Lucio Battisti

Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-
Lucio Battisti
songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late
1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting.[1]

Battisti released 18 studio albums from 1969 to 1994, with a significant portion of
this catalogue translated into Spanish (various albums), English (one album), French
(two albums) and German (one album). He was known to be an extremely reserved
artist, performing only a small number of live concerts during his career. In the early
1980s he announced that he would limit himself to the recording of studio albums,
thus disappearing from the Italian public scene. Background information
Born 5 March 1943
Origin Poggio Bustone,
Contents Italy

Biography Died 9 September

Musician and composer 1998 (aged 55)
Success as a solo singer in 1970s – The Mogol-Battisti duo Milan
"Second period"
Genres Pop music
Death
Soft rock
Influence and praise
Occupation(s) Singer,
Discography
Albums composer,
Singles arranger and
guitarist
English language recordings
References Instruments voice, guitar,
External links
piano
Years active 1966–1994
Labels Dischi Ricordi,
Biography Numero Uno,
CBS, Sony BMG
Associated acts Mina, Mogol
Musician and composer
Battisti was born in Poggio Bustone, a small 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 the UK, 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![2]), 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".

Success as a solo singer in 1970s – The Mogol-Battisti duo

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.

Lucio Battisti performing the song
"Un'avventura" in the 1969 Sanremo
festival.
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, 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 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 byDavid 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 among Italians. Another successful album was
Il nostro caro angelo (1973).

U.S. magazine Billboard nominated Battisti "Italian Personality of the Year" in 1972, defining him "singer, composer, music
[3]
publisher of international fame, has elevated Italian audience's taste and strengthened the market".

Anima latina (1974) is considered Battisti's most complex and multi-layered work, a new personal approach to progressive rock 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 chart.

Lucio Battisti, la batteria, il contrabbasso, eccetera, 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. 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, it featured a 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 isTanita 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 the early 1980s 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 can his vow be considered completely fulfilled, with a
perseverance similar to that ofJ. D. Salinger and other famous recluses.

"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 già of 1982 (with lyrics by his wife), received a mixed
reception from both critics and audiences. Mogol started to work withRiccardo 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 seemingly 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 forCBS, 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 millionEuro in 2006) solely from author rights of his 1970s songs.

Battisti's last albums wereCosa succederà alla ragazza(1992) and Hegel (1994).

Death
On 9 September 1998, Battisti died in a Milan hospital. The New York Times said the cause was cancer.[1] The news 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
.

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 byBMG 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 professional musicians. The minor planet 9115 Battisti was named in his
memory. It was discovered by two Italian astronomers at the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in northern Italy near his home-
town.[4]

Battisti was a big S.S. Lazio supporter. Even though he never confirmed this himself due to his reserved character, his father Alfiero
confirmed that he was indeed a Lazio fan.

Discography

Albums
 Position in
Peak in Italian
Italian
Name Year Released by weekly Hit
year Hit
Parade
Parade

Lucio Battisti 1969 3[5] 1[5]

Lucio Battisti Vol. 2[6] 1970 0

Emozioni 1970 Ricordi 4[7] (1971) 1[7] (1971)

Amore e non amore 10[7] 1[7]

1971
Lucio Battisti vol. 4 19[8] (1972) 3[8] (1972)

Umanamente uomo: il sogno 2[8] 1[8]

1972
Il mio canto libero 1[9] (1973) 1[9] (1973)

Il nostro caro angelo 1973 2[9] 1[9]

Numero Uno
Anima latina 1974 8[10] (1975) 1[10] (1975)
Lucio Battisti, la batteria, il contrabbasso,
1976 3[11] 1[11]
eccetera

Io tu noi tutti 2[12] 1[12]

1977
Images RCA 59[12] 11[12]

Una donna per amico 1978 4[13] 1[13]

Una giornata uggiosa 1980 5[14] 1[14]

E già 1982 Numero Uno 14[15] 1[15]

Don Giovanni 1986 3[16] 1[16]

L'apparenza 1988 17[17] 2[17]

La sposa occidentale 1990 CBS 34[18] 3[18]

Sony / Columbia
Cosa succederà alla ragazza 1992 57[19] 5[19]
Records

Hegel 1994 Numero Uno 68[20] 5[20]

Singles
 Weekly Weeks Year
Single Year Released by
Hit Parade on chart Hit Parade
"Per una lira" / "Dolce di giorno" 1966 —
"Luisa Rossi" / "Era" 1967 —
"Prigioniero del mondo" / "Balla Linda" 17 87
1968
"La mia canzone per Maria" / "Io vivrò (senza te)" —
"Un'avventura" / "Non è Francesca" 15 70
"Dieci ragazze" / "Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara" 1969 3 19
Ricordi
"Mi ritorni in mente" / "7 e 40" 1 2 11
"Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco" / "Il tempo di morire" 2 10
1970
"Anna" / "Emozioni" 1 7 6
"Pensieri e parole" / "Insieme a te sto bene" 1 14 1
"Dio mio no" / "Era" 5 38
1971
"Le tre verità" / "Supermarket" 9 69
"La canzone del Sole" / "Anche per te" 1 1 Numero Uno 7
"Elena no" / "Una" 21 Ricordi 91
"I giardini di Marzo" / "Comunque bella" 1972 1 7 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 Numero Uno 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 byFrank Musker.[21][22][23]

Full list of Battisti's English recordings:[21]

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 Am Dreaming – "Mi ritorni in mente"
"You and Your Tomorrow" – "Acqua azzurra,acqua chiara"
The following were considered forImages, translated not by Peter Powell 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 albumUna donna per amico, replacing the song "Maledetto gatto" with
translations of two of his other hits. All the songs were translated byFrank Musker.

1. "Baby it's You" – shorter version

2. "And I Think of You" – previous hit "E penso ate", different from the tribute byTanita Tikaram
3. "Take it as it Comes" – "Prendila così"
4. "Lady" – slightly different from released version
5. "Day to Day" – "Perché no"
6. "Afraid of Falling" – "Aver paura di innamorarsi troppo"
7. "Pain is Gone" – "Nessun dolore"
8. "A Woman as a Friend" – "Una donna per amico"
9. "Let's Go See a Movie" – "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 dif
ference between the two "A Woman as a Friend"
versions is the second verse.

References
1. "Lucio Battisti, 55, Italian Pop Performer"(https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/24/arts/lucio-battisti-55-italian-pop-perfo
rmer.html). The New York Times. September 24, 1998. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
2. "Per una lira" (http://digilander.libero.it/andrealatino/D/1966/lira.htm). Andrealatino.it. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
3. Ezio Guaitamacchi (2009)."Lucio Battisti - Il mio canto libero"(https://books.google.com/books?id=CTFboZfxew4C&
pg=PT416#v=onepage&q&f=false). Mille canzoni che ci hanno cambiato la vita(in Italian). Rizzoli. p. 416.
ISBN 9788817033923.
4. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(9115) Battisti".Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9115) Battisti
. Springer Berlin
Heidelberg. p. 678. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_7371(https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-540-29925-7_7371) .
ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
5. "Album più venduti del 1969"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1969.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
6. "Lucio Battisti vol. 2" (http://www.luciobattisti.info/?page_id=3835). Luciobattisti.info. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
7. "Album più venduti del 1971"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1971.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
8. "Album più venduti del 1972"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1972.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
9. "Album più venduti del 1973"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1973.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
10. "Album più venduti del 1975"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1975.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
11. "Album più venduti del 1976"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1976.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
12. "Album più venduti del 1977"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1977.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
13. "Album più venduti del 1978"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1978.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
14. "Album più venduti del 1980"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1980.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
15. "Album più venduti del 1982"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1982.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
16. "Album più venduti del 1986"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1986.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
17. "Album più venduti del 1988"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1988.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
18. "Album più venduti del 1990"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1990.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
19. "Album più venduti del 1992"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1992.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
20. "Album più venduti del 1994"(http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1994.htm). Hitparadeitalia.it (in Italian).
Retrieved 2009-08-26.
21. "Inediti - Io Tu Noi Tutti" (http://www.luciobattisti.info/?page_id=9078). Luciobattisti.info. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
22. "Gran Bretagna - Io Tu Noi Tutti" (http://www.luciobattisti.info/?page_id=893). Luciobattisti.info. Retrieved 30 July
2017.
23. "Recensione di "Friends" scritta da primiballi"(http://www.debaser.it/recensionidb/ID_13243/Lucio_Battisti_Friends.ht
m). Debaser.it. Retrieved 30 July 2017.

External links
(in Italian) www.luciobattisti.info – Discography and others information about the singer
(in Italian) Full discography

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