Little Tony

Little Tony was born as Antonio Ciacci in 1941 in Tivoli, Italy, but he was a citizen of San Marino. His parents were born there, and he never applied for Italian citizenship although he lived there most of his life. His father was a singer and accordionist. Inspired by the new rock and roll sounds from the USA, Antonio formed his own rock and roll group in 1957. He was the lead singer, with his older brother Alberto on bass and his younger brother Enrico on guitar. Little Tony was an emulation of Little Richard. The following year, Little Tony & His Brothers were signed by Durium Records, who released a series of covers of American rock and roll songs by them in Italy. Their hits included Lucille, Johnny B. Goode, Splish Splash and Shake Rattle and Roll. In 1959, Italian singer Marino Marini was in London to appear on the TV show Oh Boy!, and recommended the group to the producer Jack Good. Good visited Italy to see a Milan concert by Little Tony & His Brothers, was impressed, and sig