Massimo Volpe was born in 1958 in Barra, a neighborhood of Naples, Italy, which he has remained committed to throughout his life. He began studying piano at the age of ten and later attended the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella. By the age of fifteen, he had already embarked on a professional music career, participating in local music groups. Volpe also performed internationally before founding the band Popularia in 1980, for which he composed many songs. His career includes a notable performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1983, which was met with significant acclaim from both audiences and critics.

As a pianist-keyboardist and arranger, Massimo Volpe has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Tony Esposito, Tullio De Piscopo, Eduardo De Crescenzo, Nino Buonocore, Enzo Gragnaniello, and Lina Sastri, joining them on tours and recording albums. His collaborations also extend to international musicians such as Brian Auger, Billy Cobham, Chet Baker, Lester Bowie, Don Moye, and Richie Havens.

Volpe has arranged several tracks on the recent albums of Roberto Murolo, including "‘Na voce, ‘na chitarra…", "Ottantavogliadicantare", and "L’Italia è bbella", where he reinterpreted songs by Fabrizio De André and Paolo Conte, earning praise from the original composers. In 1992, he was invited by Renzo Arbore to help reorganize L’Orchestra Italiana, becoming its arranger and musical director. With L’Orchestra Italiana, he recorded five albums and participated in numerous concerts and TV events worldwide, achieving sales of over a million copies.