The Italian music world is mourning the death of singer-songwriter Gino Paoli . He was 91 years old . His family announced the news in a statement requesting maximum confidentiality. Born in Monfalcone in 1934, he grew up in Genoa , where he still lives today.

Author of unforgettable songs , he wrote over 200 , from Sapore di sale to Una lunga storia d'amore, Il cielo in una stanza, La gatta, Quattro amici, Che cosa c'è, Senza Fine , Gino Paoli made his debut for Nanni Ricordi's record label in 1959. The path that led him to success is the classic one of the deraciné artists of the 1950s: a lazy student, passionate about painting and jazz, he preferred a bohemian lifestyle made of little money, endless nights and friends like Luigi Tenco, Bruno Lauzi, Umberto Bindi, Giorgio Calabrese, the Reverberi brothers, in short the names of the founders of that "Genoese School" which, nourished by the songs of Brassens and Jacques Brel, effectively founded the Italian singer-songwriter movement.

It was Gianfranco Reverberi who opened the way for him to Milan, where he came into contact with the music industry but also with Giorgio Gaber and Mina , who recorded "Il cielo in una stanza," achieving great success. This success was repeated with another song, an almost jazzy 3/4: "Senza fine," performed by Ornella Vanoni, who at the time was still "the singer of the underworld" and who would have a long relationship with him. The song went around the world but, above all, marked the beginning of a lifelong partnership, celebrated a few decades later when, after a long period of crisis, Paoli and Vanoni toured together, achieving a

resounding success.

In the 1960s, at the height of the 45 rpm boom, one of the songs that marked the history of music was released: "Sapore di sale," arranged by Ennio Morricone with the famous saxophone solo by Gato Barbieri. A troubled man, already married, he had a passionate love affair with Stefania Sandrelli , then a teenager, a relationship that resulted in the birth of Amanda. Then, on July 11, 1963, an act that remains mysterious to this day: Paoli attempted suicide by shooting himself in the heart. However, the bullet missed a vital area and remained lodged in the pericardium, from which it was never extracted. The great success did not last long: in the second half of the 1960s, a long period of professional and personal crisis began, marked also by alcohol and drugs, culminating in a horrific car accident.

His return to prominence came in the 1980s, when he first recorded a beautiful tribute album to his friend Piero Ciampi, "Ha tutte le carte in regola," and then, in 1985, he returned to the charts with "Una lunga storia d'amore." The following year, "Ti lascio una canzone" followed, followed in the 1990s by "Quattro amici al bar." Throughout his career, he has performed songs by Joan Manuel Serrat and Charles Aznavour, and has been active as a songwriter, writing "Come il sole all'improvviso" for Zucchero. In 1987, he was elected to parliament as a member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). In the final years of his long career, he played alongside some of Italy's finest jazz musicians, most notably Danilo Rea, a world-class pianist, who accompanied him on his most recent tours.

A shy figure, unwilling to make media concessions, and a performer with a style that was anything but traditional, Gino Paoli remains one of the most beloved and prestigious figures in Italian song, the author of songs that are part of our country's history.

(Unioneonline)

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