Eduardo De Crescenzo (born 8 February 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for the songs "Ancora" and "E la musica va".

Eduardo De Crescenzo
Born8 February 1951 (1951-02-08) (age 73)
OccupationSinger-songwriter

Background

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Born in Naples, De Crescenzo approached music at very young age, as he began playing the accordion at 3 and made his first public exhibition at 5, in Teatro Argentina, Rome.[1][2]

At 16 he founded a beat group, "Eduardino e i Casanova", with which he recorded the first 45rpm in 1967, "Hai detto no!".[1] After studying classical music and law at the university, in the late seventies De Crescenzo signed a contract with Dischi Ricordi, with whom he published his first single as soloist, "La solitudine" (1978).[3] His career was launched by the song "Ancora", a romantic ballad that he presented at the 1981 Sanremo Music Festival, winning the Critics Award;[4] the song obtained an extraordinary success, selling several millions of copies[1] and being covered by artists such as Mina, Anna Oxa, Ornella Vanoni and Thelma Houston (with the title "I'm Losing").[5]

Despite that large success, in the following years De Crescenzo pursued different routes, exploring musical contaminations between Italian classical melodies, soul, rhythm and blues and folk; he took part at four more editions of the Sanremo Festival, in 1985 ("Via con me"), 1987 ("L'odore del mare"), 1989 ("Come mi vuoi") and in 1991 ("E la musica va").[5] The song "E la musica va" was covered by Phil Manzanera with the title "The beat goes on".[6] After the 1993 album Danza, danza De Crescenzo devoted himself mainly to the live concerts and charity projects. In 2012, after a four-year hiatus, he returned to live music with the "Essenze Jazz" Tour in which he reinterprets an important part of his repertoire in a jazz style.[7]

Discography

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Studio albums

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  • 1981 - Ancora
  • 1982 - Amico che voli
  • 1983 - Decrescenzo
  • 1985 - Dove c'è il mare
  • 1987 - Nudi
  • 1989 - C'è il sole
  • 1991 - Cante jondo
  • 1993 - Danza danza
  • 2002 - La vita è un'altra
  • 2013 - Essenze Jazz

Live albums

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  • 1995 - Live
  • 2006 - Le mani

Compilation albums

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  • 1996 - All The Best (1981 - 1991)
  • 1998 - 80 minuti insieme (1981 - 1993)
  • 2007 - Le più belle (1978 - 1991)
  • 2011 - I miei successi (1978-1991)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Massimo Cotto (6 April 2011). il grande libro del rock (e non solo). Rizzoli. ISBN 978-8858615782.
  2. ^ Giuseppe Marrazzo (10 June 1957). "I piccoli attori all' "Argentina" ottengono un clamoroso successo". Il Mattino.
  3. ^ Giangilberto Monti, Veronica Di Pietro (2003). Dizionario dei cantautori. Garzanti Libri, 2003. ISBN 8811740355.
  4. ^ Ezio Guaitamacchi (2009). 1000 canzoni che ci hanno cambiato la vita. Rizzoli, 2009. ISBN 978-8817033923.
  5. ^ a b Enrico Deregibus (8 October 2010). Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana. Giunti Editore, 2010. ISBN 978-8809756250.
  6. ^ Marcello Giannotti (2005). L'enciclopedia di Sanremo. Gremese Editore, 2005. ISBN 8884403790.
  7. ^ Marco Mangiarotti (26 April 2012). "Notturno napoletano: essenze di Eduardo fra "Ancora" e il jazz". Il Giorno. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
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