Recently, Gino Paoli’s music has been present in the current scene, in a somewhat veiled way, being a crucial part of the composition of ‘Tramuntana’, the beautiful ballad by Guitarricadelafuente. Paoli inspired the artist’s most romantic song, and now the news has been announced of his death in Genoa, at the age of 91, just one year after the death of his eldest son, as a result of cardiac arrest.
Paoli is considered the last great Italian singer-songwriter of the Genoese school, who, together with Luigi Tenco, Umberto Bindi and Bruno Lauzi, defined Italian popular music of the 60s and 70s. He was the author of many songs that are part of the collective memory of Italy, such as ‘La gatta’, ‘Senza fine’, ‘Sapore di sale’ and ‘Quattro amici’, in addition to of course ‘Il cielo in una stanza’, which long before After being sampled by “Guitarrica”, it was covered by Mina.
After his first recordings had poor sales, ‘La gatta’, published in 1960, was the song that made him known, and in 1963 ‘Sapore di sale’ catapulted him to fame. That year, while ‘Sapore di sale’ was triumphing on the charts, Paoli tried to commit suicide due to a sentimental crisis; He shot himself directly in the heart, but the bullet remained lodged in the chest very close to the organ and Paoli survived. The bullet was never removed due to the risk of the operation.
Paoli went through other challenges in his life, such as alcoholism that lasted 15 years and that he overcame after the death of his brother from the same cause. Paoli made a notable return to the charts in 1984 with ‘Una longa storia d’amore’, at the age of 50, and participated directly in politics, serving as a deputy of the Italian Communist Party between 1987 and 1992.
His lyrics, which were about love in all its dimension and complexity, from realism rather than idealization, connected with multiple Italian and international generations. Paoli appeared at the Sanremo Festival up to five times, but never won the competition.
