Lucio Dalla, one the most beloved Italian singer-songwriters, died from a heart attack last Thursday morning, the 1st of March, only three days before his sixty ninth birthday. At the time of his death he was in Switzerland, where he had performed a concert the previous night as part of his European concert tour.

Lucio Dalla was born in Bologna the 4/3/1943, a date many of us Italians know very well because it was the title of his first hit in 1970. He presented this song at the Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo, but he didn’t win because his song wasn’t “una canzone d’amore” (a love song), and was therefore considered too revolutionary! Although I was never a big fan of his, I grew up hearing his music, which always seemed to be playing somewhere in the background. Therefore his death leaves me with a vague sense of nostalgia and sadness.

Dalla’s songs spanned over decades, creating the soundtrack for generations of Italians, who loved the diversity of his music, and the poetry of his lyrics. He was a very prolific songwriter, and his musical roots were in jazz, but his interests covered folk, pop, classical and opera. He was also a talented clarinet and piano player, and also composed music for films. His version of Prokofiev’s “Pierino e il Lupo” (“Peter and the Wolf”) was performed in Rome’s Santa Cecilia auditorium in 1997, and he wrote an opera “Tosca Amore Disperato”, inspired by Puccini’s “Tosca”.

In 1986 Lucio Dalla composed “Caruso”, a song dedicated to the last days of the great tenor Enrico Caruso (Napoli, 1873 – 1921), who became famous in America at the beginning of the 20th century. Dalla’s haunting melody has been sung by many famous artists, including maestro Luciano Pavarotti whose version sold 9 million copies worldwide.

Lucio never tried to glamorize his image, and had a bit of  mocking attitude towards his stardom. He started going bald when still young, and began to wear una coppola (a cap), and later on un cappello di lana (a woolly hat). Here he is in a video from 1980 performing a medley of some of his famous songs: Lucio Dalla Medley 

Dalla loved his hometown of Bologna, where he lived all his life, and to which he dedicated several songs, in particular “Piazza Grande” (1972). He was commonly seen walking around town enjoying a chat with people in the street. Lucio was also a great fan of both the local football team, il Bologna, and the pallacanestro (basketball) team, la Virtus Bologna.

The funeral was held in the Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna, on Sunday the 4th of March, to allow as many as possible of his numerous fan to participate, but also because it coincided with his birthday. In order for this to happen, the council had to ask permission to the Church, because it’s not normally possible to hold a religious funeral on a Sunday during Lent. Here he is in an interview being asked his opinion about la presenza dei politici ai funerali di stato (the presence of politicians at state funerals). Unfortunately, it’s not very easy to understand because of the background music: Intervista Lucio Dalla

Here are two links to the song “Caruso”. The first one is performed by Lucio Dalla. The song is in Italian with some parts in Neapolitan: Caruso lyrics. The second version is sung by the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti: Caruso by Pavarotti