Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; born 7 July 1943) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his worldwide hit song, "

L'Italiano "L'Italiano" (; Italian for "The Italian") is an Italian pop song by Toto Cutugno released in 1983. It was his biggest international hit and is his best-known composition. The song was forgotten during the 1990s and was re-discovered when Toto Cut ...

", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the

Eurovision Song Contest 1990 The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was the 35th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, following the country's victory at the with the song " Rock Me" by Riva. It was the only time Yugoslavia ...

held in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, SFR Yugoslavia with the song " Insieme: 1992", for which he wrote both lyrics and music.

Biography

Toto Cutugno was born in Fosdinovo,

Lunigiana The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...

, (

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

), to a Sicilian father from

Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (; Sicilian: ''Baccialona Pizzaottu'') is a town and '' comune'' of about 50,000 inhabitants in the north coast of Sicily, Italy, from Messina towards Palermo. It belongs to the Metropolitan City of Messina. Hi ...

and a homemaker mother. Shortly after his birth the family moved to La Spezia (

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

). He began his musical career as a drummer, and later formed an

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the early 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, p ...

band together with Lino Losito and Mario Limongelli called Albatros. He also started a career as songwriter, contributing some of French-American singer

Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; 5 November 1938 – 20 August 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter and actor. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin. Early life Dassin was born in New York City to American film director Jules Dassin (19 ...

most well-known songs such as '' L'été indien'', '' Et si tu n'existais pas'' and ''Le Jardin du Luxembourg'' (written with Vito Pallavicini). He also co-wrote

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 ...

's '' Monday Tuesday... Laissez moi danser'' ("Voglio l'anima"), which enjoyed Platinum record status shortly after its release. In 1976, Albatros participated for the first time in the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

finishing in third place with the song ''Volo 504''. Following another chart success with the song ''Santamaria De Portugal'' Albatros effectively dibanded, and Cutugno concentrated on his solo career. In 1980 Cutugno returned to the Sanremo Music Festival and won with the song ''Solo noi''. However, Cutugno's affiliation with the festival is mostly remembered for ''L'italiano'' ("The Italian"), a song he presented in 1983. Originally intended for Adriano Celentano, who declined to sing it, ''L'italiano''s recapitulation of some of Italy's most popular social traits, made the song very popular with Italian expats. Although the song finished only fifth in Sanremo, it went on to become Cutugno's biggest international hit. Cutugno would finish second in six more editions of Sanremo festival: in 1984 with the song ''Serenata'' ("Serenade"); in 1987 with ''Figli'' ("Sons" or "Children"); in 1988 with ''Emozioni'' ("Emotions"); in 1989 with the song ''Le mamme'' ("Mothers"); in 1990 with the song ''Gli amori'' ("Loves", but entitled "Good Love Gone Bad" in

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

's version); and in 2005 with Annalisa Minetti with the song ''Come noi nessuno al mondo'' ("No One Else in the World Like Us"). Toto Cutugno participated to the festival a total of 13 times. In 1990 Cutugno won the Eurovision Song Contest in

with his own composition, " Insieme: 1992" ("Together: 1992"), a ballad which celebrated European political integration and the establishment of the European Union. Along with

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona. From the ages of 9 to 13, she studied and ...

, Italy's second Eurovision winner, he presented the 1991 contest, which was staged in Rome as a result of his victory. Aged 46 years, 302 days, Cutugno became the oldest winner of the contest to date, surpassing the record set by André Claveau in 1958. Cutugno's record stood until 2000. He was also the last winner for Italy until

Måneskin Måneskin are an Italian rock band formed in Rome in 2016. The band are composed of vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. Performing in the streets in their early days, they rose ...

in 2021. In March 2019 a group of politicians from the

Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

tried to stop Cutugno from performing in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, demanding through an open letter to the head of the country's security services, Vasyl Hrytsak, to ban the singer from entering Ukrainian territory, labelling him as "a Russian war supporter in Ukraine". Two days before, fellow singer Al Bano was black listed on the Ukrainian website " Myrotvorets". Despite the controversy, the concert was eventually held in Kyiv on 23 March.

Personal life

Cutugno is married to Carla Cutugno.

Discography

* ''Come ieri, come oggi, come sempre'' (1978) * ''Voglio l'anima'' (1979) * ''Innamorata, innamorato, innamorati'' (1980) * ''La mia musica'' (1982) * ''L'italiano'' (1983) * ''Per amore o per gioco'' (1985) * ''Azzura malinconia'' (1986) * ''Mediterraneo'' (1987) * ''Toto Cutugno'' (1990) * Insieme: 1992 (1990) * ''Non è facile essere uomini'' (1992) * ''Voglio andare a vivere in campagna'' (1995) * ''Canzoni nascoste'' (1997) * ''Il treno va'' (2002) * ''Cantando'' (2004) * ''Come noi nessuno al mondo'' (2005) * ''Un falco chiuso in gabbia'' (2008) * ''I Miei Sanremo'' (2010) * ''Ritratto: 50 anni di musica'' (2015)

With Albatros

* ''Albatros'' (1976)

References

External links