words by Silvia Donati What do Justin Timberlake and Amedeo Minghi have in common? Well, it appears the new King of Pop has sampled an instrumental song by the Roman-born singer for his latest album, “The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2”, the sequel to the album that was released in March. In “Only when I walk away”, Timberlake uses and freely reworks “Lustful”, a lesser known song by Minghi, an Italian singer/songwriter who is most famous for “1950”, “Nené” and “Vattene Amore”, and for writing songs for Andrea Bocelli, Mietta, Mia Martini, Anna Oxa, Marcella Bella and Gianni Morandi among others. “Lustful” is an instrumental song inspired by the rock and roll and R&B genres, written by Minghi in the early 1970s, and inserted in a 1972 compilation, “Underground Moon” and, more recently, in a 2010 anthology of vintage Tunes by various artists, “Flipper Psychout”. “I used to play the real rock and roll,” Minghi says. “Today rock and roll is dead. But what I wrote back then clearly still works.” The American record label working with Timberlake suggested the American singer listen to the “Flipper Psychout” compilation; Timberlake was impressed with two of Minghi’s songs and finally chose “Lustful”. “I am proud,” Minghi says. “It gives me great satisfaction that the number one singer in the world has taken and rearranged one of my songs. The fact that someone as talented as Timberlake chose such an old song for 2013, to me means that I was already forward thinking back then, and this is the greatest satisfaction.” Of the rearrangement, Minghi says: “Timberlake’s version of my old song is absolutely beautiful.” Listen to Amedeo Minghi’s “Lustful”.
