Legendary Italian singer songwriter Lucio Battisti left this world on this day, 9th September, 1998. Self-taught guitarist Battisti was reputedly one of the best-known and most influential musicians in Italian pop/rock history. Arguably, perhaps, he still is.
Born in the Italian region of Latzio in 1943, Battisti’s career ran from 1966 to 1994, during which time he released 18 albums. Always reserved and rarely performing live, he almost completely disappeared from public life in the 1980s.
During travels in Germany and the UK, he heard the likes of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. As a consequence, Battisti’s own music was influenced by these international stars, as was Italian music in general.
Here’s a video of some of Battisti’s most famous songs kicking off will Balla Linda, then VII Cantagiro, and many others, such as Acqua Azzurra, Acqua Chiaria. This nearly hour long video is punctuated by brief chats in Italian with Battisti, along with lots of his music.
Happy listening.
Lucio Battisti’s Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhaKIcmnmIThe tracks on the video:
00:00 “Balla Linda”
3:29 “Un’avventura”
8:01 “Acqua azzurra acqua chiara”
12:26 “Non è Francesca”
15:06 “Mi ritorni in mente”
18:37 “7 e 40”
22:05 “Il tempo di morire”
25:55 “Fiori rosa fiori, di pesco”
29:20 “Anna”
33:52 “Emozioni”
38:53 “Pensieri e parole”
43:05 “E penso a te”
47:36 “La canzone del sole”
54:01 “I giardini di marzo”
Sadly, Battisti died at the relatively young age of 55, apparently of cancer. His music, influence and reputation very much live on in Italy though.
Photo credit:
“Lucio Battisti” by ? – http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lucio_Battisti_5.jpg. Via Wikipedia.
