Umberto Tozzi

Umberto Tozzi
Background information
Birth name Umberto Antonio Tozzi
Born (1952-03-04) 4 March 1952
Origin Turin, Italy
Genres Pop, Rock, Italo disco
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, record producer
Instruments Vocals, keyboards, guitar
Years active 1968–present
Associated acts Off Sound, Laura Branigan
Website Official Umberto Tozzi website

Umberto Antonio Tozzi (pronounced [umˈbɛrto anˈtɔːnjo ˈtɔttsi]; born 4 March 1952) is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most international hits are: "Claridad",[1] "Gloria"[2] and "Ti Amo".

Biography

In 1968, at the age of 16, Umberto Tozzi joined 'Off Sound', one of the many groups that performed in small venues around Turin. In Milan, he met Adriano Pappalardo, with whom he formed a 13-piece band and began a large-scale Italian tour.

In 1974 Tozzi had his first success as a songwriter, with the song "Un corpo, un'anima" ("One Body, One Soul"), co-written with Damiano Dattoli and performed by Wess and Dori Ghezzi. It appeared on Canzonissima, an Italian music programme running from 1956 to 1974.

In 1976, he released his first album, Donna Amante mia ("My loving woman"), from which came the single "Io camminerò" ("I Will Walk") which at the time had been sung with great success by Fausto Leali. In 1977, "Ti amo", one of Tozzi's most famous songs, was released. It stayed at number one on the Italian charts for seven months, outselling every other record, and went on to become an international success throughout continental Europe. It also made some inroads in the Americas and Australia, primarily in discotheques. The single was awarded a gold record award in Australia, despite the fact that it only made number 25 on the charts there in late 1979.[3] 1978 saw the release of Tu, another hit in Italy; the same year Tozzi held an Australian tour, organized by the Italo/Australian promoter Duane Zigliotto: the tour concluded at the Sydney's Opera house with two full house concerts.

The following year Tozzi recorded perhaps his most famous song, "Gloria". It was a huge success in Italy in 1979 and 1980. Jonathan King wrote an English lyric and had a UK hit with the song in 1979. The singer Elkie Brooks recorded a version in 1980. A cover version by American singer Laura Branigan brought Tozzi's name to attention in the USA in 1982. Branigan worked with the arranger and keyboardist of Tozzi's own version, Greg Mathieson, who co-produced her version with Jack White, to give the song what she called "an American kick."[4] The song reached the top of the charts, going gold and platinum in several countries and lasting on the US pop charts for 36 weeks.Still in the 1980s, the " Eva" song, self-titled album, had Portuguese version recorded by the Brazilian rock band Radio Taxi .[5]

Branigan's vocal performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Grammy Award (alongside Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Juice Newton, and that year's winner, Melissa Manchester); "Gloria" marked Branigan's only solo nomination. She would go on to record two more Tozzi compositions, "Mama", and "Ti amo", her version of which went top 5 in Canada and Australia two years after "Gloria".

By late 1980 he releases "Stella stai", another of his main hits. The early years of the 1980s saw the release of the album Tozzi, recorded in concert with a band of American musicians – his first live record. The following year the Latin Group Menudo recorded the Spanish version of "Stella stai", entitled "Claridad", making it one of the biggest selling records in the whole Latin America, Central, Mexico and US Hispanic market.

After a period of absence from the music scene, Tozzi returned in 1987 and won the Sanremo Music Festival with "Si può dare di più" ("More can be given"), sung with Gianni Morandi and Enrico Ruggeri. 1987 was also the year of "Gente Di Mare'"("People of the sea"), performed with Raf at Eurovision, which saw them take third place. In 1988, Tozzi released his second live album, The Royal Albert Hall.

In the 1990s, Tozzi continued to record, resulting in songs such as "Gli altri siamo noi" ("Others are us"), the album Equivocando ("Misunderstanding"), Il grido ("The outcry") and Aria e cielo ("Air and sky"). He also released a greatest hits compilation, Le mie canzoni ("My songs").

In 2000 and 2005, he performed "Un'altra vita" ("A different life") and "Le parole" ("The words") at the Sanremo Music Festival. Between the two participations, he released a duet with French singer Lena Ka of his classic "Ti amo" as "Ti amo (Rien Que des mots)". Tozzi also released another greatest hits compilation, a 2-disc set entitled The best of, and another single, "E non-volo". In 2013, his re-edited version of "Gloria", sung in its original Italian, was placed by Martin Scorsese at a critical plot turn on the soundtrack of the 2014 Academy Awards nominated blockbuster, The Wolf of Wall Street.[6]

In January 2009 he released the single "Cerco ancora te" composed by Emilio Munda and Matteo Gaggioli. In the course of his career, Tozzi has sold more than 70 million records in different languages and international markets.

Discography

Live albums
Compilations

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Template:Youtu.be/PmxoxRJ0RcA
  2. ↑ Video of Tozzi singing his original "Gloria" on YouTube
  3. ↑ Kent Music Report, 1980
  4. ↑ An American kick
  5. ↑ Branigan's hit "Gloria"
  6. ↑ http://thefilmstage.com/reviews/review-the-wolf-of-wall-street/
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Eros Ramazzotti
with "Adesso tu"		 Sanremo Music Festival
Winner
1987 		Succeeded by
Massimo Ranieri
with "Perdere l'amore"
Preceded by
Romina Power & Al Bano		 Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
1987
(with Raf) 		Succeeded by
Luca Barbarossa
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