In his songs he used typical Italian clichés – and was always proud of it. The “real Italian” sang his way into the hearts of his fans with his shallow pop numbers like “L’Italiano”. Now Toto Cutugno has died.
Back to the 1950s, to an unadorned practice room in La Spezia, Liguria. This is where Toto Cutugno discovered the joy of music as a young boy – the singer once said in an interview.
His father took him to a rehearsal with the La Spezia band when he was nine. “I sat in a corner and fell in love,” Cutugno said. “The conductor noticed that and said: Cutugno, why don’t we teach your son an instrument if he loves music so much?”
Salvatore, called Toto, Cutugno drums first in the band. Later, as a student, he took part in beat bands. Then he rises to become one of the icons of Italo hits.
Timeless Italian hit
Lasciatemi cantare – many people can still sing along to the refrain of his song “L’Italiano” from 1983. It is, according to polls, one of the three most famous songs of all time in Italy. In the song, Cutugno sings about typical Italian clichés – about spaghetti, espresso, Fiat, about the pride of being an Italian.
In an interview on Italian television, shortly before his 75th birthday, Toto Cutugno was asked if he hadn’t had enough of his hit song. Cutugno’s answer: No, quite the opposite: “L’Italiano is the Italiano, incomparable. I only experience great moments of joy and emotion with him. I wrote it for all Italians abroad.”
He promised on stage that he would write this song, said Cutugno – at a concert in Canada in the early 1980s, to which thousands of Italians from abroad had come. After that, according to Cutugno, he sat down in a restaurant and started composing.
One of most successful musicians of Italy
With over 100 million records sold, Cutugno was one of the most successful musicians in Italy. He himself was often annoyed that music critics disparagingly referred to him as ruffiano – loosely translated: as a Schlagerfuzzi, instead of as a “real singer-songwriter”.
Toto Cutugno composed and wrote almost all of his songs himself, he has also written over 300 songs for other artists. Cutugno has taken part in the Sanremo Festival, Italy’s most important pop music competition, 15 times and won Sanremo once. He was a presenter of various television shows. And: In 1990 Cutugno won the Eurovision Song Contest for Italy. With a declaration of love to Europe after the fall of the Wall – Insieme, together.
In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera a few years ago, Cutugno said he believes in Europe. Europe must not be broken up, but strengthened. In recent years, the singer had become quieter, he had health problems. According to his manager, Toto Cutugno has now died in Milan after a long illness.