Born Giuseppe Faiella on the island of Capri, Peppino di Capri has been one of Italy's most iconic singers and songwriters for decades. He is famous as Peppino di Capri, and his popularity spread beyond Italy. He performed many of his songs in the Napoletano dialect, starting with his first big hits "Malatia" and "Nun è Peccato" in 1957 and 1958.
Peppino came from a family of musicians. He began singing and playing piano at the age of four, entertaining American troops stationed on Capri. Two years later, he took on piano studies with a German teacher in Naples. At 14, Peppino started performing in nightclubs on Capri and Ischia. Five years later, he organized his own band, the 'Capri Boys', with Ettore Falconieri, Pino Amenta, Mario Cenci, and Gabriele Varano. They played a mix of reinterpreted American songs and traditional and new Neapolitan melodies.
In August 1958, the group was discovered by a Milanese record executive and commissioned to record 10 numbers for Carisch. The band member Cenci suggested changing the band's name to "Peppino di Capri and his Rockers". Influenced by Buddy Holly, the group initially released Italian versions of American rock'n'roll and twist numbers, including "Don't play that song" and "St. Tropez Twist". Peppino di Capri became known in Italy as 'the king of twist', and he bought an American Ford Thunderbird cabriolet to reinforce his image.
Between the late 1950s and early 1970s, he recorded a string of hits that have become evergreens of Italian music: "Nessuno al mondo", "Luna Caprese", "Parlami d'amore Mariù ","I te vurria vasà", "Per un attimo", "Lassame", "Anema e core", "Freva", "Torna piccina", "A pianta 'e stele", "Roberta" (dedicated to his wife),"Melancolie", "Scetate", "Accarezzame", "Ghiaccio", "Ieri", "Frennesia" and "L'ultimo romantico".
In 1970, he created his own record label, Splash, as an outlet for his growing sales of singles and albums. He represented 15 times at the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1973 with "Un grande amore e niente più" and in 1976 with "Non lo faccio più". Later successes included "Champagne" (especially popular in Germany, Spain, and Brazil),a 1978 cover version of The Bee Gees "How Deep is your Love" (as "Fiore de carta"),"Nun chiagnere" and "La panchina". In 1987, he recorded his first live album, performing at London's Royal Albert Hall. He has also appeared in several Italian films with musical content, usually as himself.
Peppino met Roberta Stoppa, a model from Turin, in 1969. They lived together on Ischia for two years before getting married in 1961. Their union ended in divorce in 1976. In 1978, Peppino married a former Neapolitan biology student named Giuliana Gagliardi, with whom he had two sons. She died from cancer in July 2019 at the age of 68.
In February 2023, the popular cantautore was honored at the 73rd edition of the Sanremo Festival, by being presented the "Città di Sanremo" Lifetime Achievement Award.
