Toto Cutugno, born on 7 July 1943 and passed away today 22 August at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan where he was hospitalized due to the worsening of a long illness, was one of the most loved singers in Italy and a symbol of Italian melody abroad thanks especially to The Italian, which has become a sort of national anthem over time. Fifteen participations in the Sanremo festival (with a historic performance in 1990 paired with Ray Charles), author of hits also loved abroad, from L’Italiano to Il tempo se ne va, La mia musica, Solo noi, to name just a few, Cutugno was a true showman, capable of passing with extreme ease from songwriting to television hosting (in 1987 he was at the helm of a successful edition of ‘Domenica In’).
Tuscan but raised in Liguria, not yet twenty he founds a group, Toto and the Tati, proposing his songs live. 1975 is the year of great success in France, where Joe Dassin records his L’ete’ Indien, which becomes an international hit. From there the requests multiply: Toto writes songs for Mireille Mathieu, Dalida, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Sardou, Claude Francois, Herve’ Vilard. In Italy he composes for Domenico Modugno, Gigliola Cinquetti, Ornella Vanoni. He made his debut at the Sanremo festival in 1976: he took the Ariston stage with his group, the Albatros, with ‘Flight AZ 504’. He comes third. Shortly afterwards ‘Nel cuore nei sensi’ arrives, with which he participates in the Festivalbar and which leaps to the top of the charts in the French version engraved by Gerard Lenorman. The following year the Albatros returned to Sanremo with another song by Toto, Gran Premio. An important turning point then in ’78 with ‘Donna donna mia’. Acronym of the program ‘We bet’ conducted by Mike Bongiorno, reaches the top of the hit parade.
A fertile period for Cutugno, who also wrote the first song for the great Adriano Celentano, Soli. A song that will remain at number one in the charts for months. For the debut album, ‘Voglio l’anima’, it will be necessary to wait for 1979. The songs will subsequently be recorded by various artists, both Italian and foreign, and the title-track becomes the theme song of the French TV program ‘They will be famous’, remaining for weeks at the top of the hit parade. But there are many successes of the national Toto: Solo noi is launched in Sanremo in 1980 and wins: its only victory in 15 festivals. In the same year he signed all the songs on the album Il tempo se ne va for Adriano Celentano.
After the publication of La mia musica, in 1981, in 1983 with its symbolic song, L’Italiano comes only fifth but the song sells millions of records and makes it famous in the world, including Israel, Iran and Korea. At the Ariston (his fame as ‘eternal second’ is almost legendary) he will return many other times, as an interpreter, author and superhost, never in a predictable way: in 2010, after a difficult period for health reasons, he arrives in Sanremo with Belen Rodriguez, with whom he sings Airplanes.
In 2012, invited by Fabio Fazio, he performed L’Italiano with the choir of the Red Army. His bond with the festival is so strong that in 2005 he gave up the Olympia in Paris to participate. And, between one festival and another, Toto travels the world, never stands still, always faithful to his slogan: ”Let me sing with guitar in hand, let me sing, I’m an Italian”.
In 2018 due to illness he was forced to cancel concerts in Belgium. In the same year he has the satisfaction of singing for the second time in his long career at the Olympia in Paris and Le Monde dedicates a page to true Italian for the occasion. In 2019, a case broke out in Ukraine: a group of Ukrainian deputies with a letter asked to preclude the entry of Toto Cutugno, who had a concert in Kiev sold out for some time, due to alleged pro-Russian positions. He replied that he was “surprised and worried”, always declaring himself distant from politics: “I am apolitical”. The story then deflates and he manages to sing in front of an enthusiastic audience. In 2021 he was happy to pass the baton to the Maneskin at Eurovision: he was in fact the winner of the European competition in 1990. Very popular in both Moscow and Kiev after the war began in 2022 he declared: “I dream of Russian and Ukrainian children together”.
Toto Cutugno’s funeral will be held on Thursday 24 August at 11 at the Parish Basilica of Saints Nereus and Achilles in viale Argonne 56 in Milan. The manager Danilo Mancuso communicated the news of Toto Cutugno’s funeral to ANSA together with the artist’s family.
From Meloni to the Albanian premier Edi Rama, the tribute to Cutugno
“Hello to Toto Cutugno, a true Italian”. The Prime Minister writes it on social media, Giorgia Meloni, posting a photo of the singer-songwriter. “You were a great, true Italian, we were supposed to meet this summer in Vlora but God decided to let you rest in peace, while your songs remain recorded forever in the hearts of many Albanians. Thanks for everything Toto Cutugno, it was a privilege live simultaneously with a myth like you”. The Albanian premier writes it in Italian Edi Rama. “He leaves us a great one: with his L’Italiano, he was able to make millions of people sing, bringing Italian music all over the world. Bon voyage, Toto Cutugno”, so the leader of the League and deputy prime minister, Matthew Salvini.
“The world of music is losing a popular and important interpreter. An artist, with the pride of being Italian, also appreciated abroad, whose successes have been the soundtrack of an era. He also demonstrated his talent as an author. I am close to his family and those closest to him in this painful moment”, declared the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
Le Monde also celebrates Toto Cutugno, famous singer also in France. His song “A true Italian” writes Le Monde on Twitter, was second in the hit parade. A song that was also hugely successful in Israel, Iran and South Korea. The newspaper recalls that the video of the song was shot on the Champs Elysee in Paris and contained “a series of caricatured clichés about Italy and the Italians. Le Monde recalls finally how Cutugno wrote for many French singers from Michel Sardou to Mirelle Mathieu, Joe Dassin, Sheila and Johnny Hallyday.
Greetings from colleagues, from Pausini to Pupo, Baudo’s pain
“Toto, dear and beloved friend. Companion of innumerable and unforgettable moments of entertainment and life, I wish you a pleasant journey. I will miss you”. So Enzo Ghinazzi, in art Abundantgreets the artist friend with whom he shared the Sanremo podium in 1980 when Toto Cutugno wins with Solo noi and he finished third with Su di noi.
“A dutiful tribute to Toto Cutugno. A truly representative artist for our country. And it was common to share the same stages throughout Europe. Have a good trip…”. As Angelo Branduardi are Facebook.
“Toto Cutugno was an artist, a man and a good and kind Italian. I have many memories associated with him and I am sincerely sorry for his passing. A hug to his family and his fans from all over the world”, she writes Laura Pausini.
“I am saddened, Toto Cutugno was a good person. A loss too great for me, I am saddened. A great loss for all Italians and for those who love music. He seemed grumpy, instead he was closed because he was melancholic and not sad”, he says Goofy Baudo. “At that Sanremo in 1983 I immediately understood that the Italian would become an international success”, concludes Baudo.
“Toto Cutugno, a true Italian, is gone… Author and interpreter of the great Italian tradition. He wrote one of the most famous Italian songs in the world, L’Italiano. We have always known each other. Hi Toto, your music rises in sky”. Gianni Morandion Facebook, remember the colleague.
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2023-08-22 18:14:00
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