Edoardo Bennato

Often regarded as one of the most iconic singer-songwriters of his generation, Edoardo Bennoato (July 23, 1946) is an Italian musician from Naples. He is known for being one of the pioneers of Italian rock, combining blues and folk influences with anti-establishment lyrics. He began his music career in the early 70s after moving from Naples to Milan to study architecture and made his official studio debut with the album Non Farti Cadere le Braccia, released in 1973. Entirely recorded as a one-man band affair, the album brought Edoardo Bennato much recognition due its irreverent social criticism and helped pave the way for the LPs I Buoni e i Cattivi (1974), Io Che Non-sono l'Imperatore (1975), La Torre di Babele (1976), and Burattino Senza Fili (1977). In 1980, he surprised fans by releasing two albums in less than a month—the experimental Uffà! Uffà! and the Peter Pan concept album Sono Solo Canzonette. Against all odds, both albums performed surprisingly well, selling over a million copies and cementing his reputation as one of the most important singer-songwriters in the Peninsula. That same year, he became the first Italian artist to play a sold-out show at Milan’s San Siro Stadium. However, Edoardo Bennato’s popularity waned during the next couple of years and it wasn’t until 1990 that he re-emerged with the track “Un’ Estate Italiana,” recorded with Gianna Nannini for the FIFA World Cup. The song was an international hit and helped relaunch Edoardo Bennato’s career, who released a total of 8 albums between 1992 and 2015. Non C'È, his twentieth studio full-length, saw the light in 2020.