Farewell, Toto Cutugno, one of the world's symbols of Italian song. Singer-songwriter but also author for other great pop voices, he has sold 100 million copies in his career thanks to timeless pieces like "L'Italiano", "Il tempo se ne va", "La mia musica" and "Solo noi". He died yesterday afternoon at the age of 80 at Milan's San Raffaele hospital, where he had been admitted. Toto was born on July 7, 1943, as Salvatore Cutugno in Fosdinovo, Massa-Carrara, Italy. His father, who played the trumpet and raised him in La Spezia, introduced him to music. His first instrument was the drums. At the age of twenty, he had his first live experiences with the group he formed, "Toto e i Tati". In 1975, he achieved great success in France, and in 1976, he made his debut on the stage of the Sanremo Festival with the group Albatros, performing "Volo AZ 504" and finishing third. Then it was "Nel cuore nei sensi"'s turn at the Festivalbar, where he topped the charts with the French version recorded by Gerard Lenorman. His debut album, "Voglio l'anima," was released in 1979. He wrote the songs for Adriano Celentano's album "Un po' artista un po' no" in 1980. He released "L'Italiano" in 1983, the song that declared his artistic consecration, selling millions of records worldwide. In 1990, the song "Insieme: 1992" won the Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb. "Il treno va" was a huge success in France in 2002. His name is inextricably linked to the Sanremo Festival, in which he had 15 appearances, winning in 1980 with "Solo noi" and placing second in six others. (Photo by Michaël Bemelmans)
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