Sergio Endrigo

Sergio Endrigo is one of the greatest Italian singer-songwriters. Intense and profound, suspended between light and shadow, he strung together numerous hits in Italian music, securing a place in the pantheon of Italian song despite a reserved approach and little inclination for showbiz. Also notable were his artistic collaborations, with writers and poets such as Gianni Rodari, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Giuseppe Ungaretti, and with musicians such as Toquinho, Roberto Carlos, Vinícius de Moraes and Luis Bacalov.

Sergio Endrigo was born on June 15, 1933 in Pola, son of Claudia and Romeo, a sculptor and painter. Raised in Istria, after World War II he was forced to leave his hometown, and together with his mother moved to Brindisi as a refugee (his father, meanwhile, had died when Sergio was just six years old). Having moved to Venice, he enrolled in secondary school but soon dropped out to work, so as to help his mother financially: employed, among other things, as a lift-boy at the Hotel Excelsior, as well as a handyman at the Venice Film Festival, he meanwhile devoted himself to studying guitar, and managed to land work as a double bassist and singer in various orchestras, including that of Ruggero Oppi.

He later joined Riccardo Rauchi's band, and shortly after had the chance to meet Riccardo Del Turco; in 1959 came his recording debut, with a 45 rpm extended play featuring "Ghiaccio bollente" and "Non occupatemi il telefono". That same year Sergio Endrigo took part, again with Rauchi's group, in the first "Burlamacco d'oro", where he performed the song written by Enrico Polito and Franco Migliacci "Notte, lunga notte", later also recorded by Domenico Modugno. Winning the event in a tie with Arturo Testa, he recorded a record with Edizioni Musicali Ariston but under the stage name Notarnicola: the record included "Nuvola per due" and "Arrivederci", tracks set to music by Umberto Bindi.

In 1960 Endrigo took part in an audition with Giampiero Boneschi and passed it: he thus had the opportunity to sign a contract with Dischi Ricordi. Meanwhile, he devoted himself to writing some songs, including "Bolle di sapone" and "La brava gente". In 1961 he took part in the Festival di Diano Marina with the song written by Gino Paoli "Gli innamorati sono sempre soli", while the following year he left Ricordi to join Rca, following Nanni Ricordi: it was during this period that he released the immortal "Io che amo solo te", as well as his first solo LP, titled "Sergio Endrigo", which included, among other songs, "Aria di neve", "I tuoi vent'anni" and "Il soldato di Napoleone" (the latter with lyrics by Pier Paolo Pasolini).

His name, in a history of Italian song, thus belongs alongside Gino Paoli, Umberto Bindi, Fabrizio De André, Luigi Tenco, Bruno Lauzi, Enzo Jannacci and Giorgio Gaber: songwriters and singers who brought a gust of renewal to the stagnant Italian music scene, still lagging behind on rhymes of "cuore-amore" (heart-love). It was within this circle of singer-songwriters that Sergio Endrigo would make a name for himself through his fresh poetic vein, delicate and a touch melancholy.

Having married Lula (Maria Giulia Bartolocci), he became the brother-in-law of Riccardo Del Turco (who married Donella, Lula's sister), and in 1963 released the LP "Endrigo", which contained "La guerra" and "La rosa bianca". In 1965 he became a father and appeared in the films "008 Operazione Ritmo" and "Questi pazzi pazzi italiani"; in the meantime he left Rca and signed a contract with Fonit Cetra.

After composing "Te lo leggo negli occhi", destined to become one of his most celebrated songs, the artist from Pola released on 45 rpm "Mani bucate" and "Teresa", a song that was censored by Rai because its lyrics referred to a girl who was not a virgin.

In 1966 he took to the stage of the Teatro Ariston for the first time at the Sanremo Music Festival, where he competed with "Adesso sì", and recorded his third LP, again titled "Endrigo", which included "La ballata dell'ex". The following year he returned to Sanremo paired with Memo Remigi with "Dove credi di andare"; in 1968 he appeared at the Ligurian event for the third consecutive time, but this time he won thanks to "Canzone per te", performed with Roberto Carlos.

After taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Marianne", in 1969 he returned to Sanremo with another poignant ballad, "Lontano dagli occhi", sung together with the British singer Mary Hopkin, which came second; in 1970, instead, he was paired with Iva Zanicchi, presenting "L'arca di Noè" (this time the song placed third).

The following year came his sixth consecutive appearance, but the pairing with the New Trolls for the song "Una storia" did not achieve great success.

His popularity with the general public, after the glory days of 1968-71, was renewed with children's songs such as "Ci vuole un fiore", written in collaboration with Gianni Rodari. Meanwhile in 1970 he took part in a memorable concept album, produced by his friend Sergio Bardotti, titled "La vita, amico, è l'arte dell'incontro". A record that brought together, around the figure of the great Brazilian poet and composer Vinicius de Moraes, the greatest Italian poet of the 20th century, Giuseppe Ungaretti, who translated and read some splendid poems by Vinicius, and indeed Endrigo, who performed some of Vinicius's songs, all accompanied by the wonderful guitar of the Brazilian Toquinho. The album arose precisely from the meeting and friendship of this close-knit group of friends with Vinicius de Moraes, then in exile in Rome to escape the dictatorship in power in Brazil at the time. Among the tracks was also another famous children's song, "La casa", a nursery rhyme included in a collection of poems that Vinícius de Moraes had written for his grandchildren, which had later been published in 1970 under the title "A arca" ("L'arca").

In the following years Endrigo returned to the stage of the Ariston on three occasions: with "Elisa Elisa" in 1973, with "Quando c'era il mare" in 1976, and with "Canzone italiana" in 1986.

In 1995, he wrote a novel titled "Quanto mi dai se mi sparo?", published by Stampa Alternativa. He later disputed with Luis Bacalov, composer of the musical theme for the film "Il postino", released in 1994, the authorship of the melody, which turned out to be very similar to "Nelle mie notti", a song written by Sergio Endrigo twenty years earlier together with Riccardo Del Turco: a matter of no small significance, considering that Bacalov also won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for that work.

In 2000 he set off on a series of concerts in Brazil: it would remain his last tour.

Sergio Endrigo died on September 7, 2005 in Rome from lung cancer, diagnosed just a few months earlier: he was buried in the family tomb in Terni.

(Main source: Biografieonline)