Rino Gaetano
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Salvatore Antonio "Rino" Gaetano (29 October 1950 – 2 June 1981) was an Italian musician and singer-songwriter. He is famous for his
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
songs and oblique yet incisive
political commentary Political criticism, also referred to as political commentary or political discussion, is a type of criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also *Cr ...
. He is remembered for his raspy voice, for the heavily
ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
lyrics of his songs and his social
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
s. He died in a car accident at age 30. He was a popular and influential figure, widely re-evaluated by the following teen generations.


Biography

Salvatore Antonio Gaetano was born in
Crotone Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...
, Calabria. In March 1960, at the age of ten, his family moved to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1961, he was sent to study at the seminary ''Piccola Opera del Sacro Cuore'' of
Narni Narni () is an ancient hilltown and (municipality) of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of , it overhangs a narrow gorge of the River Nera in the province of Terni. It is very close to the geograp ...
, in the
province of Terni The province of Terni () is the smaller of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising one-third of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Terni. The province came into being in 1927, when it was ca ...
, where, under the guidance of his teacher Renato Simeoni, he began to show his flair for writing poetry. By 1967, he had finished school and, after returning to Rome, he created a quartet with a group of friends called Krounks. The group mainly played cover songs and were inspired by Italian artists such as
Enzo Jannacci Vincenzo "Enzo" Jannacci (; 3 June 1935 – 29 March 2013) was an Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, actor and comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene. Jannacci is widely considered as ...
,
Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter and the most-prominent '' cantautore'' of his time. He is also known as Faber, a nickname given by the friend Paolo Villaggio, as a referen ...
,
Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed ''Il Molleggiato'' ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both com ...
, I Gufi, Gian Pieretti and Ricky Gianco as well as international musicians such as
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. In 1969, Gaetano approached
Folkstudio Folkstudio was a musical club and a record label located in Rome, Italy. The club was founded in by the American painter, musician and actor Harold Bradley Jr., and was located in Via Garibaldi, in Trastevere.Ernesto Bassignano; Lalla Cantore. "F ...
, a well-known club in Rome for promoting young artists. As he recounted, His style proved very different from that of the other musicians, and his strong use of irony caused concerns for the club managers: "When I sang at Folkstudio, I was already the center of discussion... in fact they did not want me to do many of my pieces because, as they said, it seemed like I just wanted to make fun of everyone." Gaetano was a multi-talented performer and, during the early 1970s, he performed in cabarets and took part in several plays in addition to gigging. He played the role of Estragon in
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
's ''
Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...
'', the Fox in a production of ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'' by Italian director
Carmelo Bene Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002) was an Italian actor, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre and cinema. In 1968, his movie Our Lady ...
, and recited poetry by Majakovsky. Gaetano was an accomplished actor, developing much of his subsequent stage style and writing technique through his theatre experience. He was inspired by German
kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...
, a form of theatre excelling in political satire. Wikipedia describes this as "unlike comedians who make fun of all kind of things,
Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...
artists (German: Kabarettisten) pride themselves as dedicated almost completely to political and social topics of more serious nature which they criticize using techniques like cynicism,
sarcasm Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflectio ...
and
irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
." They were able to deal with social themes and political developments through their acts, something that inspired Gaetano and can be seen in many of his concepts and staging, for example, in his song ' regarding the oil crisis of the 1970s. It enabled him to make political observations while avoiding censorship. Gaetano cited Ionesco as his favourite playwright, one of the foremost writers of Theatre of the Absurd, saying that he explored the usual problem of the inability to truly communicate, isolation and exclusion. He developed a comedy act with his friend Bruno Francelleschi, 'Ad esempio a me piace...' (For example, I like...), as a mixture of theatre and music. In addition to his performing, Gaetano studied accountancy, encouraged by his father to pursue a secure career in banking. Gaetano asked for one more year to break into music and in 1972, he recorded his first 45 rpm record with the Milan-based Produttori Associati containing the songs "Jacqueline" and "La ballata di Renzo", a song which features lyrics that echo details of his own death. The disc was not printed and Gaetano signed with Vincenzo Micocci, releasing his first single in 1973, ' (with "Jaqueline" on the B-side) produced by RosVeMon, the surnames of Aurelio Rossitto,
Antonello Venditti Antonio "Antonello" Venditti (born 8 March 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist who became popular in the 1970s for the social themes addressed in his songs. Biography Antonello Venditti was born in Rome, the son of Vincenzino Ita ...
and Piero Montanari. In this song, Gaetano exhibits his multicultural education, singing in four languages – English, Italian, German and French. Rino decided to release the single under the pseudonym of Kammamuri's as tribute to a character in '' Pirates of Malaysia'' by
Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante ...
. According to Micocci the choice of using a pseudonym was a sign of shyness and insecurity of Gaetano: "He considered himself a writer, not a singer. He believed he didn't have a good voice, so that after the release of ''I Love You Marianna'', when the time came to record his first album, he came and told me that it would be better to get someone else to sing the songs. I, of course, I laughed and sent him in the studio." In 1974, he published his first album, '. The LP featured many of the themes that would characterise his work, such as issues of isolation, marginalisation and exclusion, as well as his lively style and intelligent, witty lyrics. His songs began to be played on radio stations and in the same year, through record company
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
, Gaetano wrote three songs for Nicola Di Bari "Prova a chiamarmi amore", "Questo amore così grande" and "Ad esempio a me piace... il Sud", included in the album ''Ti fa bella l'amore''. The Spanish version of "Ad esempio a me piace... il Sud", "Por ejemplo", achieved success in Latin America. Success for Gaetano came the following year with the 45 rpm hit record " Ma il cielo è sempre più blu" ("But the sky is always bluer"), perhaps now the most famous and instantly recognisable of his songs. Unusually, the 45 contained only one song, but it was split into two. In this song Gaetano offers several pictures of everyday life, with irony, clichés and contradictions. In September 1975, the singer explained some of this thinking in an article in the weekly Italian music magazine, '' Ciao 2001'': "These pictures are sad, never happy, because I wanted to emphasise that nowadays there are few cheerful things and it is for this reason that I take into account those who die at work. Even the verse "who plays Sanremo" is sad and negative, because anyone who plays Sanremo, doesn't think of those who "live in barracks".


''Mio fratello è figlio unico'' and ''Aida''

In 1976 Gaetano recorded his second album, '' Mio fratello è figlio unico'' (My Brother is an Only Child). With this album, he tries to capture the listener's attention with dramatic narratives, especially loneliness and alienation, the main themes of the album. On the album, Gaetano began to explore new sounds and instruments including the
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...
, 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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
and the
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, enabling him to obtain a more complex and mature album. In a review published by Ciao 2001 shortly after the album's release, it states that: "His second album, ''Mio fratello è figlio unico'', already widely programmed by radio stations, is much more mature and personal than his previous album. Gaetano is an atypical figure: there is the difficulty of finding genres to fit him into, trends in which to place him, which is the best compliment that you can give. The music, made a few chords, is built intelligently and pleasantly. The voice is aggressive, deliberately crude words are fun, the lyrics have allegories, the visual images are faster, like photography." (Enzo Caffarelli) The following year Gaetano recorded his third album, '. The choice of the name refers to the work of the great Italian opera composer
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
, but for Gaetano, Aida is the embodiment of all women and of Italy itself. Through the figure of Aida, Rino researches and recounts moments in Italian history with a completely original, almost photographic, observation. While on tour, Gaetano was joined by the emerging band, Crash, and he produced their album Exstasis and wrote their song "Marziani noi" (Us Martians). With his increasing rise in popularity, he made his first major television appearance on the entertainment programme, Domenica in (Sunday), presented by the legendary Italian TV presenter Corrado Mantoni, singing "" and on 19 August, he was invited to appear on a programme with
Gino Paoli Gino Paoli (; born 23 September 1934) 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 (song), Il cielo in una st ...
where he famously appeared bearing a petrol pump and wearing a striped T-shirt and a colonial style safari hat.


Sanremo Music Festival

Although not generally recognised outside of Italy, the
Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...
is a popular annual song contest. Due to its pop music roots and pop culture positioning, it was not felt to be a route for a serious musician. However, pressure from RCA encouraged Gaetano to take part. He chose his new song '. It was a highly innovative half-sung/ half-spoken proto-rap against several Italian sportsmen, politicians and other high-profile figures. However, the producers of the show forced him to drop the song, due to its now famous list of prominent Italians which it criticised, and swap the song with '' Gianna'' On 26 January 1978, Gaetano appeared on stage at Sanremo wearing a top hat, evening dress featuring medals, red and white sneakers and bearing a
ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
. The performance of ''Gianna'', also included the first time the word 'sex' was used onstage at Sanremo. Towards the end of the song, the band appeared unexpectedly onstage to sing the chorus. Later discussing his performance at Sanremo, Gaetano remarked: "The festival is a walkway and like all walkways, it gives you three minutes to make a speech that you would normally do in a two hour show. So you have to find a way. For my part, I have chosen the way of paradox, a bit like Carmelo Bene." (Rino vive – Ma il cielo è sempre più blu, RAI 2, 2007) Bruno Franceschelli recalls the event: "The performance in Sanremo, from my point of view, was a demonstration of his talent as an artist. He brought a new air, funny and irreverent, and once again demonstrated his free spirit, free to laugh and joke on the 'sacred soil' of Sanremo." The song went on to dominate the charts for several weeks. It remained in the Top Ten for 14 weeks and sold over 600,000 copies. A version of the song in German was released by Wolfgang Petry.


''Nuntereggae più'' and controversy

In the same year Gaetano appeared on Rai Radio 1 radio programme ''Canzone d'Autore'' (Songwriters). During the programme, emerging musicians are invited to comment on their own songs. The programme was called "E cantava le canzoni", a title taken from the fourth album of the singer. On the same album is the now notorious "Nuntereggae più", and Gaetano was asked to discuss it because of the numerous political references and the long list of names in the lyrics. He replied, "The songs are not political texts and I do not make speeches. This is just teasing. So, for me, "Nuntereggae più" is the lightest song I've ever done ". Some verses of the song contain lists of names of people who at that time were prominent on the radio, television and newspapers. Some of the names included in the first version were deleted or replaced. For example, in the original version, written before his kidnapping, appeared the name of
Aldo Moro Aldo Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...
. As a result of subsequent events, the name was later deleted from the text of the song, so as to avoid creating controversy. But other names were also deleted including the journalist Indro Montanelli, the actor
Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films. Biography Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di P ...
, Sinatra, Michele Sindona (Italian banker and convicted criminal) and the president of the Italian defence company
Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...
Camillo Crociani who was involved in the Lockheed scandal and the illegal
Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...
(P2) lodge. 1Vincenzo Mollica recalls: "'Nuntereggae' is a song of great fun, but aetanohad the courage of his actions, he never drew back." In that year Gaetano participated in a tour and some evening events, the most famous of these is definitely Discomare '78 and specifically the final night held in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento on 23 August 1978. The singer was supposed to sing Nuntereggae more, but Rai tries to stop him and Rino in protest leaves the event. In October Rino goes to Madrid to record the Spanish version of the 45 Nuntereggae more. The title chosen is "Corta el rollo ya" (cut it out) and the singer adapts the text by inserting characters of Spanish politics and entertainment as Carrillo, Pirri and Susan Estrada. The album will be released in the spring and get some success.


Final albums

1979 sees the release of Gaetano's fifth studio album, ' and his first with RCA. Rino took part in his first
Festivalbar The Festivalbar () was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by ...
and then, in October, he attended the Discoestate in
Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...
. On this occasion, in protest at having to sing along to playback, when the music starts, instead of pretending to sing, he decides to act indifferent and smokes a cigarette. Also in 1979, during a concert on the beach in Capocotta (in fact also mentioned in the lyrics), before singing ''Nuntereggae più'', Gaetano is said: "There's someone who wants to put a gag on me! I do not fear them! They will not succeed! I feel that, in the future, my songs will be sung by future generations, that, thanks to mass communication, they will understand what I mean tonight! They will understand and open their eyes, rather than having them full of salt! And you wonder what happened on the beach Capocotta." Gaetano was referring to the murder of
Wilma Montesi Wilma Montesi (3 February 1932 – 9 April 1953) was an Italian woman whose body was discovered near Rome. The finding of her lifeless body on a public beach near Torvajanica, on Rome's littoral, led to prolonged investigations involving se ...
. In 1980, he recorded his final album ' noted for its serious tone and rock sound. In 1981, RCA organised a tour, from which the live ' album was created. In 1981, he also played the role of the Fox from ''
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'' in a movie directed by
Carmelo Bene Carmelo Pompilio Realino Antonio Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002) was an Italian actor, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was an important exponent of the Italian avant-garde theatre and cinema. In 1968, his movie Our Lady ...
and filmed in Rome.


Death

On 8 January 1981 Gaetano was involved in a
head-on collision A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision. Rail trans ...
when an off-road vehicle drove the wrong way along the road and pinned Gaetano's Volvo 343 against the guardrail; the singer was unharmed while his car was completely destroyed. Gaetano then bought a new Volvo 343, in metallic gray. On 31 May 1981 he made his last appearance on TV singing ''E io ci sto''. On 2 June, at about 3 a.m., Gaetano was returning home alone in his Volvo 343. At 3:55 a.m., while along Rome's
Via Nomentana The Via Nomentana was an ancient Roman road in Italy, leading North-East from Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio ...
, at the intersection of Viale XXI Aprile, he was in a head-on collision with a truck. The front and right side of the Volvo were destroyed. When help arrived, Rino was already in a coma and at the hospital, an x-ray showed a fracture at the base of the skull, various wounds to the forehead, a fractured right molar and a suspected fracture of the sternum. However, the clinic did not have a department for cranial injuries and the doctor on duty, Dr. Novelli, tried in vain to contact another hospital with a cranial trauma department. He contacted by phone St. John, St. Camillus, the CTO of Garbatella, the Policlinico Gemelli and San Filippo Neri, but could not get any assistance. At 6 a.m., Rino Gaetano died. There was a great deal of controversy about this accident, because of the failure of any of the contacted hospitals to help Gaetano and thus, an investigation was launched. On 4 June his funeral was held in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which Gaetano had planned to get married. His funeral was attended by many relatives, friends, members of the music industry, RCA executives and fans. Initially he was buried in the small cemetery of Mentana, but on 17 October his body was transferred to the Verano cemetery, where it remains. In recent years, the lyrics of the unpublished song "La ballata di Renzo" ("The Ballad of Renzo") has drawn a lot of attention – a song written by Rino more than ten years before his death. This song tells the story of a boy named Renzo, who died under similar circumstances. Renzo is hit by a car and dies after being rejected by many hospitals in Rome for lack of space, while his friends are at the bar. The song even references three of the hospitals that refused to treat Gaetano on 2 June 1981 due to lack of beds: General Hospital, San Giovanni and San Camillo. This is a topic of popular discussion. Gaetano's death was discussed on 27 November 2007 in a short radio program broadcast on
Radio DeeJay Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected t ...
by
Carlo Lucarelli Carlo Lucarelli (born 26 October 1960) is an Italian crime-writer, TV presenter, and magazine editor. In 2003, his novel ''Almost Blue'' was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger award given by the Crime Writers' Association. Early life Lucarelli wa ...
, who uses a writer-documentary narrative form to reconstruct unsolved crimes related to the world of music. But the death of Rino Gaetano, too similar, in terms of modality, to the words of his unpublished song, almost seems like a signature left by some powerful secret organization that was ridiculed precisely in the lyrics of all his musical pieces. In one of his books, the criminal lawyer Bruno Mautone hypothesizes that the death of Rino Gaetano was not a random event at all, but that, on the contrary, it was a murder organized by the deviant Italian secret services, probably commissioned by US counterparts, as the songs of the Calabrian singer-songwriter listed names, and facts that should have remained secret. For example, in the song "E Berta filava" ("And Bertha spun") Rino Gaetano spoke about
Lockheed bribery scandals The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused considerable pol ...
two years before its discovery, just as the apparently innocuous text of the song "Gianna" ("Johanna", is the female name of the then president of the Italian republic,
Giovanni Leone Giovanni Leone (; 3 November 1908 – 9 November 2001) was an Italian politician, jurist and university professor who was President of Italy from 1971 to 1978. A founding member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC), Leone br ...
, who resigned only three months after the presentation of the song) would not refer to the representation of the imaginary of the person with his own ideals and illusory ideologies, who, in order not to give up all the comforts that life allows, instead renounces his ideas, to his convictions, but would metaphorically denounce Italian politics made up of compromises, subterfuges, betrayals, lies, theft. But even more explicit are the names contained in the list present in the song "Nuntereggaeppiù", all belonging to the secret Masonic lodge
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...
, implicated in many scandals and unclear events in Italian politics (attempted coups in 1964 "
Piano Solo The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canoni ...
" and 1970 " Golpe Borghese", secret financings from the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
to Italian political parties,
Strategy of tension A strategy of tension () is a political policy where violent struggle is encouraged rather than suppressed. The purpose is to create a general feeling of insecurity in the population and make people seek security in a strong government. The str ...
, killing of inconvenient witnesses such as the bandit Salvatore Giuliano, the investigative journalist
Mauro De Mauro Mauro De Mauro (; 6 September 1921 – disappeared 16 September 1970) was an Italian investigative journalist. Originally a supporter of Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime, De Mauro eventually became a journalist with the left-leaning newspaper ...
, the poet and film director
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...
,
Wilma Montesi Wilma Montesi (3 February 1932 – 9 April 1953) was an Italian woman whose body was discovered near Rome. The finding of her lifeless body on a public beach near Torvajanica, on Rome's littoral, led to prolonged investigations involving se ...
, the singer Luigi Tenco, or the manager
Enrico Mattei Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II, he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by Fascist Italy. Instead, Ma ...
, inconvenient witnesses who will be killed years after the song's publication such as Carmine Pecorelli,
Roberto Calvi Roberto Calvi (13 April 1920 – 17 June 1982) was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" () by the press because of his close business dealings with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed ...
, Michele Sindona, and so on). The title of the song is already a program because it plays on a double meaning of the Italian language. In fact italian verb "reggere" means "to endure", "to stand", and in the first person of the indicative mood and of the present tense sounds similar to the word "
Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
", so the title "Nuntereggaeppiù", a non-existent word in Italian, sounds like a classic exclamation "I can't bear you more". According to the author, the source of Gaetano's revelations would have been a very dear friend of his, Enrico Carnevali, an agent of the Italian secret services belonging to the "Operation Gladio" organization, who died a few months later in a road accident "which occurred at equal to Rino, on the Nomentana". Indeed, in one of his last songs "E io ci sto" ("And I agree"), Rino Gaetano explicitly speaks of the pressure they give him and heralds his own death and future re-evaluation of his songsBruno Mautone: "Rino Gaetano. La tragica scomparsa di un eroe", Grisignano, L'ArgoLibro, 2013, ISBN 978-88-98558-00-1, OCLC 956164649 (In Italian). The first book on his life, also the first official biography, was published in 2001, 20 years after his death. In 2020, the Italian postal service dedicated a stamp to him for the seventieth anniversary of his birth.


Discography


Studio albums

* ' (1974) * ' (1976) * ' (1977) * ' (1978) * ' (1979) * ' (1980)


Live albums

* ' (1981, with
Riccardo Cocciante Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and the United States as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian and French singer and songwriter. Early and personal life Cocciante was born on 20 February 19 ...
and New Perigeo)


Compilations

* ' (1990; includes the previously unreleased "Solo con io" and "Le beatitudini") * (1993) * ' (1996) * ' (1998) * ' (2003, 2005) * ' (2007) * ''The Essential Rino Gaetano (2008)'' * ' (2009, with some unpublished tracks) * ' (2010)


Singles

* ' (1973) * ' (1974) * '' Ma il cielo è sempre più blu'' (1975) * ' (1976) * ' (1976) * ' (1977) * ' (1977) * '' Gianna'' (1978) * ' (1978) * ' (1979) * ' (1980) * ''Solo con io'' (1980) * ''Le beatitudini'' (1981)


In popular culture

* ''Rino Gaetano - Ma il cielo è sempre più blu'' – Raifiction, 2007 * ''My Brother Is an Only Child'' () – Italian film directed by Daniele Luchetti. The title of the film is taken from the famous Gaetano hit song of the same name.


References


Further reading

* ''Rino Gaetano (La Vita, le canzoni, le poesie e l'ironia di un grande artista)'' by Peppe Casa and Dario Marigliano – (first book and first unofficial biography), Roma, 1999. * ''Rino Gaetano live'' (first official book and biography) by Emanuele Di Marco, 2001 * ''Rino Gaetano'' by Yari Selvetella, 2001 * ''Fontana chiara: omaggio a Rino Gaetano'' by Stefano Calò and Massimiliano Gentile, 2002 * ''Se mai qualcuno capirà Rino Gaetano'' by Alfredo Del Curatolo, 2003 * ''Rino Gaetano: ma il cielo è sempre più blu'' (unreleased thoughts, stories and songs) by Massimo Cotto, 2004 * "Rare tracce: ironie e canzoni di Rino Gaetano" by Silvia D'Ortenzi, Roma, Arcana, 2007. * "Sereno su gran parte del paese: una favola per Rino Gaetano" by Andrea Scoppetta, Padova, BeccoGiallo, 2009. * "Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana" by Enrico Deregibus, Firenze, Giunti Editore, 2010.


External links

*
Rino Gaetano
at ondarock.it


Fan Site

Fan Site

"Una casa per Rino" – Crotone Music Festival

"E io ci sto" – Rino Gaetano Day in Rome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaetano, Rino 1950 births 1981 deaths Italian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian singer-songwriters People from Crotone Road incident deaths in Italy 20th-century Italian male singers Burials at Campo Verano