Rino Gaetano

A cutting satirist, Rino Gaetano used his sharp wit, forceful vocal delivery, and gift for melody to skewer the conservative hypocrisy of 20th century Italy. By the time he died in a car crash at age 30, he had earned a reputation as one of the most outspoken voices in Italian pop music, and was a folk hero of Italy's southern working class. Despite a childhood move to Rome, the original cosmopolitan city, Gaetano (born in 1950) remained wary of Italy's upper crust, and this winking skepticism informed much of his musical output. This is perhaps best embodied on "Il Cielo è Sempre Più Blu," a chart-topping, slice-of-life song on which Gaetano caustically lists ills committed against the poor by the well-heeled and ambivalent. His fame rose in the mid-'70s with the albums Mio Fratello è Figlio Unico, Aida, and Nuntereggae Più, and he used his success to make a bold statement. At his record label's behest, he was scheduled to appear at the 1978 Sanremo Music Festival, a pop-leaning affair akin to the Eurovision contest. The organizers rejected the scathing and musically-unconventional piece he intended to perform, so he instead played his song "Gianna," complete with sexual references, while wearing one of his famously elaborate outfits. He didn't win, but his contrarian attitude only solidified his reputation for thumbing his nose at traditions and formality. Although he died in 1981, Gaetano's music continues to resonate with Italy's disenfranchised and rebellious, and tribute acts continue to tour and honor his legacy.