I
Lucio Battisti

About:

5 March 1943 - 9 September 1998

Battisti was born in Poggio Bustone, a town in the province of Rieti (Northern Latium), and moved with his family to Rome in 1947. A self-taught guitarist, Battisti made his debut as musician in the 1960s, performing in local bands in Rome, Naples and later in Milan: here he joined I Campioni ('The Champions'), the support band of then famous singer Tony Dallara. In Milan he found the aid of a French talent scout, Christine Leroux, who worked for the Ricordi musical label. Leroux introduced Battisti to songwriter Giulio Rapetti, better known as Mogol. Mogol then pushed Ricordi to allow Battisti to sing his own songs. In 1966 he recorded debut 'Per una lira' which was a relatively mediocre success. Battisti continued to write tunes for others in the late 1960s but would reappear as a solo artist in 1970 At San remo, with the song 'Un'avventura' ('An adventure'). The same year, Battisti issued his self-titled debut LP. During this year he also met Grazia Letizia Veronese, who lived with Battisti until his death.

Singer Mina, put the Mogol-Battisti's song 'Emozioni' on her playlist which was also the title of Battisiti’s second album. He also became a popular TV presence. In order to preserve their creative freedom, Battisti and Mogol switched to a label of their own, Numero Uno, founded by the latter back in 1969. Under the new label 'Amore e non amore' ('Love and not love') was released in 1971, followed by the even more successful 'Umanamente uomo: il sogno' (1971) and 'Il mio canto libero' (1972). 1974 'Anima latina' ('Latin soul') is considered Battisti's most complex and multi-layered work, a new personal approach to progressive music with an increased attention to rhythms and increasingly cryptic lyrics by Mogol. In 1976 Battisti declared he would no longer make public appearances nor release any interview. A rather shy person, he had been always reticent to talk about his work: now, according to the words with which he accompanied his retiration, "[he was going to] speak no more, since an artist must communicate with the public only through his work".

In 1977 he released 'Io tu noi tutti' and relocated to Los Angeles. In 1978 'Una donna per amico' was released, which was the best-selling Battisti-Mogol LP ever. Nevertheless, it marked the begin of the decline of their relationship. Battisti had started to limit himself to send his music to Mogol by mail, receiving the lyrics in the same way. In 1981 Battisti broke the partnership with Mogol, switching to a more experimental, sometimes weird inspiration, based often on electronic instruments. From 1986, starting with 'Don Giovanni', to 1994, the lyrics on Battisti's albums were written by the poet Pasquale Panella. Battisti's last album was 'Hegel', recorded in 1994. On September 9, 1998, Battisti died in a Milan hospital. The news was immediately reported by the media and spread quickly throughout the country, generating an unprecedented wave of emotion for a singer. He was later buried in the cemetery of Molteno, the town where he had spent his last years with his family, far from the circus of the show business.

On the web:

- fansite: http://www.luciobattisti.info
- fansite in English: http://luciobattisti.50webs.com

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

Gérard Manset (France)

Marek Grechuta (Poland)

What do we think:

PR: Great, great singer and composer. There isn't hardly an Italian artist that has not coverd one of his songs. His singing is not technically perfect, but very intense and captivating. Even if you do not understand a word Italian, you cannot be NOT touched by beautiful songs as 'Emozioni', 'I giardini di marzo' and others. If you want to start listening to quality music from Italy, there is no better artist to start with than Battisti.

DB: Lucio Battisti is one of Italy's most renowned songwriters. And one of the most covered by other Italian artists. Strangely enough his material is hardly sung outside the Italian territory. Throughout his career Battisti hardly ever made a 'wrong' album although there are some lesser gods. Although he has a folky aura around him most of his material leans towards pop and rock. His eighties material becomes more and more electronic and desolate. Just as his album covers which are eventually plain white with a simple drawing on it. If you listen to all the albums in retrospect his 1969 starts at the green pastures of Toscany and ends on the dark cold side of the moon with Hegel. Intriguing person.

Albums:

♪♪♪ - Lucio Battisti - 1969

♪♪♪♪ - Emozioni - 1970

♪♪♪ - Amore e non amore - 1971

♪♪♪♪ - Umanamente uomo: il sogno - 1972

♪♪♪♪♪ - Il mio canto libero - 1972

♪♪♪♪ - Il nostro caro angelo - 1973

♪♪♪♪♪ - Anima latina - 1974

♪♪♪♪ - La batteria, il contrabbasso, ecc. - 1976

♪♪♪ - Io tu noi tutti - 1977

♪♪♪♪ - Una donna per amico - 1978

♪♪♪ - Una giornata uggiosa - 1980

♪♪ - E già - 1982

♪♪ - Don Giovanni - 1986

♪♪ - L'apparenza - 1988

♪♪ - La sposa occidentale - 1990

♪♪♪ - Cosa succederà alla ragazza - 1992

♪♪♪ - Hegel - 1994

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided