22 Facts About Lucio Battisti

Lucio Battisti was an Italian singer-songwriter and composer.

Lucio Battisti is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting.

Lucio Battisti was known to be an extremely reserved artist, performing only a small number of live concerts during his career.

Lucio Battisti was born in Poggio Bustone, a small town in the province of Rieti, and moved with his family to Rome in 1950.

Lucio Battisti 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.

Lucio Battisti penned three sizeable hits in 1966 for other artists.

Mogol pushed Ricordi to allow Lucio Battisti to sing his own songs: Lucio Battisti's voice became the focal point of his strength and originality.

In 1969, Lucio Battisti took part in the Festival of Sanremo, with the song "Un'avventura", and his popularity began to increase.

Lucio Battisti's first hit was "Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara", which won the Festivalbar.

In 1970 Lucio Battisti won Festivalbar for the second time in a row, with the song "Fiori rosa, fiori di pesco", and he and Mogol started to collaborate with vocalist Mina, who sang some of their most-acclaimed songs.

Lucio Battisti was really angry about this, as he had composed a concept album called Amore e non-amore, but his label chose to release the compilation rather than the album, which was considered to be too experimental and advanced for the Italian audience.

Lucio Battisti, la batteria, il contrabbasso, eccetera, released in 1976 and including the hit "Ancora tu", was an even bigger success; many of the songs clearly showing the artist's interest in the then-emerging Disco sounds and production values that would have a large influence on his three subsequent albums.

Lucio Battisti relocated to Los Angeles, and issued an album, Images, that featured some of his biggest hits re-recorded in English.

In 1978 Lucio Battisti released Una donna per amico: recorded in London and produced by Geoff Westley, it was his best-selling LP.

Lucio Battisti's songs written with Mogol continue to be covered by international artists; a more recent example is Tanita Tikaram's "And I Think of You".

In 1981 Lucio Battisti broke the partnership with Mogol, switching to a more experimental inspiration based often on electronic instruments.

From 1986, starting with Don Giovanni, to 1994, the lyrics on Lucio Battisti's albums were written by the poet Pasquale Panella.

On 9 September 1998, Lucio Battisti died in a hospital in Milan.

Lucio Battisti was said to have been suffering from glomerulonephritis.

Lucio Battisti was later buried in the cemetery of Molteno, the town where he had spent his last years with his family.

Several compilations of his best tracks have surfaced after Lucio Battisti's death, including 2000's Lucio Battisti and 2001's Canzoni d'amore.

Lucio Battisti's songs remain immensely popular in Italy, and are often performed live by other professional musicians.