Giorgio Gaber (), byname of Giorgio Gaberscik (25 January 1939 – 1 January 2003), was an Italian singer, composer, actor, and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian ("Ciao ti dirò", 1958). With
Sandro Luporini, he pioneered the musical genre known as ''teatro canzone'' ("song theatre").
Biography
Debut
He was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
into a lower-middle-class family. His father, Guido Gaberscik, was born in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
, when the city was still part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. The surname Gaberscik is of
Slovene origin (Gaberščik). His mother was from the
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
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region. The two met and married in Veneto and later moved to Milan, where Giorgio was born.
Gaber began to play as rehabilitation for an injury to his hand which required constant but not strenuous activity to recover his motor skill. Since his health as a child was not the best and his older brother Marcello played guitar, he was encouraged to play as well. The outcome was good both in terms of his health and artistically, and at only fourteen years of age he was engaged to play at a New Eve's party and earned his first paycheck of 1,000
lire.
Subsequently, he began to frequent the ''Santa Tecla'', a venue in Milan where he had the chance to meet musicians of the time, including
Luigi Tenco
Luigi Tenco (21 March 1938 – 27 January 1967) was an Italian singer-songwriter.
Biography
Tenco was born in Cassine (province of Alessandria) in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in uncle ...
,
Gianfranco Reverberi,
Adriano Celentano,
Ricky Gianco
Ricky Gianco (born Riccardo Sanna, Lodi 1943), formerly known as Ricky Sanna, is an Italian singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, considered one of the founders of Italian rock music. He reached the apex of his popularity as a sing ...
, and
Mogol, who obtained a contract for Gaber with
Dischi Ricordi
Dischi Ricordi is an Italian record company founded on by and Guido Crepax, active from 1958 to 1994.
History
Dischi Ricordi had its seat in Milan (Via Giovanni Berchet, 2). In 1994, the company was bought by BMG, who acquired the catalog ...
. He then played with the
Rocky Mountains Old Time Stompers (replacing
Tony Dallara
Antonio Lardera (born 30 June 1936), better known by his stage name Tony Dallara, is an Italian former singer, actor and television personality.
Biography
Dallara was born in Campobasso in southern Italy, but grew up in Milan. After working as ba ...
who had left to pursue a solo career) and with Rolling Crew.
Because neither Tenco nor Gaber were yet members of the
Italian Society of Authors and Publishers
SIAE ( en, Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, Italian: Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori) is the Italian copyright collecting agency. Founded in 1882 in the Kingdom of Italy, it is the monopolist intermediary between the autho ...
they could not trademark the song "Ciao ti dirò" ("I'll Say Hi to You", inspired by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's "Jailhouse Rock"), which was signed off by Giorgio Calabrese and Giampiero Reverberi despite being composed by Tenco and Gaber.
The two went on to continue writing music together, developing at the same time a close friendship. In 1958 they toured Germany together with
Adriano Celentano,
Enzo Jannacci
Vincenzo Jannacci (3 June 1935 – 29 March 2013), more commonly known as Enzo Jannacci (), was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.
...
, Paolo Tomelleri e Gianfranco Reverberi.
Gaber paired up with
Enzo Jannacci
Vincenzo Jannacci (3 June 1935 – 29 March 2013), more commonly known as Enzo Jannacci (), was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.
...
as ''I Due Corsari'' ("The Two Privateers"), who made their debut at the end of 1958 with two vinyl singles – "Come Facette Mammeta", a classic song of Neapolitan humour, and "Non occupatemi il telefono" ("Don't Hog the Telephone"). They continued to release singles with Dischi Ricordi throughout the following year, and in 1960 released their first album, ''Giorgio Gaber – Enzo Jannacci''.
![Giorgio Gaber and Obretta Colli 1970](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Giorgio_Gaber_and_Obretta_Colli_1970.jpg)
After a sentimental-artistic companionship with singer and actress
Maria Monti
Maria Monti (born 1935 in Milan) is an Italian film actress, singer and theatre artist.
Entering film in 1962 in '' Canzoni a tempo di twist'' she made nearly 30 film appearances between 1962 and 2002.
In 1971 she appeared in Sergio Leone's '' ...
, he married
Ombretta Colli
Ombretta Colli (born Ombretta Comelli on 21 September 1943) is an Italian singer, actress and politician. She was president of the Province of Milan from June 1999 to June 2004.[University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...]
. In 1966 she gave birth to daughter Dalia.
He took part to
Festival di Sanremo four times, with the songs "Benzina e cerini" ("Petrol and Matches") in 1961, "Così felice" ("So Happy") in 1964, "Mai, Mai, Mai Valentina" ("Never, Never, Never Valentina") in 1966 and "...E allora dai" ("...Well Come On Then!") in 1967.
''Il signor G''
In 1969 he released one of his best known successes, "Com'è bella la città" ("How Beautiful the City Is"), an example of the introduction of social matters in a
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
. The following year, he showed at ''
Piccolo teatro'' his first edition of ''Il Signor G'' ("Mister G"), a
recital
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
he repeated in many Italian squares.
In 1973, he recorded the one song by which he is most recognized by international audiences: ''
Far Finta di Essere Sani'' which was covered in English as ''Tomorrow's Got to be Sunny'' by
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...
on their 1975 album ''
He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)
"He Will Break Your Heart", is a song originally performed and co-written by Jerry Butler, a top-ten hit in 1960.
In 1975, Tony Orlando and Dawn released the song under the title "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)". Their version topped the ' ...
''.
A year later, he was given the very first
Premio Tenco
The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other v ...
award, and many years later, also received the
Targa Tenco in 2001 for his song "La razza in estinzione" ("The Dying Race") and in 2003 for the album ''Io non mi sento italiano'' ("I Don't Feel Italian"). After the Tenco award Gaber abandoned television and began to tour only in theatres, as one of the founders of the ''
teatro canzone'' genre. He would appear again in TV, although sporadically, only in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Death
![Giorgio Gaber grave Milan 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Giorgio_Gaber_grave_Milan_2015.jpg)
A lifelong smoker, Giorgio Gaber died on
New Year's Day 2003 after a long battle with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
, in his country house in Montemagno near
Camaiore
Camaiore is a city and ''comune'' of 32,513 inhabitants within the province of Lucca, Tuscany, central-western Italy. It stretches from the Apuan Alps to the east, to the plains and the coast of Versilia to the west.
History
Camaiore has Roman or ...
, in Tuscany, and is buried at the
Monumental Cemetery of Milan
The Cimitero Monumentale (" Monumental Cemetery") is one of the two largest cemeteries in Milan, Italy, the other one being the Cimitero Maggiore. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments.
Designed by the architect Carlo Ma ...
.
In 2004, the refurbished underground auditorium of the
Pirelli Tower
Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...
in Milan was dedicated to him.
In 2012
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''.
Called the "punk poet ...
recorded the cover of ''Io come persona'', translated into English "I as a person", contained in the anthological album ''
...io ci sono''.
On the 25th of January, 2022, Gaber was honoured with a
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
in celebration of his 83rd birthday.
Discography
* ''Il signor G'' (1970)
* ''I borghesi'' (1971)
* ''Dialogo tra un impegnato e un non so'' (1972)
* ''Far finta di essere sani'' (1973, studio)
* ''Far finta di essere sani'' (theatre recording, 1973–74)
* ''Anche per oggi non si vola'' (1974)
* ''Libertà obbligatoria'' (1976)
* ''Polli di allevamento'' (1978)
* ''Pressione bassa'' (1980)
* ''Io se fossi Dio'' (1980)
* ''Anni affollati'' (1981)
* ''Il teatro di Giorgio Gaber'' (1982)
* ''Gaber'' (1984)
* ''Io se fossi Gaber'' (1985)
* ''Piccoli spostamenti del cuore'' (1987)
* ''Parlami d'amore Mariù'' (1987)
* ''Il Grigio'' (1989)
* ''Storie del signor G'' (1991, VHS)
* ''Il teatro canzone'' (1992)
* ''Ma per fortuna che c'è... Giorgio Gaber'' (1994)
* ''Io come persona'' (1994)
* ''E pensare che c'era il pensiero'' (1994)
* ''E pensare che c'era il pensiero'' (1995)
* ''Gaber 96/97'' (1996)
* ''Un'idiozia conquistata a fatica'' (1997)
* ''Un'idiozia conquistata a fatica" (1998, 2nd version)
* ''Gaber 1999/2000'' (1999)
* ''La mia generazione ha perso'' (2001)
* ''Io non mi sento italiano'' (2003)
There is also a large discography of LPs and 45s related to his production of
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
songs and
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s. ''Ja-Ga brothers'' (1983) with Enzo Jannacci, is the reprinting of the 1960 recordings of the two singers.
See also
*
Enzo Jannacci
Vincenzo Jannacci (3 June 1935 – 29 March 2013), more commonly known as Enzo Jannacci (), was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.
...
*
Luigi Tenco
Luigi Tenco (21 March 1938 – 27 January 1967) was an Italian singer-songwriter.
Biography
Tenco was born in Cassine (province of Alessandria) in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in uncle ...
*
Adriano Celentano
*
Festival di Sanremo
References
External links
Far finta di essere... GaberAssociazione Culturale Giorgio Gaber official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaber, Giorgio
1939 births
2003 deaths
Italian pop singers
Singers from Milan
Italian male guitarists
Italian male singer-songwriters
Italian male actors
Italian people of Slovene descent
Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano
20th-century Italian male singers
20th-century guitarists
Theatre people from Milan