LEY TALAVERA

Elena Ley was born in Milan, Italy. She already knew by the tender age of twelve where her place in life should be: centre stage! And so she began her singing career with music lessons in one of Milan’s famous music schools. She formed her first rock-pop band “Toys and a Dolly” at the age of 14, toured through Italy playing in discos, bars, restaurants and at festivals. She won her first prize during this time as a “Shooting Star” in the “Rock Limbiate” music competition and recorded her first song “Save the best for last”. After this came the first television appearances, including as a member of a choir in an Italian television show on Canale 5 and further appearances on larger and larger stages. In 1993, she went to study in Cologne. There, she reinvented herself musically: she fell in love with Southern Rock and Country Music with “The Groove Box” band – a love that has stayed with her from that day till now! She quickly made a name for herself in the German country scene and travelled to Nashville to get to know her idols close up. Her talent was never going to go unnoticed in Nashville and a “secret benefactor”, who discovered her during her first tour in Nashville gave her active support. He was the one who got gigs for her in the home of country music, bringing her together with the local luminaries of the singer-songwriter scene and arousing her talent for playing the guitar to complement her singing talent. Unfortunately, she never got to know her benefactor…