Cantautori, The Italian Tradition
Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).
Even if the first internationally renowned cantautore was Domenico Modugno with his song "Volare" in 1958, currently the two most famous cantautori in Italy are Fabrizio De André and Francesco Guccini. Their songs are still popular today. In his works he often told stories of marginalized and rebellious people. In Italy they are considered as poets because of the quality of their lyrics.
Among the other best known are Paolo Conte, Gino Paoli, Roberto Vecchioni, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, Claudio Lolli, Franco Battiato, Rino Gaetano, Ivan Graziani and Ivano Fossati.
Of the younger generation of artists, Samuele Bersani, Jovanotti, Carmen Consoli, Daniele Silvestri, Cristina Donà, Max Gazzè, Luciano Ligabue, Vinicio Capossela, and Zucchero have often been tagged as modern cantautori.
The Neapolitan cantautore Pino Daniele has often fused genres as diverse as R&B, pop, jazz, rock, fusion, blues and tarantella to produce a sound uniquely his own, with lyrics variously in Italian, Neapolitan, or English. Similarly Paolo Conte was often tagged as a cantautore, but was more into the jazz tradition.
In the 1980s Vasco Rossi was renowned for his "rock" music mixed with Italian melodies. He was nicknamed the "only Italian rockstar" (l'unica rockstar italiana).
The word has been borrowed into other languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan cantautor, French chantauteur, Maltese kantawtur, Romanian cantautor, and Slovenian kantavtor.
Read more about this topic: Singer-songwriter
Famous quotes containing the words italian and/or tradition:
“Until recently the word fascist was considered shameful. Fortunately, that period has passed. In fact, there is now a reassessment of how much grandpa Benito did for Italy.”
—Alessandra Mussolini, Italian actor, politician, and medical student. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 19 (February 17, 1992)
“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes—our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking around.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)