He left us on September 9th, 25 years ago Lucio BattistiThe artist had been hospitalized for 11 days in a Milanese hospital, where he would have undergone emergency surgery.
On September 6th his condition worsened further and on the 8th he was moved to the intensive care unit of theSan Paolo Hospital in Milan. Lucio Battisti died on the morning of September 9, 1998, at the age of 55 anni; the causes of death have never been officially communicated.
Battisti, born in Poggio Bustone on March 5, 1943, is considered one of the greatest Italian singer-songwriters. He has recorded 20 studio albums in his career, achieving sales of 25 million records.
He was one of the most influential interpreters and authors of twentieth-century Italian music; he also composed for other artists (including international ones such as Gene Pitney, the Hollies and Paul Anka), while for the lyrics he always relied on lyricists, with very few exceptions.
His long association with Mogol was the fulcrum of his success and built his image as an interpreter of life and common feelings; this, which marked a musical and social era in Italy, has remained the main image of the singer-songwriter, thanks to his total withdrawal from the scene and public visibility that he put into practice from the early eighties until his death.
The two met in the early 60s, and from there a partnership began (“like a song by Battisti and Mogol”, the homage of a few years ago by Mina and Celentano) which catapulted Lucio Battisti to the top of the Italian charts in the 70s and 80s: “Lucio is greatly missed, if we had been able to continue writing together we would have had at least another ten hits”, says Mogol.
“Do I see any of his heirs in current music? As Lucio wrote, only he did it. He was unique. Like others: Mango he wrote from Mango, Lucio Dalla from Dalla, there are no heirs of these artists. There are certainly those who write well, but they are certainly not at the level of these composers”.
At home in front of a glass of wine, in the car while driving, on a trip or in traffic, with a guitar at a bonfire or at home with friends, you say Battisti and everyone still agrees: “I still do a lot of gigs on the road – says Mogol – which are very popular. 2-3 thousand people sing along with me and what amazes me is that they know the words by heart. There are people of all ages. An incredible thing, as if instead of disappearing they became even more fashionable”.
Come The March Gardens, for example: “Ah, I heard that one sung by 70 thousand people at the stadium,” says the author proudly, referring to the Lazio anthem at the end of all the Biancocelesti matches.
“What’s incredible,” he argues, “is that I feel like they know even lesser-known songs. I think the judgment is made by people anyway, making the songs last over time.”
And those of Battisti-Mogol will remain forever. Even if there is a bitter taste in the mouth for such a premature loss, because "since I stopped writing with him I missed his music, his writings", admits the maestro, revealing how that 'strange' successful couple was not the result of such an intense presence: "We met to write together, once a year, we worked for a week and the album was finished".
And historical pieces came out like 'Blue Water, Clear Water', which, listening to Renzo Arbore, didn't even excite the two that much: "I launched it first and it's extraordinary. When he and Mogol came to let me listen to the songs they had just written for the new 45 rpm, they made me listen to 'Ten Girls' which I was supposed to launch in my black and white program 'Speciale per voi'.
I said it was a very nice song but I also wanted to hear the back. The B-side was 'Acqua Azzurra, Acqua Chiara', when I heard it I said: but I'm going to launch this one. 'Dieci ragazze' is nice but nothing revolutionary, 'Acqua Azzurra, Acqua Chiara' on the other hand is a masterpiece”.
“A French record company first told me about Lucio Battisti – concludes the famous singer-songwriter and showman – Christine Leroux. Lucio hadn't met Mogol yet, and she told me: there's this guy who plays with the Champions, who were the ones who accompanied Tony Dallara, and he wrote some very beautiful songs.
He and Mogol came either to me or to Boncompagni to make us listen to the songs they made, which however were given to the Nomads and Thick thick because Lucio did not want to sing. However when he came to Yellow Flag to play his songs, I told him 'let me hear them sung by you'. He replied: 'but I can't sing'. We put a guitar in his hands and he began to perform. Great success and from there began the career of an innovator of Italian music”.
Article published on 9 September 2023 - 17:53
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