CThe year was 1998 when the news of the sudden death of Lucio Battisti arrived on September 9th. And on the occasion of the 25th year since his passing, this evening at 9.25pm on Rai 2 it will be broadcast on first TV Lucio as a friend. Remembering Battisti. A documentary that will pay homage to the extraordinary career of one of the most brilliant and innovative singers in Italian music.
Lucio as a friend. Remembering Battistithe doc is on Rai 1
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death, the event docufilm arrives on Rai1 Lucio as a friend. Remembering Battisti, created and written by Maite Carpio and produced in collaboration with Rai Documentari. A special event that will try to narrate the complex human and artistic adventure of Lucio Battisti, through vast and, in some cases, unpublished Italian and international archive material. Together with the memory of those who knew him, first of all Mogol, his companion in art and adventure. But also dear friends and historical collaborators such as Pietruccio Montalbetti of Dik Dik, Roby Matano, Gianni Dall’Aglio, Mario LavezziFranco Daldello, Mara Maionchi, Caterina Caselli, Adriano Pappalardo, Franco Mussida and Tony Cicco of Formula 3. All together they will accompany the viewer to discover the “Battisti mystery”, a central figure in the musical culture of an entire country, who however has rejected celebrities and visibility to remain true to itself.
An exceptional witness will be Giulio Rapetti, aka Mogol, at the center of an extensive interview that will retrace the friendship and long collaboration of this memorable creative couple. Who for almost twenty years has chiseled absolute gems of Italian music in albums like Our dear angel, Latin soul And A gloomy day. To punctuate the story, the songs that revolutionized the Italian musical panorama, many performed by the voice of Battisti himself, but also thanks exclusive performances by Gianluca Grignani, Noemi, Giovanni Caccamo and Giusy Ferreri. Under the artistic direction of Maestro Enrico Melozzi, they will perform, each with their own unique and personal style, four songs: Time to die, Love yourself a littleEmotions And I will live. Four successes taken from a repertoire that represents a unicum in the history of music, capable of still speaking to entire generations today.
Mogol in a scene from “Lucio for Friend. Remembering Battisti”. (Rai Press Office)
A genius who hated the limelight
Born in Poggio Bustone in 1943, this year Lucio would have turned 80 if a bad kidney disease if it wasn’t taken away in 1998 at just 55 years old. For some time “secluded” in his villa in Brianza, the singer never left the house in recent years but his memory was more vivid than ever. Cemented by decades of albums and songs that have forever entered the collective imagination. And to think that, before him, Italian music was still “stuck” in the post-war period, all focused on beautiful melodies and Claudio Villa-style voices. Not by chance It would take Lucio years to establish himself as a singerrejected by almost all record companies for his voice so far from the canons of the time.
Lucio Battisti in the sixties. (La Presse)
A rough and passionate tone which, however, from the end of the Sixties, would revolutionize the entire recording scene also thanks to Mogol’s lyrics. Modern and innovative from the point of view of both words and content. Lucio was also an innovator regarding the choice of musical genres. Passionate fan of Motown funk, Battisti will be the first in Italy to bring American rhythmscreating a unique combination of Italian songwriting and soul melodies.
But after the first years of TV participations, first places in the rankings and photo shoots, starting from the second half of the Seventies, Lucio slowly disappears from the spotlight and stops appearing on television and giving interviews. “If I realized that I was about to be swallowed up by the system, I’m sure I would give up everything,” he said. And so he did. Refusing to appear and give concerts, but without stopping, like Mina, to make records, until the day of his death.
Recent legal battles
However, 25 years after his death, controversies and battles still rage over Battisti’s artistic legacy, with Sony Music making a compensation request of 8.5 million euros to the heirs. That is, his wife Grazie Letizia and his son Luca. The reason for the dispute? For the major, as well as for Mogol, also president of SIAE, the singer-songwriter’s heirs would be guilty of having revoked the SIAE mandate for the online use of Lucio Battisti’s musical works. Effectively preventing Sony from marketing its songs on the main digital platforms and also hindering the exploitation of Lucio Battisti’s musical works and their use in commercials.
However, it was news a few days ago that the Milan Court of Appeal, as in the first trial, confirmed the same line. Rejecting Sony’s request for compensation and ordering the label to pay court costs. Sony has already announced what it will do appeal to the Supreme Court. At the moment, only the songs recorded by his Mogol-Battisti are available on digital libraries, while the “Sony period”, i.e. the songs published from 1982 to 1998, are unfortunately not available online.
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