Overview

• Macchia passed away on July 29 in Melendugno after battling a long illness, ending his 83 years of life and nearly six decades in music.
• He co-founded I Camaleonti in Milan in the early 1960s alongside Tonino Cripezzi, Paolo De Ceglie, Gerry Manzoli and Riki Maiocchi.
• Despite his illness, he delivered a final performance on June 30 in Roca Nuova to celebrate the band’s 60th anniversary.
• He and I Camaleonti were among the first Italian groups to adapt Anglo-American beat rock, scoring hits such as “Chiedi Chiedi” and “Sha la la la la” and appearing at major festivals like Sanremo and Festivalbar.
• Melendugno’s mayor, Maurizio Cisternino, hailed him as a “star of Italian and international music” and remembered him as a cherished friend.