The first Italian band to reach the top of the charts singing a cappella, Neri Per Caso formed in Salerno in 1992, their lineup consisting of brothers Ciro and Gonzalo Caravano, their cousins Diego and Domenico Pablo "Mimì" Caravano (brothers themselves), and friends Mario Crescenzo and Massimo de Divitiis. Inspired by 1950s doo wop, they played their first gigs in Salerno and on cruise boats. After a concert in Rome they met their future producer, Claudio Mattone. In 1995 they achieved considerable fame winning the New Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Le Ragazze," included in the album of the same title, along with the single "Sentimento Pentimento" and some a cappella renditions of famous Italian pop songs. Thanks to their unusual vocal style (without any instrument to back them) and their catchy tunes, they immediately reached the top of the Italian charts. The following year they returned to the Sanremo Music Festival with the romantic ballad "Mai Più Sola" and then released their second album, Strumenti, in which for the first time their voices was accompanied by both acoustic and electronic instruments.