Lucio Dalla
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of " Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor
Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
, and "L'anno che verrà" (1979).


Beginnings

Dalla was born in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Italy. He began to play the
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
at an early age, in a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
band in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, and became a member of a local jazz band called Rheno Dixieland Band, together with future film director
Pupi Avati Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati (born 3 November 1938), is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known to horror film fans for his two giallo masterpieces, ''The House with Laughing Windows'' (1976) and '' Zeder ...
. Avati said that he decided to leave the band after feeling overwhelmed by Dalla's talent. He also acknowledged that his film, ''Ma quando arrivano le ragazze?'' (2005), was inspired by his friendship with Dalla. In the 1960s the band participated in the first Jazz Festival at
Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...
, France. The Rheno Dixieland Band won the first prize in the
traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
jazz band category and was noticed by a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
band called Second Roman New Orleans Jazz Band, with whom Dalla recorded his first record in 1961 and had the first contacts with
RCA records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, his future music publisher. Singer-songwriter
Gino Paoli Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934 in Monfalcone) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: " Il cielo in una stanza", "Che cos ...
hearing Dalla's vocal qualities, suggested that he attempt a soloist career as a soul singer. However, Dalla's debut at the
Cantagiro Cantagiro was an Italian summer song contest held from 1962 to 1972 and 1990 to 1993. It featured three categories, A for famous artists, B for newcomers and C for groups. The creator of the competition was Ezio Radaelli. The name of the festival ...
music festival in 1965 was not successful probably due to both his physical appearance as well as his music, which was considered too experimental for the time. His first single, a rendition in Italian of the American traditional standard "
Careless Love "Careless Love" is a traditional song, with several popular blues versions. It has been called a "nineteenth-century ballad and Dixieland standard". The death referenced in an old version was the son of a Kentucky governor. Although published ac ...
" was a failure, as it was his first album, ''1999'', that was released the following year. His next album, ''Terra di Gaibola '' (from the name of a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of Bologna), was released in 1970 and contained some early Dalla classics. His first hit was "4 Marzo 1943", which achieved some success due to the
Sanremo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian culture, Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longes ...
. The original title of the song was supposed to be "Gesù bambino", however in those years there was still stiff censorial control over the content of songs, and the title was changed to Dalla's birth date.


With Roberto Roversi

Dalla's recording debut as a soloist took place in 1964, with the release of the 45
rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
-single "Lei (non è per me)" (B-side: "Ma questa sera"). In the 1970s, Dalla started a collaboration with the Bolognese poet Roberto Roversi. Roversi wrote the lyrics to Dalla's next three albums ''Il giorno aveva cinque teste'' (''The Day Had Five Heads'') (1973), ''Anidride solforosa'' (''Sulphur dioxide'') (1975) and ''
Automobili ''Automobili'' is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla, released in 1976 by RCA Italiana. It was the last work in collaboration with poet Roberto Roversi: the following LP, '' Com'è profondo il mare'', was entirely (not only the mu ...
'' (''Automobiles'') (1976). Although these albums did not sell in large numbers, they were noted by critics for the unusual mix of Roversi's lyrics with Dalla's improvisations, along with the latter's sometimes experimental twists and composition abilities. The duo had already broken up by the time the concept album ''Automobili'' was released. Roversi, who had been against the album's release, chose the pseudonym "Norisso" when it was time to register the songs. The album, however, included one of Dalla's most popular songs, " Nuvolari", named after the famous 1930s Italian racer.


Solo career

Affected by the end of the collaboration, Dalla decided to write the lyrics of his next albums himself. The first album of this new phase was '' Com'è profondo il mare'' (1977), in which Dalla was accompanied by members of future pop band Stadio. In 1979, his popularity was confirmed by the success of the ''
Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...
'' album and the first of two self-titled albums, ''Lucio Dalla'', followed by ''Dalla'' in 1980. The song " Caruso", released in 1986, has been covered by numerous international artists such as Luciano Pavarotti and
Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
. The version sung by Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies, and another version was a track on
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fr ...
's first international album, ''
Romanza ''Romanza'' is the first compilation album by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, released internationally in 1997. Although a compilation, ''Romanza'' is considered Bocelli's breakthrough album and remains his most commercially successful to date, ...
'', which sold over 20 million copies worldwide.Crossover superstar Andrea Bocelli finds beauty in wide range of music
The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...
, 27 November 2011.
Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
also covered the song on his album "Brass Attitude", after having previously paid tribute to Caruso with his rendition of "
Vesti la giubba "" (, "Put on the costume", often referred to as "On With the Motley", from the original 1893 translation by Frederic Edward Weatherly) is a tenor aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera '' Pagliacci''. "" is sung at the conclusion of the fi ...
" (titled as "Pagliacci") on the album ''Primal Scream''. The 1990 hit single "Attenti al lupo" gave Dalla wider success in Europe. He was invited to duet on ''Pavarotti and friends'', singing his hit "Caruso" with Pavarotti. In 2010, Dalla came back to work with
Francesco De Gregori Francesco De Gregori OMRI (born 4 April 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In Italy, he is popularly known as "Il Principe dei cantautori" ("The Prince of the singer-songwriters"), a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics. He is of ...
during the "Work in Progress" tour and album. Dalla's main influences were to be found in
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, but his songs ranged from
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
("Attenti al lupo") and pop ("Lunedì"), from
Italian singer-songwriters Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
(the albums from ''Com'è profondo il mare'' to ''Dalla'') to classical and opera ("Caruso").


Discography

Dalla's discography includes twenty-two studio albums for the Italian market, a
Q Disc Q, or q, is the seventeenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is pronounced , most commonly spelled ''cue'', but a ...
, nine live albums, various collections and several albums for the foreign market. Here is the list of Lucio Dalla albums: *''1999'' (1966) *''Terra di Gaibola'' (1970) *''Storie di casa mia'' (1970) *''Il giorno aveva cinque teste'' (1973) *''Anidride solforosa'' (1975) *''
Automobili ''Automobili'' is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla, released in 1976 by RCA Italiana. It was the last work in collaboration with poet Roberto Roversi: the following LP, '' Com'è profondo il mare'', was entirely (not only the mu ...
'' (1976) *''4 Marzo 1943'' (1976) *'' Com'è profondo il mare'' (1977) *'' Lucio Dalla'' (1979) *''Quel fenomeno di Lucio Dalla'' (1979) *''
Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...
'' (1979, with
Francesco De Gregori Francesco De Gregori OMRI (born 4 April 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In Italy, he is popularly known as "Il Principe dei cantautori" ("The Prince of the singer-songwriters"), a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics. He is of ...
and
Rosalino Cellamare Rosalino Cellamare (born 13 August 1953) better known as Ron, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. Born in Dorno, province of Pavia, he debuted under his true name at the 1970 edition of the Sanremo Festival, together with Nada. In the ...
) *''Dalla'' (1980) *''Lucio Dalla (Q Disc)'' (1981) *''Torino, Milano e dintorni'' (1981) *''Gli anni Settanta'' (1981) *''1983'' (1983) *''L'album di Lucio Dalla'' (1983) *''Viaggi organizzati'' (1984) *''Bugie'' (1985) *''The best of Lucio Dalla'' (1985) *''DallameriCaruso'' (1986) *''Dalla/Morandi'' (1988) *''Cambio'' (1990) *''Il motore del 2000'' (1990) *''Il primo Lucio Dalla'' (1990) *''Amen'' (1992) *''Henna'' (1993) *''
Maria Farantouri Maria Farantouri or Farandouri ( el, Μαρία Φαραντούρη; born 28 November 1947 in Athens) is a Greek singer and also a political and cultural activist. She has collaborated with Greek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the ...
sings Lucio Dalla'' (1995) *''Le origini'' (1996) *'' Canzoni'' (1996) *''Ciao'' (1999) *''Luna Matana'' (2001) *''Live@RTSI – 20 dicembre 1978'' (2001) *''Dal vivo – Bologna 2 settembre 1974'' (2001) *''Caro amico ti scrivo... (Best of)'' (2002) *''Tosca. Amore disperato'' (2003) *''Lucio'' (2003) *''12000 Lune (Best of/Box Set)'' (2003) *''Il contrario di me'' (2007) *''Angoli nel cielo'' (2010) *''Questo è amore'' (2011)


Filmography

Dalla featured as an actor in seventeen films and was musical director for seventeen others. This is a list of DVDs of music concerts. *''Live@RTSI – 20 dicembre 1978'' (2001) *''Retrospettiva'' (2003) *''In concerto'' (2004) *''Banana Republic'' (2006) *''Tu Non Basti Mai'' (2009)


Personal life

Lucio Dalla was outed as gay after his funeral (at which his longterm associate and partner Marco Alemanno, with whom he had shared a house, spoke), although he had not publicly acknowledged this during his life, saying in a 1979 interview "Non mi sento omosessuale" ("I do not feel gay"). This outing sparked debate about Italian society's attitudes towards homosexuality.


Honors

* Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, "On a proposal from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers" – 27 December 1986 * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, "By the initiative of the President of the Republic" – 3 November 2003 * Degree
honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
in Disciplines of the Arts, Music and Entertainment at the Faculty of Letters and philosophy, the
Alma Mater Studiorum The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
.


Death

On the morning of 1 March 2012, three days before his 69th birthday, Dalla died of a heart attack, shortly after having breakfast at the hotel where he was staying in
Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, having performed in the city the night before. He was in the company of Marco Alemanno when he died. An estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral in
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
. Dalla's 1986 song " Caruso", dedicated to Italian
tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
, entered the Italian Singles Chart after his creator's death, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks. The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalla, Lucio 1943 births 2012 deaths Burials at Certosa cemetery Musicians from Bologna Gay musicians Italian tenors Italian male singer-songwriters Italian male composers LGBT musicians from Italy Nastro d'Argento winners David di Donatello winners 20th-century Italian male singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people