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Claudio Villa | |
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 Villa in 1965 | |
| Born | Claudio Pica (1926-01-01)1 January 1926 Rome, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 7 February 1987(1987-02-07) (aged 61) Padua, Italy |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1932–1987 |
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Spouses | |
Claudio Villa (bornClaudio Pica; 1 January 1926 – 7 February 1987) was an Italian singer and actor. He recorded over 3000 songs, sold 45 million records, and appeared in 25 musicals during his career.[1][2]
Claudio Villa was born Claudio Pica in theTrastevere quarter ofRome in 1926. His parents named him after Claudio Serio. Many songs made famous by Villa, like"'A tazza 'e cafè", were recorded for theFonit Cetra label.
Together withDomenico Modugno Villa holds the record for the most wins at theSanremo Music Festival, where he won the competition in1955,1957,1962 and1967. In 1963, he won theFestival di Napoli with the song "Jamme ja". He also sang at another Italian music competition,Canzonissima, a television event shown onRAI from 1956 to 1974. He wonCanzonissima in 1964 with"'O sole mio" and in 1966 with "Granada". He competed in theEurovision Song Contest in1962 with "Addio, addio" and came in ninth; in1967, he was again at Eurovision with "Non andare più lontano", finishing eleventh. His compositions "Stornelli amorosi" and "Addio sogni di gloria" featured on the soundtrack ofRobert De Niro andMartin Scorsese's 1973 film,Mean Streets, thus gaining him a broader appreciative international audience.[2][3]
In 1957, he was subjected to a curious "trial" by theTV Sorrisi e Canzoni magazine, after one of his declarations was deemed presumptuous and immodest, in which the public was asked to vote for guilt or acquittal. He was acquitted. The same procedure was repeated in 1960, and from the pages of the magazine, he received a defensive harangue byPier Paolo Pasolini, who took sides for the singer's acquittal. He was acquitted with the vote of 138,225 readers.[4]
In 1981, Claudio Villa's name was included in a member list found in police raids of properties owned byLicio Gelli, showing Villa's membership in the clandestineneofascist criminal organizationPropaganda Due.[5][6]
His death in 1987 by a heart attack was announced live by the hostPippo Baudo during the last night ofthat year's Sanremo Festival.[2][3] His tomb, surrounded by bas-relief and wall-paintings made in occasion of 20th anniversary of his death, is located in San Sebastiano cemetery inRocca di Papa, near Rome, where he lived for many years with his family. On his gravestone are the words "Vita sei bella, morte fai schifo" ("Life, you are beautiful; death, you stink").
The singer was largely unknown in North America until the 1996 filmBig Night was released, co-directed byStanley Tucci andCampbell Scott. The film won international acclaim. The soundtrack includes three Claudio Villa songs: "Stornelli amorosi", "La strada del bosco" and "Tic Ti, Tic Ta". According to the liner notes accompanying the CD, "Stanley grew up listening to vocalists such asCarlo Buti and Claudio Villa, huge names in Italy but little known here. Villa is a master of thestornello, a traditional song style that we thought had just the right, delicate feeling for the film's opening. But we and co-director Campbell Scott were further amazed by Villa when in the editing room, we chanced upon his boisterous 'Tic Ti, Tic Ta' and his shamelessly romantic 'La strada del bosco'."[7]
In 1976, however, Villa did cross the Atlantic for a tour of eastern Canada, notably inMontreal,Toronto andOttawa. He also travelled to perform in New York. In Montreal, he played three consecutive nights at Cinema Riviera. He performed with his regular band except for the guitarist and bassist who were local musicians. The former was a well-known Italian Montreal musician named Franco Barbuto.[citation needed]
Media related toClaudio Villa at Wikimedia Commons