Draft:Marc 4

Marc 4 were an Italian musical quartet (occasionally a quintet) formed in the 1960s. The group was a studio orchestra for many Italian movie soundtracks from the 1960s and 1970s. In a 2018 article, writer Megan Iacobini de Fazio called Marc 4 "the most sought-after group in the 1970s recording scene."

History
The name comes from the acrostic of the names of the 4 founders (Maurizio Majorana, Antonello Vannucchi, Roberto Podio, Carlo Pes), all musicians of the RAI Orchestra. On some recordings, they were joined by Angelo Baroncini and Bruno Battisti D'Amario on guitars.

Two of them, Podio and Majorana, had already played together previously, in the Second Roman New Orleans Jazz Band, together with Lucio Dalla (with whom in 1962 they had also recorded a 45 RPM single for RCA Italiana containing the songs Telstar/ Madison: A Swingin' Time). The Tuscan Vannucchi, on the other hand, came from jazz, having played in the group Il quartetto di Lucca together with Giovanni Tommaso, Vito Tommaso and Giampiero Giusti (at the same time the group also recorded beat-style songs for Ariston Records under the name I 4 di Lucca).

Born essentially as a study group, due to the notable technical ability of the individual musicians, Marc 4 began to collaborate with all the most prestigious soundtrack authors: Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni, and Romolo Grano (to name a few).

In 1968, for the soundtrack of Svezia, inferno e paradiso, Marc 4 recorded a filler piece by Piero Umiliani which became his greatest worldwide success: the song Mah Nà Mah Nà (original title "Viva la Sauna Svedese"). It featured solo voices of Alessandro Alessandroni and his wife Giulia De Mutiis. The following year, the song was popularized by The Muppet Show. Subsequently, the group began to produce its own material, with a genre that, starting from beat, approached Bossa nova and jazz, recording some 33s. The main feature of their sound is Vannucchi's Hammond organ. They also dedicated themselves to television theme tunes, such as the shows Controfatica and Dedicato a un medico.

The individual members also had important careers as session musicians. Pes was also also the author of songs, the best known of which is è Che sarà with Franco Migliacci, Jimmy Fontana and Lilli Greco, a success at the 1971 Sanremo Festival in the interpretation of José Feliciano and Ricchi e Poveri; he composed all the music for Mina's album Amanti di valori (the lyrics are by Franco Califano). Vannucchi accompanied Nicola Arigliano to the 2005 Sanremo Festival.

In 2010, Heristal released The Beat Sound of The Fabulous I Marc 4, a 4-CD anthology box set. Music from the group's era is popular among twenty-first century hip-hop producers. Maurizio Majorana died November 22, 2023 at the age of 85.

Albums

 * 1969 - I solisti di Armando Trovajoli (Plastic, PL 014; reissued on CD by Irma)
 * 1970 - 1 (Seven 7 Men Records, SM 7001)
 * 1970 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1001)
 * 1970 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1002)
 * 1970 - Special Effects (Nelson Record, GLP 1003)
 * 1970 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1004)
 * 1970 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1005)
 * 1971 - Paesaggi (Luuto Records LRS 0042; with Piero Umiliani, under the name Mark 4, due to the absence of Pes in this album)
 * 1971 - L'uomo dagli occhi di ghiaccio (Pegasus, PG 2; with Peppino De Luca)
 * 1971 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1006)
 * 1971 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1007)
 * 1971 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1008)
 * 1971 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1009)
 * 1971 - I Marc 4 (Nelson Record, GLP 1010)
 * 1972 - Next step (Nelson Record)
 * 1974 - Gli anni '20 (Nelson Record, GLP 1011)
 * 1976 - I Marc 4 (Silver Music, S.M. 2001)
 * 1976 - I Marc 4 (Silver Music, S.M. 2002)