Lucio Dalla

Biography

Lucio Dalla (Italian: [ˈluːtʃo ˈdalla]; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards.
Dalla was the composer of "Caruso×Caruso1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Caruso5:142Cinéma4:27" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enrico Caruso, and "L'anno che verrà" (1979).

Beginnings

Dalla was born in Bologna, Italy. He began to play the clarinet at an early age, in a jazz band in Bologna, and became a member of a local jazz band called Rheno Dixieland Band, together with future film director Pupi Avati. Avati said that he decided to leave the band after feeling overwhelmed by Dalla×Dalla1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Balla balla ballerino5:49A2Il parco della Luna4:59A3La sera dei miracoli5:17A4Mambo5:05B1Meri Luis4:37B2Cara5:40B3Siamo dei4:30B4Futura6:07'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, France. The Rheno Dixieland Band won the first prize in the traditional jazz band category and was noticed by a Roman 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, his future music publisher.
Singer-songwriter Gino Paoli hearing Dalla's vocal qualities, suggested that he attempt a soloist career as a soul singer. However, Dalla's debut at the Cantagiro 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" was a failure, as it was his first album, 1999, that was released the following year. His next album, Terra di Gaibola×Terra di Gaibola1970 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Il fiume e la città3:48A2Orfeo bianco3:35A3Dolce Susanna2:22A4ABCDEFG2:28A5Stars Fell on Alabama3:26A6Fumetto2:04B1Sylvie3:02B2Africa4:09B3Non sono matto (o la capra Elisabetta)4:01B4K.O.4:37B5Occhi di ragazza3:09B6Il mio fiore nero (Girlie)2:56 (from the name of a suburb of Bologna), was released in 1970 and contained some early Dalla classics. His first hit was "4/3/1943", which achieved some success due to the Sanremo Festival. 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×Dalla1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Balla balla ballerino5:49A2Il parco della Luna4:59A3La sera dei miracoli5:17A4Mambo5:05B1Meri Luis4:37B2Cara5:40B3Siamo dei4:30B4Futura6:07's recording debut as a soloist took place in 1964, with the release of the 45 rpm-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×Il giorno aveva cinque teste1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1L'auto targata TO4:29A2Alla fermata del tram3:59A3E lì4:31A4Passato, presente4:32A5L'operaio Gerolamo3:34B1Il coyote4:35B2Grippaggio4:07B3La bambina (L'inverno è neve, l'estate è sole)3:00B4Pezzo zero2:58B5La canzone di Orlando1:38 (The Day Had Five Heads) (1973), Anidride solforosa×Anidride solforosaJanuary 1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Anidride solforosa5:132La borsa valori3:203Ulisse coperto di sale4:444Carmen Colon4:195Tu parlavi una lingua meravigliosa3:526Mela da scarto4:027Merlino e l'ombra4:048Non era più lui4:079Un mazzo di fiori4:0510Le parole incrociate5:24 (Sulphur dioxide) (1975) and Automobili (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×Automobili1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracksA1Intervista con l'avvocato2:21A2Mille miglia8:29A3Nuvolari5:34B1L'ingorgo6:08B2Il motore del 20004:28B3Due ragazzi5:07 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×Dalla1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Balla balla ballerino5:49A2Il parco della Luna4:59A3La sera dei miracoli5:17A4Mambo5:05B1Meri Luis4:37B2Cara5:40B3Siamo dei4:30B4Futura6:07 was accompanied by members of future pop band Stadio.
In 1979, his popularity was confirmed by the success of the Banana Republic album and the first of two self-titled albums, Lucio×Lucio2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Amore disperato4:292Le stelle nel sacco4:043Prima dammi un bacio5:354Ho trovato una rosa4:005Per sempre presente5:336Per te3:567Tu sa' ch'i' so3:548Ambarabà ciccicocò4:089Putipù4:3410"Yesterday" o "Lady Jane"?4:1011Over the Rainbow7:2512Amore disperato4:09 Dalla, followed by Dalla in 1980.
The song "Caruso×Caruso1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Caruso5:142Cinéma4:27", dedicated to Italian tenor Enrico Caruso and released in 1986, has been covered by numerous international artists such as Luciano Pavarotti and Julio Iglesias. The version sung by Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies, and another version was a track on Andrea Bocelli's first international album, Romanza, which sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Maynard Ferguson also covered the song on his album "Brass Attitude", after having previously paid tribute to Caruso with his rendition of "Vesti la giubba" (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 & Friends, singing his hit "Caruso" with Pavarotti.
In 2010, Dalla came back to work with Francesco De Gregori during the "Work in Progress×Work in Progress11 November 2010 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 29 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Non basta saper cantare3:592Tutta la vita5:573Anna e Marco4:594Titanic4:425La leva calcistica della classe ’684:526Canzone4:367Henna6:168La storia3:369Gran turismo6:0110Santa Lucia2:5311Nuvolari6:3312Viva l’Italia3:4713L’agnello di Dio4:5814La valigia dell’attore5:00Disc 21La fine del Titanic3:292L’abbigliamento di un fuochista4:153Disperato erotico stomp5:214Vai in Africa, Celestino!4:245Piazza Grande3:136Come è profondo il mare6:437L’anno che verrà4:078A Pa’3:579Futura5:2410Rimmel3:5811Solo un gigolò5:4512La donna cannone4:3213Caruso5:2214Buonanotte fiorellino4:1115Generale4:39" tour and album. Dalla's main influences were to be found in jazz, but his songs ranged from folk ("Attenti al lupo") and pop ("Lunedì"), from Italian singer-songwriters (the albums from Com'è profondo il mare to Dalla) to classical and opera ("Caruso").

Personal life and death

Dalla was openly leftist and also a practicing Roman Catholic.

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, Switzerland, having performed in the city the night before. He was in the company of his longterm associate and partner Marco Alemanno when he died. An estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral in his native city of Bologna. Dalla×Dalla1980 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Balla balla ballerino5:49A2Il parco della Luna4:59A3La sera dei miracoli5:17A4Mambo5:05B1Meri Luis4:37B2Cara5:40B3Siamo dei4:30B4Futura6:07's 1986 song "Caruso×Caruso1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Caruso5:142Cinéma4:27" entered the Italian Singles Chart after his death, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks. The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.
Dalla was outed as gay after his funeral, at which Marco Alemanno, with whom he had shared a house, spoke; 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 in Disciplines of the Arts, Music and Entertainment at the Faculty of Letters and philosophy, the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna.