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

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 1978 he announced that he would speak to the public only through his musical work, limiting himself to the recording of studio albums and disappearing from the public scene.

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 blues, soul, and the music of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and Jimi Hendrix, among others, introducing those influences 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), it allowed him to begin building his career as a singer.

Battisti continued to write for others during the late 1960s: the US rock group The Grass Roots scored a hit with one of Battisti's compositions, "Balla Linda" (translated as "Bella Linda"), which earned Battisti fourth place in the Cantagiro, a then-popular Italian popular music competition. In 1967, English band The Hollies—featuring Graham Nash—recorded a Battisti song in Italian, "Non prego per me". In 1969, Battisti's song "Il Paradiso" was covered by the group Amen Corner as "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice", hitting the number-one spot on the UK singles chart.

In 1969, Battisti took part in the Festival of Sanremo, with the song "Un'avventura", and his popularity began to increase. His first 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, whom he later married and lived with until his death. ...

Source: Article "Lucio Battisti" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Lucio Battisti, né le 5 mars 1943 à Poggio Bustone et mort le 9 septembre 1998 à Milan, est un auteur-compositeur-interprète italien de musique pop.

Il a publié vingt-deux albums entre 1969 et 1994.

Lucio Battisti est né dans la province de Rieti (Latium, Italie) le 5 mars 1943.

Lucio Battisti se lance d'abord dans une discrète carrière d'auteur, puis connaît le succès comme interprète à partir de la fin des années 1960. La musique de ses chansons est affectée par l'influence de la pop américaine. En 1965, il entame une collaboration avec Mogol, auteur de tous les textes de ses chansons jusqu'en 1980. À partir de 1969, il interprète ses créations et compose des chansons pour d'autres chanteurs, en particulier pour Mina. Il remporte le Festivalbar en 1970 avec Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara et en 1971 avec Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco.

Il est adapté par des chanteurs français. Jean-François Michaël lui doit le succès Je pense à toi, adaptation de E penso a te. En Italie, Mina reprend la chanson Prendila così. Hervé Vilard a repris en français Amore caro, amore bello en 1972, Ma chanson de liberté (Il mio canto libero) en 1975.

En 1976, avec Ancora tu, il connaît son plus grand succès.

Peu porté sur les concerts et les passages à la télévision, réfractaire aux tentatives de la presse de percer sa vie privée, Battisti s'interdit dès 1972 toute apparition à son public, avec lequel il décide de ne plus communiquer «qu'au travers de ses chansons». Il se tient fermement à cette ligne de conduite, et se contente d'accorder de très rares entretiens à des revues spécialisées (dont la dernière en 1982).

Après la rupture avec Mogol, il est rejoint comme parolier d'abord par son épouse, Grazia Letizia Veronese (sous le pseudonyme de «Velezia») puis par Pasquale Panella. Les derniers albums marquent un changement fondamental dans la relation avec les paroles et la structure musicale ouvertement tournée vers les sons monocordes et électroniques, assemblage parfois poussé aux limites de l'absurde, s’affranchissant des schémas traditionnels de la chanson italienne.

En raison de sa maladie, il aurait pris énormément de poids et refuse de se montrer en public.

Il meurt à l’hôpital San Paolo de Milan le 9 septembre 1998, âgé de 55 ans.

Dans la dimension artistique de Lucio Battisti, l'engagement politique ne revêt pas un caractère particulier, à la différence des prises de parti si courantes parmi les chanteurs des années 1970. Au contraire, Battisti fut souvent critiqué pour son choix de ne parler que des sentiments, voyant son approche souvent qualifiée de «petit bourgeois». Certains lui attribuaient des sympathies d'extrême droite.

Source: Article "Lucio Battisti" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.