Wikipedia

Francesco De Gregori

Francesco De GregoriOMRI(born 4 April 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In Italy, he is popularly known as "Il Principe dei cantautori" ( "The Prince of the singer-songwriters" ), anicknamereferring to the elegance of his lyrics. Although often referred as singer-songwriter and poet, he prefers to be identified simply as "artist".[1]

Francesco De Gregori
De Gregori in concert in 2008
De Gregori in concert in 2008
Background information
Born(1951-04-04)4 April 1951(age 73)
Rome,Italy
GenresFolk rock
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
Years active1972–present
LabelsRCAItaly, CBS
Websitewww.francescodegregori.net

Biography

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1970s

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De Gregori was born inRometo a middle-class family, to Giorgio and Rita Grechi, and he spent some of his youth inPescarabefore returning to the capital. His elder brother, Luigi, was a musician and had a personal career with the name ofLuigi Grechi(the mother's surname), chosen later to avoid confusion with the more famous Francesco.

Influenced byBob Dylan,Leonard Cohenand the Italian singer-songwriterFabrizio de André,De Gregori started to perform his songs (mainly personal translations of American folk songs) at theFolkstudio,in Rome, which was already frequented by his brother. On one occasion De André himself is said to have listened to De Gregori's work and appreciated it.

Later De Gregori formed a band with his friendsAntonello Venditti,Mimmo LocasciulliandGiorgio Lo Cascio,who all had success as singer-songwriters in the following years. De Gregori made his debut as a professional singer in 1972 withTheorius Campus,in collaboration with Venditti. The LP included the early masterpiece "Signora Aquilone" ( "Kite Lady" ), but Venditti had more songs and, having a better voice, earned better consideration by the label. The duo subsequently broke up.

De Gregori's next album,Alice non lo sa(1973), was a commercial failure. However, the title-track, the mysterious "Alice", scored some success in several popular music shows and is still included amongst his best works today. The 1974 albumFrancesco De Gregori(also known as the "Sheep" due to the unusual cover byGordon Fagetter) showed even more experimental and sometimes obscure lyrics, and again was a failure.RCA Music,however, continued to trust in De Gregori's qualities: this trust was repaid the following year, when De Gregori released one of the most successful Italian LPs of the 1970s,Rimmel.This work contained several of his most famous songs: this time De Gregori's talent for unusual and poetic lyrics intermingled in a more mature way with the music.Lucio Dallaprovided musical ideas for "Pablo", the unusual story of a Spanish immigrant inSwitzerland.Jazzy themes were present in songs like "Quattro cani" ( "Four Dogs" ) and "Le storie di ieri" ( "The Stories of Yesterday" ). The latter, a song about the years ofFascism,had been already released on De André's 1974 albumVolume 8,as it had been written during a stay in the Genoese singer'sSardinianestate.

Bufalo Bill(1976) confirmed De Gregori's qualities, and contained at least two classics: the eponymous song and "Santa Lucia", the singer's own favourite. However, during a concert held inMilanin 1976, De Gregori, who had always declared his inclination to left-wing ideas and ideals, was fiercely contested by a group of extreme left agitators. In a mock "trial", they accused him of using a left-wing message solely to sell records and insisted that music should be free. De Gregori was at risk of injury in the fray, and decided to quit his musical career.[2] During the following two years he therefore worked as a bookstore and music shop clerk. The episode, known as the "Palalidoincident ", influenced several works by other Italian singer-songwriters, such asRoberto Vecchioni's "Vaudeville".The"Palalidoincident "was one of a number of such incidents. At this time, De Gregori married Alessandra Gobbi whom he had known since High School, and they had two sons, Marco and Federico.

In 1978, however, he returned with another inspired album,De Gregori,containing one of his most famous songs, "Generale". He declared that he felt this song much too important for him to continue staying away from the music world. The following year he joined his old friendLucio Dallawith a highly successful live tour, entitledBanana Republic,and published a studio LP,Viva l'Italiafeaturing American musicians. The title track was later adopted as theItalian Socialist Partysong, but De Gregori always opposed this choice.

1980s

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After a pause of several years, De Gregori returned with the albumTitanic,the first part of which was like a concept album devoted to the famous episode of the sinking of the eponymousliner.The ballad "San Lorenzo", with a rare piano performance by De Gregori, concerns the dramatic episode of the bombing duringWorld War IIof the quarter inRomeby Allied planes. The freshness of the music and lyrics made this an outstanding commercial success, as well as earning the praise of critics.Titanichas been recently declared the best Italian LP of the period 1975–2005, in a poll conducted for the authoritative Italian newspaperIl Corriere della Sera.

The following year de Gregori released a mini-LP containing his most long-standing success,La Donna Cannone,a song that De Gregori asked initiallyMia Martinito sing.[3]The 1985 albumScacchi e tarocchi( "Chess and Tarots" ), was not as successful, but contained another classic, "La Storia" ( "History" ). De Gregori's new melancholic inspiration was confirmed by the subsequentTerra di nessuno( "No man's Land" ). On the other hand,Miramare 19-4-89showed a more bitter mood, but again was not as successful as his albums of the 1970s and early 1980s.

1990s and 2000s

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De Gregori in concert, March 2008

De Gregori recovered his bestseller status in 1992 withCanzoni d'amore( "Love Songs" ). In the 1990s he released fewer studio albums than collections and live albums. His next original work wasPrendere e lasciare( "Take and Leave", 1996): from this point his song and his musical performance were marked by an increasingBob Dylaninfluence.

Il bandito e il campioneof 1993 was a live collection that had remarkable success: the title track, its only studio song, was sung by De Gregori but the lyrics were by his brother Luigi Grechi. The title track ofLa valigia dell'attore( "The Actor's Suitcase", 1998) showed De Gregori at the best of his poetical and emotional capabilities again. The rest of the album, however, contained old pieces, plus someDylancovers.

In 2001 De Gregori released his next studio album,Amore nel pomeriggio( "Love in the Afternoon" ) which is unanimously included amongst his best works. The song "Il cuoco di Salò" ( "The Cook ofSalò"), arranged byFranco Battiato,is one of De Gregori's best[citation needed]and shows his typical attention to "everyday" figures (including outcasts and underdogs) and lives while dealing with historical themes.

Il fischio del vapore( "The Whistle of the Steam", 2002) was a collaboration with the folksingerGiovanna Marini,who had already worked with De Gregori in a song forTitanic.The album is a collection of old popular and social Italian songs from the 19th and the early 20th centuries.

A biography of Francesco De Gregori, "Quello che non so, lo so cantare" ( "What I Don't Know, I Know How to Sing" ), edited byEnrico Deregibus,was published byGiuntiin 2003. In 2005, De Gregori won theTarga Tencofor the best Italian album of the year withPezzi,an album with strong rock elements. In February 2006, only eleven months after the release ofPezzi,De Gregori released a new studio album,Calypsos,with nine previously unreleased tracks. Amongst these was"Cardiologia"( "Cardiology" ), a song where the Roman singer-songwriter returns to using the words "Ti amo" ( "I love you" ), more than thirty years after"Pezzi di Vetro",and the song"Per le strade di Roma"( "By the Streets of Rome" ), which outlines a merciless picture of the Rome of the third millennium, archetypical of the Italy of today.

In November 2006 a triple CDTra un manifesto e lo specchiothat collected together his most representative tracks was released. As well as the celebrated track"Diamante"( "Diamond" ), this contained pieces written forZuccheroand included on his albumOro incenso e birra( "Gold, Incense and Beer" ), a demo of"Mannaggia alla musica"( "Damn to the Music" ) from 1979, originally written forRonand previously presented on the live albumBootleg,and the B-side of the single"Viva l'Italia"( "Long Live Italy" ), the celebrated"Banana Republic",sung withoutLucio Dalla.

2010s

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Dalla-De Gregori in 2010

2010 opens with the news (given on 2 January) of a new set of concerts with De Gregori andLucio Dalla,over thirty years since the splendor of Banana Republic, at the Vox Club Nonantola, with the name "Work in progress".

The concert, which becomes sold out in advance, opens another series of concerts that are announced on the occasion of the date of Nonantola, and that will be held in May in Milan and Rome; during the evening the two presented, in addition to known songs, a new song called"Non basta saper cantare"and announce also the release of their new album called"Work in Progress".

On 22 March 2010, Dalla and De Gregori lead the new TV show onRai 2,entitled Due, during which they perform individually and in duets, covers and songs from their repertoires. On 1 May 2011 the duo played at the May Day Concert in Rome.

Discography

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Awards and nominations

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Year Award Nomination Work Result
1988 Targa Tenco Best Album[citation needed] Terra di nessuno Won
1989 Best Album[citation needed] Mira Mare 19.4.89 Won
1998 Best Song[citation needed] "La valigia dell'attore" Won
1999 Best Singer(withGiovanna Marini)[citation needed] Il fischio del vapore Won
2005 Best Album[citation needed] Pezzi Won
2013 Wind Music Awards Album Award(for 30.000 copies sold)[citation needed] Sulla Strada Won
Targa Tenco Album of the Year[4] Pending

References

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  1. ^Vincenzo Mollica (presenter) (13 October 2008).Francesco De Gregori, per brevità chiamato artista[Francesco De Gregori, for brevity purposes called "artist"].Speciale TG1(Television production) (in Italian).Rome:RAI.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2021.Retrieved15 November2021.
  2. ^Mario Luzzatto Fegiz (3 April 1976). "De Gregori insultato e «processato»" [De Gregori insulted and "tried" ].Corriere della Sera(in Italian).Milan.p. 15.
  3. ^"Mia Martini racconta ai microfoni di Rai Stereo due: Francesco de Gregori e il mix Chica chica bum".
  4. ^"Targhe Tenco: De Gregori, Fabi e Guccini in finale"(in Italian).Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana.17 September 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2013.Retrieved17 September2013.
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