In 1963 Enrico Maria Papes plays drums together with a singer of “Clan Celentano”. When the line-up is to be renewed, Papes summons his friend Giacomo Di Martino (Mino) to the guitar and Francesco Marsella (Checco) to the keybord.
In 1964 Papes and Mino leave the band and set up “I Giganti” with Sergio, Mino’s brother. Checco joins shortly after.In ’64 they compose “La bomba atomica”. (They write themselves most of their successes). This song is the first anti-nuclear Italian song and will be released in ’66.The single “Fuori dal Mondo”, coupled with “Solo per voi” is published in ’65.But their first real hit is “Tema”, presented at “Il Disco per l’Estate” in ’65. They amaze everybody with their originality, their voices and their freshness. In those years bands were not liked by TV, but “I Giganti” with their song “Tema” open the way to all the other bands.
In ’66 “Tema” is at the top of the sales table and holds its position for 19 weeks: I Giganti are the first Italian group to reach the top. They will be followed by Rokes and Equipe 84 in the same year, I Nomadi in ’67, Camaleonti in ’68, Pooh in ’71 and Dik Dik in ’72.In ’66 “Una ragazza in due” is released and this song too reaches the top. “Una ragazza in due” is still one of the most popular songs when masses meet.
In ’67 in Sanremo they perform “Proposta” (better known as “Mettete dei fiori nei vostri cannoni", slogan still present in peace marchesthat will be at the top of the table for 16 weeks.In live concert they delight and involve the audience with their originality, their incomparable voice mixture, their harmony and drive in singing their songs.
Still in ’67 they join “Cantagiro” and they perform “Io e il Presidente”, achieving a great success in the audience. The song, however, will be censored (!).In ’68, again in Sanremo, they sing, together with the debutant Massimo Ranieri, “Da bambino” and in ‘69 they release two historical pieces in very particular versions: “Summertime” by Gershwin and “Sixteen tons” by Platters.In ’71 they decide to take a turn and start preparing their first album “Terra in bocca (poesia di un delitto)” dealing with mafia. This album is highly satisfactory as it gets wonderful reviews, but it doesn’t sell because it runs into censorship (!!).It is one of the very first Italian “Progressive” pieces.
Disappointed and grieved seeing their three months’ work frustrated and their future cut off, I Giganti split in 1972.In ’98, after a 26 years’ absence from the stage, Papes and Checco are asked to a few important TV programs. They accept out of fun. But they achieve such a great success, that they decide to come back on the stage.Today I Giganti, led by Enrico Maria Papes, besides playing their most successful songs, in their concerts pay their tribute to important Italian authors (De Andrè, Guccini, Gaber, etc.) and to seventies’ Rock music (Santana, Deep Purple, etc.).