Fabrizio De André -

Fabrizio De André (Feb. 18, 1940 — Jan. 11, 1999) was an Italian singer/songwriter whose best-known songs include “La canzone di Marinella,” “La guerra di Piero,” “Bocca di Rosa,” and the 1970 Italian chart hit “Il pescatore.”

His principal 1968–73 albums include Tutti morimmo a stento, La buona novella, Non al denaro non all’amore né al cielo, and Storia di un impiegato. De André extended the catalogue with Rimini (1978), Crêuza de mä (1984), Le nuvole (1990), and Anime salve (1996), which yielded later staples such as “Volta la carta,” “Don Raffaè,” and “Dolcenera.” He collaborated with Premiata Forneria Marconi on two live albums.

Background

Fabrizio Cristiano De André was born Feb. 18, 1940, in Pegli, Genoa, Italy, to Giuseppe De André and Luigia Amerio. Giuseppe ran a technical institute in Sampierdarena and held municipal office in Genoa. De André began private violin lessons in 1948 and changed to guitar in 1954, when Luigia arranged instruction with Colombian teacher Alexandro Jiraldo. Giuseppe returned from France in the mid-1950s with records by Georges Brassens.

De André began translating songs from the Brassens repertoire and absorbed the French songwriter as an early compositional model. He completed middle school at the institute run by Giuseppe and graduated from Liceo Classico Cristoforo Colombo with the 1959 maturità. De André entered the law faculty at the University of Genoa for the 1959–60 academic session and completed eight examinations through his final enrollment term.

De André performed in a Genoa benefit show in 1955 and soon sang and played six-string banjo with the country group Crazy Cowboys & The Sheriff One. He moved to electric guitar with the Modern Jazz Group led by pianist-saxophonist Mario De Sanctis, alongside bassist Carlo Casabona, drummer Corrado Galletto, and saxophonists Luigi Tenco, Attilio Oliva, and Alberto Cameli. The group played Genoa dates through the closing years of the decade. De André also appeared in programs at La Borsa di Arlecchino, including the late-1960 presentation Dalla parte di lui with Umberto Bindi and Gino Paoli. He developed early songs in this circle, including “Nuvole barocche” and “La ballata del Miché,” the latter co-written with Clelia Petracchi.

Early Singles

Giuseppe De André and industrialist Pino Gualco established Karim in 1961 in part to launch the recording career of Fabrizio De André. Karim issued “Nuvole barocche” (b/w “E fu la notte”) and “La ballata del Miché” (b/w “La ballata dell’eroe”) under the billing Fabrizio. Luigi Tenco sang “La ballata dell’eroe” in the 1962 Luciano Salce film La cuccagna, which gave the De André song a wider outlet. De André married Enrica Rignon in July 1962, and son Cristiano was born in December. He also took an administrative position at the institute run by Giuseppe De André.

De André continued the Karim series in 1963 with “Il fannullone” and “Carlo Martello ritorna dalla battaglia di Poitiers,” both collaborations with Paolo Villaggio. Giuseppe De André withdrew from Karim the same year. Vittorio Centanaro arranged “La guerra di Piero” for a 1964 single, while Giampiero Reverberi arranged a new recording of “La ballata dell’eroe” for the reverse side. De André followed with “La canzone di Marinella” (b/w “Valzer per un amore”) later in the year.

In 1965, De André recorded “Per i tuoi larghi occhi,” “Fila la lana,” “La città vecchia,” and the Georges Brassens adaptation “Delitto di paese.” He continued the series in 1966 with “La canzone dell’amore perduto” (b/w “La ballata dell’amore cieco”) and “Geordie” (b/w “Amore che vieni, amore che vai”). Maureen Rix joined De André on “Geordie.” De André completed the Karim period with ten singles and eighteen issued songs.

Karim assembled ten of those recordings on Tutto Fabrizio De André in 1966 without approval from De André. He contested the release, while Karim moved toward bankruptcy. De André moved to Bluebell in 1967 under label founder Antonio Casetta. The death of Luigi Tenco in January prompted De André to write “Preghiera in gennaio” as he developed material for the new label. Casetta allowed De André to retain Giampiero Reverberi for the Bluebell sessions in place of label director Federico Monti Arduini. The Bluebell contract placed De André with Reverberi for the spring sessions that became Volume 1.

Discography: