Gianni Pettenati (born in Piacenza, Italy on 29 October 1945) is an Italian singer and musical critic.

Gianni Pettenati started very early winning a music contest when he was 8 years old and acted in a play Pirandello.

In April 1965 he won the Festival di Bellaria, then joined a group called the Juniors in 1966 to record "Come una pietra che rotola", a cover version of "Like a Rollin 'Stone originally by Bob Dylan.

[1] He was on stage in musical theater "Quei bravi ragazzi", with a history of Italian song told from memory.

With Pettenati as story teller there are five artists accompanying him: Delia Rimoldi (actress and singer), Raffaele Koheler (trumpet player of the Banda Osiris and Ottavo Ricther), Maurizio Dosi (actor and accordion player) and Luca Maciachini (vocals and guitar).