Italian singer Toto Cutugno, famous in Italy and abroad for his hit “Un Italiano vero” and his Eurovision victory in 1990 with “Insieme: 1992”, died at 80 on Tuesday in Milan (north), according to his manager.
“After a long illness, the singer’s condition had worsened in recent months,” said Danilo Mancuso, quoted by the Ansa agency. “Ciao a Toto Cutugno, un Italiano vero”, immediately reacted on X (ex-Twitter) Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
His biggest success dates from 1983: “Un Italiano vero” (also called simply “L’italiano”) is number one on the charts in Italy and Switzerland, and number two in France. The song also appeals to audiences in Israel, Iran and South Korea.
The heady chorus of this timeless hit is still a hit on the radio: “Lasciatemi cantare con la chitarra in mano, lasciatemi cantare, sono un italiano” (“Let me sing with the guitar in my hand, let me sing, I am an Italian”).
The clip for the song, shot on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, is a succession of rather caricatural shots on Italy and the Italians: we see the singer eating pasta and flirting with the waitress.
In 1990, he won Eurovision with “Insieme: 1992”, a song about Europe. After Gigliola Cinquetti in 1964, he is the second Italian to win Eurovision. The following year, he presents with the latter the program of the competition which takes place in Rome.
Born July 7, 1943, Salvatore Cutugno, known as Toto Cutugno, composed for many French singers, especially in the 1970s: from Michel Sardou (“En chantant”) to Mireille Mathieu via Gérard Lenorman, Joe Dassin, Johnny Hallyday , Hervé Vilard and Sheila.
The singer-songwriter has also participated 15 times in the Sanremo song festival, a real institution in the peninsula and followed each year by millions of viewers.
22/08/2023 18:31:04 – Rome (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
