 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Italian. (May 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Lucio Dalla | |
|---|---|
 Dalla in 2008 | |
| Born | (1943-03-04)4 March 1943 |
| Died | 1 March 2012(2012-03-01) (aged 68) Montreux, Switzerland |
| Resting place | Bologna, Italy |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1966–2012 |
| Style | |
| Website | luciodalla |
| Signature | |
 | |
Lucio DallaOMRI (Italian:[ˈluːtʃoˈdalla]; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also playedclarinet and keyboards.
Dalla was the composer of "Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenorEnrico Caruso, and "L'anno che verrà" (1979).[1]
Dalla was born inBologna, Italy. He began to play theclarinet at an early age, in ajazz band inBologna, and became a member of a local jazz band called Rheno Dixieland Band, together with future film directorPupi Avati. 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.[2]
In the 1960s the band participated in the first Jazz Festival atAntibes, France. The Rheno Dixieland Band won the first prize in thetraditional jazz band category and was noticed by aRoman band called Second Roman New Orleans Jazz Band, with whom Dalla recorded his first record in 1961 and had the first contacts withRCA records, his future music publisher.[citation needed]
Singer-songwriterGino Paoli hearing Dalla's vocal qualities, suggested that he attempt a soloist career as a soul singer. However, Dalla's debut at theCantagiro 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 (from the name of asuburb 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 theSanremo 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.[3]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Dalla's recording debut as a soloist took place in 1964, with the release of the 45rpm-single "Lei (non è per me)" (B-side: "Ma questa sera"). In the 1970s, Dalla started a collaboration with the Bolognese poetRoberto Roversi. Roversi wrote the lyrics to Dalla's next three albumsIl giorno aveva cinque teste (The Day Had Five Heads) (1973),Anidride solforosa (Sulphur dioxide) (1975) andAutomobili (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 albumAutomobili 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.[4]
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 wasCom'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 theBanana Republic album and the first of two self-titled albums,Lucio Dalla, followed byDalla in 1980.
The song "Caruso", released in 1986, has been covered by numerous international artists such asLuciano Pavarotti andJulio Iglesias. The version sung by Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies, and another version was a track onAndrea Bocelli's first international album,Romanza, which sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[5]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 albumPrimal Scream.[6]
The 1990 hit single "Attenti al lupo" gave Dalla wider success in Europe. He was invited to duet onPavarotti & Friends, singing his hit "Caruso" with Pavarotti.[7]
In 2010, Dalla came back to work withFrancesco De Gregori during the "Work in Progress" tour and album. Dalla's main influences were to be found injazz, but his songs ranged fromfolk ("Attenti al lupo") and pop ("Lunedì"), from Italian singer-songwriters (the albums fromCom'è profondo il mare toDalla) to classical and opera ("Caruso").[8]
Dalla's discography includes twenty-two studio albums for the Italian market, aQdisc [it], nine live albums, various collections and several albums for the foreign market. Here is the list of Lucio Dalla albums:
Dalla featured as an actor in seventeen films and was musical director for seventeen others. This is a list of DVDs of music concerts.
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; he had not publicly acknowledged this during his life, saying in a 1979 interview "Non mi sento omosessuale" ("I do not feel gay").[9][10][11] This outing sparked debate about Italian society's attitudes towards homosexuality.[12]
Dalla was openly leftist and also a practicing Roman Catholic.[13]
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 inMontreux,Switzerland, having performed in the city the night before. He was in the company of Marco Alemanno when he died.[16][17] An estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral inBologna.[18]
Dalla's 1986 song "Caruso", dedicated to ItaliantenorEnrico Caruso, entered the Italian Singles Chart after his creator's death, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks.[19] The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.[20]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
