province of Alessandria
The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part ...
) in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in unclear circumstances. It has been rumored that Luigi Tenco was the fruit of the extramarital relationship of his mother and the sixteen-year-old son of the wealthy family for whom she worked at the time. He has been described as "a sort of Italian Charles Aznavour".
Tenco spent his childhood in Cassine and
Ricaldone
Ricaldone is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 650 and an area of .All d ...
until 1948, when he moved to
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, where his mother had a wine shop called ''Enos'' in the quarter of La Foce. During high school, Tenco founded the Jelly Roll Morton Boys Jazz band, in which Tenco played the clarinet and another singer, later to become famous,
Bruno Lauzi
Bruno Lauzi (; 8 August 1937 – 24 October 2006) was an Italian singer-songwriter, poet and writer.
Biography
Bruno Lauzi was born in Asmara, then part of the Italian Eastern Africa, to a Catholic father, Francesco Lauzi and a Jewish mot ...
, the
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
.
Gino Paoli
Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934 in Monfalcone) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is a seminal figure who has written a number of songs widely regarded as classics in Italian popular music, including: " Il cielo in una stanza", "Che cos ...
, who would become one of Italy's most famous singers and songwriters as well, also played with Tenco in the band he was later involved in, ''I Diavoli del Rock'' (The Rock Devils).
Tenco made his debut in the world of Italian professional music with the band I Cavalieri (The Knights), which included Giampiero Reverberi and Enzo Jannacci amongst others. During this period he used the pseudonym Gigi Mai. In 1961 Tenco released his first single under his real name, entitled ''Quando'' ("When").
He started university studying
electronic engineering
Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...
, trying to comply with the wish of his mother and brother. He twice failed the Analytic and Projective Geometry exam (a course he took with professor
Eugenio Giuseppe Togliatti
Eugenio Giuseppe Togliatti (3 November 1890 – 5 October 1977) was an Italian mathematician, the brother of politician Palmiro Togliatti. He was a researcher at the ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische ...
, the elder brother of the leader of the communist party
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Michele Nicola Togliatti (; 26 March 1893 – 21 August 1964) was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death. He was nicknamed ("The Best") by his supporters. In 1930 he became a citizen of ...
). Later he was enrolled in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
, where he only gave two exams.
Tenco was interested in cinema and videomaking. In 1962 he began a short-lived cinematic experience, with
Luciano Salce
Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, tv host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Ven ...
's movie ''
La Cuccagna
''La cuccagna'', internationally released as ''A Girl... and a Million'', is a 1962 Italian drama film directed by Luciano Salce.
In 2008 it was restored and shown as part of the retrospective "Questi fantasmi: Cinema italiano ritrovato" at the 6 ...
''. He also collaborated on the soundtrack of the film, and introduced his friend
Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pr ...
(unknown at the time) through the song ''La ballata dell'eroe'' (''Ballad for a hero''). Director
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
considered Tenco for the role of Bube in his film ''
La ragazza di Bube
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'', based on Carlo Cassola's novel. He ultimately chose
George Chakiris
George Chakiris (born September 16, 1932) is an American actor. He is best known for his appearance in the 1961 film version of '' West Side Story'' as Bernardo Nunez, the leader of the Sharks gang, for which he won both the Academy Award for Be ...
, the ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'' star, instead. During this period Tenco formed a strong friendship with the Genoese
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...
poet Riccardo Mannerini. In 1963, however, his friendship with Gino Paoli broke up, due to a troubled relationship with the actress
Stefania Sandrelli
Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in '' Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love i ...
.
Tenco's first LP, ''Ballate e Canzoni'', was released in 1962. One of the songs, "''Cara Maestra''" ("Dear Teacher"), was censored by the then-thriving Italian media censorship. The censors struck again in the following year, against his songs "''Io sì''" ("I Would"), considered too sexually explicit, and "''Una brava ragazza''" ("A Good Girl"), where Tenco express his admiration for a '60s "bad girl". In September 1964, he released "'' Ho capito che ti amo''", a song written by him with musical arrangement by
Ezio Leoni
Ezio Leoni (17 July 1927, in Milan – 22 February 2015, in Capriate) was one of the pioneering forces behind the Italian music scene of the "anni d'oro" (golden years) of Italy's " musica leggera" (popular music). A composer, arranger, orchestr ...
. It was released on the Italian record label Jolly as Side A of a 45 rpm, side B being "''Io lo so già''". In
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, "''Ho capito che ti amo''" was the soundtrack of the popular soap opera '' El amor tiene cara de mujer''.
In 1966, enduring a period of compulsory military service, he released "''Un giorno dopo l'altro''" (''One Day after Another'') for
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
. The military service did not stop him from traveling to Argentina together with Gianfranco Reverberi to meet the fans of ''El amor tiene cara de mujer''. How he managed to arrive in Argentina while his passport was still in possession of the Italian Army is unknown. Moreover, under the military service one was not allowed to leave Italy and the punishment was detention, which he did not experience according to his service record book.
In
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
during the same year, he met and befriended the Italian-French singer
Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
Sanremo
Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...
. It was rumoured that he participated against his will. He performed the song "Ciao amore, ciao" ("Bye, Bye my Love") with
Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
. The video of the performance is lost; however, the audio track, recorded from radio, survives.
In the early morning hours of 27 January 1967, Tenco was found dead in his room at the Hotel Savoy by his singing partner Dalida. Tenco died from a single gunshot wound to the head. His death was ultimately ruled a suicide.
Tenco was apparently upset after learning that his song had been eliminated from the final competition. His suicide note read: "I cared for the Italian public and I dedicated in vain five years of my life to them. I'm doing this not because I'm tired of life (I'm not) but as a gesture of dissent against the public who chose Io tu e le rose for the final night and against the commission that selected La rivoluzione. I hope this will clear somebody's head."
Tenco was buried in Ricaldone. In 1974, the Tenco Award was instituted, and has been held every year since in Sanremo. Many of the most renowned Italian singer-songwriters from the 1970s explicitly declared the influence of Tenco on their work. Francesco De Gregori's album '' Bufalo Bill'' of 1976 contained a song, "''Festival''", about Tenco's suicide; it points out the hypocrisy with which the music establishment tried to minimize the dramatic event, to let the show go on.
The inquiry
In 2004, on TV program '' Domenica in'', the detective who followed the inquiry, commissario Arrigo Molinari, when asked by host
Paolo Bonolis
Paolo Bonolis (; born 14 June 1961) is an Italian television host. He made his debut in 1981 on ''Tre, due, uno, contatto...'', a program for children that aired on Italian national broadcaster Rai.
Biography
In 1982, he moved to Italia 1 where ...
, stated that he was sure that Tenco did not commit suicide and he defined his death: "''a collective murder''". He also justified his own faults concerning the Tenco inquiry by declaring that he had been prevented from investigating properly. Shortly after the quoted interview, Molinari died, killed by a thief.
In 2005, the French television channel TV5 carried a full-length dramatisation of the love affair of Tenco and Dalida. Tenco was played by Alessandro Gassman, while Dalida was played by
Sabrina Ferilli
Sabrina Ferilli (born 28 June 1964) is an Italian theater and film actress. Listed among the best Italian actress, she has won five Nastro d'Argento (including a special award in 2016 for civil engagement for her performance in '' Me, Myself an ...
. Notwithstanding the account of Tenco and Dalida's love story on which the dramatisation is based, at the beginning of the '90s Tenco's older brother Valentino met a woman, Valeria, who had in her possession several letters written by Tenco himself that would testify their love relationship started in 1964 and lasted until his death. In one of these letters, Tenco writes that his relationship with Dalida was nothing but a clumsy attempt to forget Valeria, who, months before, had left him. He describes Dalida as a woman: "spoiled, neurotic, ignorant, who rejects the idea of being defeated in her profession as in private life". Valentino Tenco identified those letters as written by his brother.
The Italian judicial system later began re-examining Luigi Tenco's suicide. It was pointed out that the bullet hole was on the left temple, while the singer was right-handed. It had also been revealed that no
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
had been done on the singer's corpse, no paraffine test, and no calligraphic analysis on the
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...
with which he explained his final gesture.
On 15 February 2006, Italian police exhumed Tenco's body for further investigation.Tenco: confermata l'ipotesi del suicidio " 16 February 2006. Retrieved on 1 March 2009. '' Il Corriere della Sera'' (Google's automate translation The next day, results from the new
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
and
ballistics
Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing a ...
analysis were reported. According to Italian experts, what had been thought to be the entry hole on the left temple was actually the exit site. The bullet
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tr ...
was said to be compatible with suicide.
Nevertheless, criminologists Pasquale Ragone and Nicola Guarneri, in their book ''Le ombre del silenzio'' (''The shadows of silence'', 2013) pointed out several incongruences between the shell casing of the bullet found in Tenco's room and the bullet Tenco's Walther PPK gun would eject. Professor of ballistic forensics Martino Farneti proved that they did not match. There was no proof nor official statement declaring that Tenco's Walther PPK was actually present in his room the night he died (the police registers show that the gun was actually found in his car), so Guarneri and Ragone think that Tenco might have been killed. The actual weapon might have been a
Beretta 70
The Beretta 70 is a magazine-fed, single-action semi-automatic pistol series designed and produced by Beretta of Italy, which replaced the earlier 7.65mm Beretta M1935 pistol. Some pistols in this series were also marketed as the Falcon, New Pu ...
, as it is possible to put a silencer on this type of gun (similar to a Walther PPK). In fact, the night Tenco died (allegedly in his hotel room), no one heard the sound of the gunshot, not even singer
Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards.
Dalla was the composer of " Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enrico Caruso, and ...
, whose room was next to Tenco's, nor did journalist Sandro Ciotti, whose room was in front of Tenco's.
Music producer and friend Paolo Dossena stated that he drove Tenco's car from Rome (where the songwriter lived) to Sanremo and on the way, passing through a roadblock on the Aurelia, he discovered that Tenco had his Walther PPK in the dashboard of his car. He later confronted the songwriter who confessed that he took a gun because someone in the past few weeks had tried to drop him down a steep road near
Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita Ligure ( lij, Santa Margaita) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used fo ...
while he was driving.
The first witnesses who entered the room did not even see the suicide note. It was journalist
Piero Vivarelli
Piero Vivarelli (26 February 1927 – 7 September 2010) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and lyricist.
Vivarelli was born in Siena. After his father's death in 1942 at the hands of Yugoslav Partisans, Vivarelli joined the Republ ...
who delivered the note to the police after having spent a few minutes in Dalida's room. Guarneri and Ragone assume that the alleged suicide note might in fact have been the last page of a document written by Tenco for a different aim.
French journalist and novelist Philippe Brunel wrote a fiction book, ''La nuit de San Remo'', in which he dramatises the arduous search for truth about Tenco's death.
Tributes
Shortly after Tenco's death, his friend and songwriter Fabrizio De André wrote for him the song ''Preghiera in gennaio'' (A prayer in January), where he describes a benevolent God welcoming those who committed suicide into Heaven, in spite of the moral condemnation of the bigots.
In 1999, the play ''Solitudini – Luigi Tenco e
Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
'', written and directed by Maurizio Valtieri, was performed in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
*1967: ''Ti ricorderai di me...''
*1967: ''Se stasera sono qui''
*1969: ''Pensaci un po
Singles
*1959: "Mai"/"Giurami tu"
*1959: "Mi chiedi solo amore"/"Senza parole"
*1959: "Amore"/"Non so ancora" (as Gigi Mai)
*1959: "Vorrei sapere perché"/"Ieri" (as Gigi Mai)
*1960: "Tell Me That You Love Me"/"Love Is Here to Stay" (as Gordon Cliff)
*1960: "Quando"/"Sempre la stessa storia" (as Dick Ventuno)
*1961: "Il mio regno"/"I miei giorni perduti"
*1961: "Quando"/"Triste sera"
*1961: "Una vita inutile"/"Ti ricorderai"
*1961: "Ti ricorderai"/"Quando"
*1961: "Ti ricorderai"/"Se qualcuno ti dirà"
*1961: "Quando"/"Se qualcuno ti dirà"/"Ti ricorderai"/"I miei giorni perduti"
*1961: "Senza parole"/"In qualche parte del mondo"
*1962: "Come le altre"/"La mia geisha"
*1962: "In qualche parte del mondo"
*1962: "Quello che conta"/"Tra tanta gente"/"La ballata dell'eroe"
*1962: "Angela"/"Mi sono innamorato di te"
*1962: "Quando"/"Il mio regno"
*1963: "Io sì"/"Una brava ragazza"
*1964: "Ragazzo mio"/"No, non è vero"
*1964: " Ho capito che ti amo"/"Io lo so già"
*1965: "Tu non hai capito niente"/"Non sono io"
*1966: "Se sapessi come fai"/"Un giorno dopo l'altro"
*1966: "Lontano lontano"/"Ognuno è libero"
*1967: "Ciao amore, ciao"/"E se ci diranno"
*1967: "Quando"/"Mi sono innamorato di te"
*1967: "Ti ricorderai"/"Angela"
*1967: "Guarda se io"/"Vedrai vedrai"
*1967: "Io vorrei essere là"/"Io sono uno"
*1967: "Se stasera sono qui"/"Cara maestra"
*1968: "Pensaci un po'"/"Il tempo dei limoni"
*1970: "Vedrai vedrai"/"Ah... l'amore l'amore"
*1984: "Serenella"
See also
*
Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
*
Christian de la Mazière Christian de la Mazière (22 August 1922 in Tunis – 15 February 2006) was a journalist and member of the Charlemagne Division of the Waffen-SS. He is known for discussing his role in the documentary ''The Sorrow and the Pity'' and also wrote a ...