Ezio Leoni
Ezio Leoni (17 July 1927, in Milan – 22 February 2015, in Capriate) was one of the pioneering forces behind the Italian music scene of the "anni d'oro" (golden years) of Italy's "musica leggera" (popular music). A 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, he 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 (Societa' Italiana Autori Editori), the Italian copyright agency for music, and UNCLA (Unione Nazionale Compositori Librettisti Autori) eventually becoming its Honorary President in 2011. Maestro Leoni's artists won the Sanremo Festival five times (Sanremo