Lucio Battisti
Encyclopedia
Lucio Battisti was an Italian
singer-songwriter (cantautore). He is considered to be one of the best-known and most influential musicians and authors in Italian pop
/rock music
history.
Battisti started his career in 1966 and from 1969 to 1994 he released 18 albums in his home country. A significant part of his production was translated into Spanish (various albums) and English (one album). He was renowned to be an extremely reserved artist: during his successful career he performed only a small number of live concerts, and in the early 1980s he announced he would communicate only through his studio albums, completely disappearing from the Italian public scene.
, a town in the province of Rieti
(northern Lazio), and moved with his family to Rome
in 1950. A self-taught guitarist, Battisti made his debut as musician in the 1960s, performing in local bands in Rome, Naples
and later in Milan
where he joined I Campioni (The Champions), the support band of then famous singer Tony Dallara. He also travelled abroad as a working musician, in Germany and England, where he absorbed the music of Bob Dylan
, The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
, The Animals
, Jimi Hendrix
, blues
and soul
- among others - which he later introduced into Italian Pop music.
In Milan he found the support of the French talent scout, Christine Leroux, who worked for the Ricordi music label. Under Leroux's wing Battisti penned three sizeable hits in 1966 for other artists ("Per una lira" for Ribelli, "Dolce di giorno" for Dik Dik
, and "Uno in più" for Riki Maiocchi). Leroux also introduced Battisti to lyricist Giulio Rapetti, better known as Mogol
: though not impressed at first by Battisti's music, Mogol later declared to have started the collaboration after recognizing Battisti's humble, though determined, desire to improve his work. Mogol also pushed Ricordi to allow Battisti to sing his own songs: Battisti's voice became the focal point of his strength and originality. As a singer, he made his debut with the song "Per una lira" in 1966: despite the song's poor success (only 520 copies sold throughout Italy!), it allowed him to begin building his career as a singer.
Battisti continued to write for others, in the late 1960s: the US rock group The Grass Roots
scored a hit stateside with one of Battisti's compositions, "Balla Linda", translated as "Bella Linda". With the same song, Battisti classified fourth in the Cantagiro
, a then popular Italian Pop music competition. 1969 saw another one of Battisti's compositions, "Il Paradiso", become a hit in the UK when it was covered by the group Amen Corner
as "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice
", hitting the number one spot on the singles chart. In the same period another English band, The Hollies
- featuring Graham Nash
- recorded a Battisti song in Italian, "Non prego per me".
In the same year Battisti took part in the Festival of Sanremo, with the song "Un'avventura", and his popularity began to increase. His first great hit was "Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara", which won the Festivalbar
. The same year, Ricordi issued Battisti's self-titled debut album
. During this successful year he met Grazia Letizia Veronese, who later married and lived with Battisti until his death.
Forming a strong and highly successful duo with lyricist Mogol, Battisti continued to issue solo albums on a regular basis throughout the 1970s: in almost every case they reached the highest places in his country's charts, and are regarded as classics of Italian Pop Music ("musica leggera"). He also became a popular TV presence.
In 1970 Battisti won Festivalbar for the second time in a row, with the song "Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco", and started to collaborate with Mina
, who sang some of Mogol-Battisti's finest tunes. In December, Ricordi issued Battisti's second LP, "Emozioni
", which was a compilation of previously released singles. Battisti was really angry about this, as he had composed a concept album
called Amore e non amore, but his label chose to release the compilation rather than the album, which was considered to be too experimental and advanced for the Italian audience.
Amore e non amore
was eventually released in July 1971, but in order to preserve their creative freedom, Battisti and Mogol moved over to Numero Uno, one of Italy's first independent record labels, founded by them in the fall of 1969.
The new label released Umanamente uomo: il sogno
(1972) followed by the even more successful Il mio canto libero
(1972). The latter topped the Italian charts for 8 weeks: one of its songs - "Io vorrei, non vorrei, ma se vuoi" - was later recorded by Mick Ronson
with lyrics translated by David Bowie
, as "Music Is Lethal" (on the album Slaughter on 10th Avenue). The song "Il Mio Canto Libero" has remained one of the most popular songs ever among Italians. Another successful album was Il nostro caro angelo
(1973).
Anima Latina
(1974) is considered Battisti's most complex and multi-layered work, a new personal approach to Prog Rock music with an increased attention to rhythms and increasingly cryptic lyrics by Mogol; nonetheless, their work enjoyed a good success, remaining for 13 weeks at number one in Italian charts.
La batteria, il contrabbasso, ecc., released in 1976 and including the hit "Ancora tu" was an even bigger success; many of the songs clearly showing the artist's interest in the then-emerging Disco
sounds and production values that would have a large influence on his three subsequent albums.
In 1977 he released Io tu noi tutti
. He also relocated to Los Angeles, and issued an album, Images, that featured some of his biggest hits re-recorded in English. However, the attempt to equal his European success in the United States
failed. In 1978 Battisti released Una donna per amico
: recorded in London and produced by Geoff Westley, it was his best-selling LP ever. This was followed in 1980 by Una giornata uggiosa
, produced by the same team. It contained Battisti's last great success, "Con il nastro rosa". Considered one of the duo's best compositions ever, it featured a very fine (and long) guitar solo by Phil Palmer
. Battisti's songs written with Mogol continue to be covered by artists with an international reputation; a more recent example is Tanita Tikaram
's And I Think Of You (E Penso A Te).
Battisti, a rather shy person, had always been reluctant to talk about himself and his work. In early 80s he declared he would no longer make public appearances nor release any interviews: in his words "[he was going to] speak no more, since an artist must communicate with the public only through his work". In some very rare occasions, though, he appeared as a TV guest in other countries such as France, Switzerland and Germany, and only after 1982 his vow can be considered completely fulfilled, with a perseverance similar to that of J. D. Salinger
and other famous recluse
s.
of 1982 (with lyrics by his wife), received a mixed reception from both critics and audiences. Mogol started to work with Riccardo Cocciante
; in 1990, he declared he had not listened to Battisti's LPs for many years.
From 1986, starting with Don Giovanni
, to 1994, the lyrics on Battisti's albums were written by the poet Pasquale Panella. Don Giovanni combined a return to classic "Battistian" melodies with lyrics which some felt were weird and often meaningless. Others, however, understood the lyrics to be cryptic: an intellectual mind game of sorts. Don Giovanni had a reasonable success in Italy.
The following L'apparenza
(1988), however, again contained rather impervious lyrics; its success was worse than the one had by Don Giovanni, in chart position as well as in sales volumes. La sposa occidentale
(1990) was released for CBS
, and marked another fall in sales and success. The declining sales were hardly a concern for Battisti: it was rumoured that in the 1990s he was earning 4-5 billion lire
a year (approximately 3 million Euro
in 2006) solely from author rights of his 1970s songs.
Battisti's last albums were Cosa succederà alla ragazza
(1992) and Hegel
(1994).
On 9 September 1998, Battisti died in a Milan hospital. The New York Times said the cause was cancer. The news was immediately reported by the media and spread quickly throughout the country, generating an unprecedented wave of emotion for the singer-songwriter. He was later buried in the cemetery of Molteno
, the town where he had spent his last years with his family, far from the show business circus.
Several compilations of his best tracks have surfaced after Battisti's death, including 2000's Battisti
and 2001's Canzoni d'amore. His catalogue is published by BMG Music Publishing.
. (http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/inediti/index.php, http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/stran/uk.php, http://www.debaser.it/recensionidb/ID_13243/Lucio_Battisti_Friends.htm)
Full list of Battisti's English recordings, according to http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/inediti/index.php:
Released
Unreleased
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
singer-songwriter (cantautore). He is considered to be one of the best-known and most influential musicians and authors in Italian pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
history.
Battisti started his career in 1966 and from 1969 to 1994 he released 18 albums in his home country. A significant part of his production was translated into Spanish (various albums) and English (one album). He was renowned to be an extremely reserved artist: during his successful career he performed only a small number of live concerts, and in the early 1980s he announced he would communicate only through his studio albums, completely disappearing from the Italian public scene.
Musician and composer
Battisti was born in Poggio BustonePoggio Bustone
Poggio Bustone is a comune in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about 70 km northeast of Rome and about 11 km north of Rieti....
, a town in the province of Rieti
Province of Rieti
The Province of Rieti is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti.It has an area of 2,749 km², and a total population of 153,258 . There are 73 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Rieti.It was founded in 1927.-External links:*...
(northern Lazio), and moved with his family to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1950. A self-taught guitarist, Battisti made his debut as musician in the 1960s, performing in local bands in Rome, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and later in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
where he joined I Campioni (The Champions), the support band of then famous singer Tony Dallara. He also travelled abroad as a working musician, in Germany and England, where he absorbed the music of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
- among others - which he later introduced into Italian Pop music.
In Milan he found the support of the French talent scout, Christine Leroux, who worked for the Ricordi music label. Under Leroux's wing Battisti penned three sizeable hits in 1966 for other artists ("Per una lira" for Ribelli, "Dolce di giorno" for Dik Dik
Dik Dik
Dik Dik are an Italian beat-pop-rock band, established in the 1960s and still in activity. They were most popular in the late 1960s, when they released a string of hit singles with the contribution of renowned lyric-writer Mogol and songwriter Lucio Battisti, their greatest successes being Sognando...
, and "Uno in più" for Riki Maiocchi). Leroux also introduced Battisti to lyricist Giulio Rapetti, better known as Mogol
Mogol (lyricist)
Giulio Rapetti , in art Mogol, is an Italian music lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Lucio Battisti.-Career:...
: though not impressed at first by Battisti's music, Mogol later declared to have started the collaboration after recognizing Battisti's humble, though determined, desire to improve his work. Mogol also pushed Ricordi to allow Battisti to sing his own songs: Battisti's voice became the focal point of his strength and originality. As a singer, he made his debut with the song "Per una lira" in 1966: despite the song's poor success (only 520 copies sold throughout Italy!), it allowed him to begin building his career as a singer.
Battisti continued to write for others, in the late 1960s: the US rock group The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they...
scored a hit stateside with one of Battisti's compositions, "Balla Linda", translated as "Bella Linda". With the same song, Battisti classified fourth in the Cantagiro
Cantagiro
Cantagiro was an Italian summer festival held from 1962 to 1972 and 1990 to 1993. It had three categories, A for famous artists, B for newcomers and C for groups. The "Father" of the competition was Ezio Radaelli.- Cantagiro :-Nuovo Cantagiro:...
, a then popular Italian Pop music competition. 1969 saw another one of Battisti's compositions, "Il Paradiso", become a hit in the UK when it was covered by the group Amen Corner
Amen Corner (band)
Amen Corner were a successful Welsh rock group, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff, Wales.-Career:The band was named after The Amen Corner, a weekly disc spin at the Victoria Ballroom in Cardiff, Wales, where every Sunday night Dr...
as "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice
(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice
" Half as Nice" is a popular single by Amen Corner.Originally written by the Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti for La Ragazza 77, alias Ambra Borelli, in 1968 as "Il paradiso della vita" , and later in 1969 for Patty Pravo as "Il Paradiso" , it was translated into English by Jack Fishman...
", hitting the number one spot on the singles chart. In the same period another English band, The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
- featuring Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
- recorded a Battisti song in Italian, "Non prego per me".
Success as a solo singer in 1970s – The Mogol-Battisti duo
Festivalbar
The Festivalbar was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Milan; the first time it was held was in 1964...
. The same year, Ricordi issued Battisti's self-titled debut album
Lucio Battisti (album)
Lucio Battisti is the first album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1969 by Dischi Ricordi.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol; all music composed by Lucio Battisti, except where noted....
. During this successful year he met Grazia Letizia Veronese, who later married and lived with Battisti until his death.
Forming a strong and highly successful duo with lyricist Mogol, Battisti continued to issue solo albums on a regular basis throughout the 1970s: in almost every case they reached the highest places in his country's charts, and are regarded as classics of Italian Pop Music ("musica leggera"). He also became a popular TV presence.
In 1970 Battisti won Festivalbar for the second time in a row, with the song "Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco", and started to collaborate with Mina
Mina (singer)
Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
, who sang some of Mogol-Battisti's finest tunes. In December, Ricordi issued Battisti's second LP, "Emozioni
Emozioni
Emozioni is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1970 by Dischi Ricordi.The album was Italy's fourth-best-selling album in 1971.- Track listing :...
", which was a compilation of previously released singles. Battisti was really angry about this, as he had composed a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
called Amore e non amore, but his label chose to release the compilation rather than the album, which was considered to be too experimental and advanced for the Italian audience.
Amore e non amore
Amore e non amore
Amore e non amore is a concept album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in July 1971 by Dischi Ricordi.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
was eventually released in July 1971, but in order to preserve their creative freedom, Battisti and Mogol moved over to Numero Uno, one of Italy's first independent record labels, founded by them in the fall of 1969.
The new label released Umanamente uomo: il sogno
Umanamente uomo: il sogno
Umanamente uomo: il sogno is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in April 1972 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
(1972) followed by the even more successful Il mio canto libero
Il mio canto libero
Il mio canto libero is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in November 1972 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
(1972). The latter topped the Italian charts for 8 weeks: one of its songs - "Io vorrei, non vorrei, ma se vuoi" - was later recorded by Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
with lyrics translated by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, as "Music Is Lethal" (on the album Slaughter on 10th Avenue). The song "Il Mio Canto Libero" has remained one of the most popular songs ever among Italians. Another successful album was Il nostro caro angelo
Il nostro caro angelo
Il nostro caro angelo is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1973 by Numero Uno and was Italy's second-best selling album in 1973, the first being Battisti's previous album, Il mio canto libero.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all...
(1973).
Anima Latina
Anima latina
Anima latina is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1974 by Numero Uno. The album was arranged and produced by lyricist Mogol and Battisti in its entirety, with performances by various semi-unknown musicians...
(1974) is considered Battisti's most complex and multi-layered work, a new personal approach to Prog Rock music with an increased attention to rhythms and increasingly cryptic lyrics by Mogol; nonetheless, their work enjoyed a good success, remaining for 13 weeks at number one in Italian charts.
La batteria, il contrabbasso, ecc., released in 1976 and including the hit "Ancora tu" was an even bigger success; many of the songs clearly showing the artist's interest in the then-emerging Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
sounds and production values that would have a large influence on his three subsequent albums.
In 1977 he released Io tu noi tutti
Io tu noi tutti
Io tu noi tutti is the 10th album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1977 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
. He also relocated to Los Angeles, and issued an album, Images, that featured some of his biggest hits re-recorded in English. However, the attempt to equal his European success in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
failed. In 1978 Battisti released Una donna per amico
Una donna per amico
Una donna per amico is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1978 by Numero Uno.-Track listing:All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
: recorded in London and produced by Geoff Westley, it was his best-selling LP ever. This was followed in 1980 by Una giornata uggiosa
Una giornata uggiosa
Una giornata uggiosa is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in January 1980 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
, produced by the same team. It contained Battisti's last great success, "Con il nastro rosa". Considered one of the duo's best compositions ever, it featured a very fine (and long) guitar solo by Phil Palmer
Phil Palmer
Philip 'Phil' John Palmer is a sideman and session guitarist in jazz and rock who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous famous artists...
. Battisti's songs written with Mogol continue to be covered by artists with an international reputation; a more recent example is Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram
Tanita Tikaram is a British pop/folk singer-songwriter, best known for the hits "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart...
's And I Think Of You (E Penso A Te).
Battisti, a rather shy person, had always been reluctant to talk about himself and his work. In early 80s he declared he would no longer make public appearances nor release any interviews: in his words "[he was going to] speak no more, since an artist must communicate with the public only through his work". In some very rare occasions, though, he appeared as a TV guest in other countries such as France, Switzerland and Germany, and only after 1982 his vow can be considered completely fulfilled, with a perseverance similar to that of J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
and other famous recluse
Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...
s.
The "Second period"
In 1981 Battisti broke the partnership with Mogol, switching to a more experimental, sometimes weird inspiration, based often on electronic instruments. The LPs of his "second period", starting from E giàE già
E già is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1982 by Numero Uno.-The album:The album was Italy's 14th best selling album in 1982....
of 1982 (with lyrics by his wife), received a mixed reception from both critics and audiences. Mogol started to work with Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante
Riccardo Cocciante, also known in French-speaking countries as Richard Cocciante , is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. His oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, and Spanish; he has recorded some of his songs in all three languages.He was born in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi...
; in 1990, he declared he had not listened to Battisti's LPs for many years.
From 1986, starting with Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni (album)
Don Giovanni is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1986 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
, to 1994, the lyrics on Battisti's albums were written by the poet Pasquale Panella. Don Giovanni combined a return to classic "Battistian" melodies with lyrics which some felt were weird and often meaningless. Others, however, understood the lyrics to be cryptic: an intellectual mind game of sorts. Don Giovanni had a reasonable success in Italy.
The following L'apparenza
L'apparenza
L'apparenza is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released on 7 October 1988 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
(1988), however, again contained rather impervious lyrics; its success was worse than the one had by Don Giovanni, in chart position as well as in sales volumes. La sposa occidentale
La sposa occidentale
La sposa occidentale is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1990 by CBS.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
(1990) was released for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and marked another fall in sales and success. The declining sales were hardly a concern for Battisti: it was rumoured that in the 1990s he was earning 4-5 billion lire
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
a year (approximately 3 million Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
in 2006) solely from author rights of his 1970s songs.
Battisti's last albums were Cosa succederà alla ragazza
Cosa succederà alla ragazza
Cosa succederà alla ragazza is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in October 1992 by Columbia Records.- Track listing :...
(1992) and Hegel
Hegel (album)
Hegel is the final album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released on 29 September 1994 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti....
(1994).
On 9 September 1998, Battisti died in a Milan hospital. The New York Times said the cause was cancer. The news was immediately reported by the media and spread quickly throughout the country, generating an unprecedented wave of emotion for the singer-songwriter. He was later buried in the cemetery of Molteno
Molteno
Molteno is a comune and a hill-top town in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km northeast of Milan and about 11 km southwest of Lecco...
, the town where he had spent his last years with his family, far from the show business circus.
Several compilations of his best tracks have surfaced after Battisti's death, including 2000's Battisti
Battisti
Battisti is a surname of Italian origin. The name refers to:*Carlo Battisti , Italian linguist and actor*Cesare Battisti , Italian writer, former member of Armed Proletarians for Communism, also a convicted murderer in Italy, currently a refugee in Brazil*Cesare Battisti , Italian-Austrian...
and 2001's Canzoni d'amore. His catalogue is published by BMG Music Publishing.
Influence and praise
Through the years, Battisti consolidated his status as one of the most well-known Italian singers. His songs remain immensely popular in Italy, and are often performed live by other notable musicians.Albums
| Name | Year | Released by | Position in Italian year Hit Parade |
Peak in Italian weekly Hit Parade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (album) Lucio Battisti is the first album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1969 by Dischi Ricordi.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol; all music composed by Lucio Battisti, except where noted.... |
1969 | Ricordi | 3 | 1 |
| Lucio Battisti Vol. 2) | 1970 | 0 | ||
| Emozioni Emozioni Emozioni is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1970 by Dischi Ricordi.The album was Italy's fourth-best-selling album in 1971.- Track listing :... |
1970 | 4 (1971) | 1 (1971) | |
| Amore e non amore Amore e non amore Amore e non amore is a concept album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in July 1971 by Dischi Ricordi.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1971 | 10 | 1 | |
| Lucio Battisti vol. 4 Lucio Battisti vol. 4 Lucio Battisti vol. 4 is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released on 21 October 1971 by Dischi Ricordi.- Track listing :... |
19 (1972) | 3 (1972) | ||
| Umanamente uomo: il sogno Umanamente uomo: il sogno Umanamente uomo: il sogno is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in April 1972 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1972 | Numero Uno | 2 | 1 |
| Il mio canto libero Il mio canto libero Il mio canto libero is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in November 1972 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1 (1973) | 1 (1973) | ||
| Il nostro caro angelo Il nostro caro angelo Il nostro caro angelo is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1973 by Numero Uno and was Italy's second-best selling album in 1973, the first being Battisti's previous album, Il mio canto libero.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all... |
1973 | 2 | 1 | |
| Anima latina Anima latina Anima latina is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1974 by Numero Uno. The album was arranged and produced by lyricist Mogol and Battisti in its entirety, with performances by various semi-unknown musicians... |
1974 | 8 (1975) | 1 (1975) | |
| La batteria, il contrabbasso, eccetera La batteria, il contrabbasso, eccetera La batteria, il contrabbasso eccetera is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in January 1976 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :... |
1976 | 3 | 1 | |
| Io tu noi tutti Io tu noi tutti Io tu noi tutti is the 10th album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1977 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1977 | 2 | 1 | |
| Images | RCA RCA RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor... |
59 | 11 | |
| Una donna per amico Una donna per amico Una donna per amico is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in December 1978 by Numero Uno.-Track listing:All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1978 | Numero Uno | 4 | 1 |
| Una giornata uggiosa Una giornata uggiosa Una giornata uggiosa is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in January 1980 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Mogol, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1980 | 5 | 1 | |
| E già E già E già is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1982 by Numero Uno.-The album:The album was Italy's 14th best selling album in 1982.... |
1982 | 14 | 1 | |
| Don Giovanni Don Giovanni (album) Don Giovanni is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in March 1986 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1986 | 3 | 1 | |
| L'apparenza L'apparenza L'apparenza is an album by Italian singer and songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released on 7 October 1988 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1988 | 17 | 2 | |
| La sposa occidentale La sposa occidentale La sposa occidentale is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in September 1990 by CBS.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1990 | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... |
34 | 3 |
| Cosa succederà alla ragazza Cosa succederà alla ragazza Cosa succederà alla ragazza is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released in October 1992 by Columbia Records.- Track listing :... |
1992 | Sony Sony , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues.... / Columbia Records Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |
57 | 5 |
| Hegel Hegel (album) Hegel is the final album by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti. It was released on 29 September 1994 by Numero Uno.- Track listing :All lyrics written by Pasquale Panella, all music composed by Lucio Battisti.... |
1994 | Numero Uno | 68 | 5 |
Singles
| Single | Year | Weekly Hit Parade |
Weeks on the top |
Released by | Year Hit Parade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Per una lira" / "Dolce di giorno" | 1966 | Ricordi | - | ||
| "Luisa Rossi" / "Era" | 1967 | - | |||
| "Prigioniero del mondo" / "Balla Linda" | 1968 | 17 | 87 | ||
| "La mia canzone per Maria" / "Io vivrò (senza te)" | - | ||||
| "Un'avventura" / "Non è Francesca" | 1969 | 15 | 70 | ||
| "Dieci ragazze" / "Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara" | 3 | 19 | |||
| "Mi ritorni in mente" / "7 e 40" | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| "Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco" / "Il tempo di morire" | 1970 | 2 | 10 | ||
| "Anna" / "Emozioni" | 1 | 7 | 6 | ||
| "Pensieri e parole" / "Insieme a te sto bene" | 1971 | 1 | 14 | 1 | |
| "Dio mio no" / "Era" | 5 | 38 | |||
| "Le tre verità" / "Supermarket" | 9 | 69 | |||
| "La canzone del Sole" / "Anche per te" | 1 | 1 | Numero Uno | 7 | |
| "Elena no" / "Una" | 1972 | 21 | Ricordi | 91 | |
| "I giardini di Marzo" / "Comunque bella" | 1 | 7 | Numero Uno | 4 | |
| "Il mio canto libero" / "Confusione" | 1 | 9 | 3 | ||
| "La collina dei ciliegi" / "Il nostro caro angelo" | 1973 | 1 | 12 | 6 | |
| "Due mondi" / "Abbracciala, abbracciali, abbracciati" | 1974 | - | |||
| "Ancora tu" / "Dove arriva quel cespuglio" | 1976 | 1 | 12 | 1 | |
| "Amarsi un po'" / "Sì, viaggiare" | 1977 | 1 | 8 | 1 | |
| "Una donna per amico" / "Nessun dolore" | 1978 | 1 | 11 | 2 | |
| "Una giornata uggiosa" / "Con il nastro rosa" | 1980 | 2 | 17 | ||
| "E già" / "Straniero" | 1982 | 6 | 52 |
English language recordings
A few of his songs were translated into the English language. The album Images was the only official worldwide release, however in Britain a single was published with two other translations: "Baby It's You"("Ancora tu") and "Lady" ("Donna selvaggia donna"). A full translation of the album Una donna per amico, to be called Friends, which had the above songs, was recorded but never published. The two songs and the album were translated and produced by Frank MuskerFrank Musker
Frank Musker is a songwriter and composer. Especially in the 80s and 90s he worked with artists like Sheena Easton, The Babys, Robert Miles, Jennifer Rush, Bucks Fizz , Air Supply, Zucchero and Brian May...
. (http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/inediti/index.php, http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/stran/uk.php, http://www.debaser.it/recensionidb/ID_13243/Lucio_Battisti_Friends.htm)
Full list of Battisti's English recordings, according to http://www.luciobattisti.info/disc/inediti/index.php:
Released
- Images
- "Baby It's You" ("Ancora tu")
- "Lady" ("Donna selvaggia donna")
Unreleased
- "My Father Told Me" - instrumental of "Nel sole, nel vento, nel sorriso, e nel pianto"
- "Wake Me I'm Dreaming - "Mi ritorni in mente"
- "You and Your Tomorrow" - "Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara"
- The following were considered for Images, translated not by Peter PowellPeter PowellPeter Powell may refer to:*Peter Powell , British DJ*Peter Powell , inventor of a dual-line, steerable model of flying kite...
but by Marva Jan Marrow:
-
-
- "Star in a Film" - "L'interprete di un film"
- "Since I Have Forgotten About You" - "Eppur mi son scordato di te" with different accompaniment melody and an acoustic guitar
- "Our Dear Angel" - "Il nostro caro angelo"
- "Freedom Song" - An alternate translation of "Il mio canto libero", sung solo and with guitar
- "The Sun Song" - An alternate translation of "La canzone del sole", set to the original Italian version's melody
- "To Love a Bit" - "Amarsi un po'", the words were changed into "To feel in love" for the album
- Friends - A translation of the album Una donna per amico, replacing the song "Maledetto gatto" with translations of two of his other hits. All the songs were translated by Frank MuskerFrank MuskerFrank Musker is a songwriter and composer. Especially in the 80s and 90s he worked with artists like Sheena Easton, The Babys, Robert Miles, Jennifer Rush, Bucks Fizz , Air Supply, Zucchero and Brian May...
.
- Friends - A translation of the album Una donna per amico, replacing the song "Maledetto gatto" with translations of two of his other hits. All the songs were translated by Frank Musker
- "Baby it's You" - shorter version
- "I Think of You" - previous hit "E penso a te", different from the tribute by Tanita TikaramTanita TikaramTanita Tikaram is a British pop/folk singer-songwriter, best known for the hits "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart...
- "Take it as it Comes" - "Prendila così"
- "Lady" - slightly different from released version
- "Day to Day" - "Perché no"
- "Afraid of Falling" - "Aver paura di innamorarsi troppo"
- "Pain is Gone" - "Nessun dolore"
- "A Woman as a Friend" - "Una donna per amico"
- "Goin' to the Movies" - "Al cinema"
- "Pain is Gone" and "A woman as a Friend" were recorded twice. The first version of "Pain is Gone" places an emphasis on bongos and the chorus sings "Nessun dolore" in the background; the second version has an English repetition in the background. The only major difference between the two "A Woman as a Friend" versions is the second verse.
-