Maestro" Leoni's contributions span from helping lay the foundation for Italian pop music in the 1950s and 1960s to opening the Southern European markets for some of the most influential American artists of the time. As a composer, Ezio Leoni wrote the music of iconic Italian songs such as “24.000 Baci”, “Si e` Spento il Sole", and “Il Tuo Bacio e` Come un Rock.” While as arranger/conductor, producer, and A&R Executive he collaborated with Italian music personalities such as Adriano Celentano, Tony Dallara, Fausto Leali, Luigi Tenco, Franco Simone, Iva Zanicchi and Fausto Papetti among many others. Later in his life, Leoni focused his efforts on protecting and upholding the rights of Italian composers and publishers, holding positions of leadership within SIAE, the Italian copyright agency for music, and UNCLA eventually becoming its Honorary President in 2011. Maestro Leoni's artists won the Sanremo Festival five times. He won three times with Iva Zanicchi, as well as with the group Homo Sapiens and singer Mino Vergnaghi. By the 1980s, Adriano Celentano was recognized as the singer with the highest number of #1 singles on the Italian charts, while Fausto Papetti was recognized as the Italian artist with the highest number of albums ever sold, evidencing Maestro Ezio Leoni's level of impact on Italian pop music.