Italian rock
Encyclopedia
Italian rock is a form of rock music
produced primarily in Italy
. The music genre has roots in the country as it spread in the early 1960s from the United States
with the earliest versions of rock and roll
during this period being cover version
s or interpretative covers of already existing songs.
was Piero Ciampi, whose style was reminiscent of the French chansonnier
s. The United States and United Kingdom during the 1960s were in the midst of the psychedelic rock
boom, which inspired Italian psychedelic bands such as Mario Schifano
and Le Orme
. At the time of the 1968 student uprisings, many young and educated Italians began to identify with the counterculture
in France, Mexico, USA and across the world. Young Italians still had a well educated familiarity with classical music composers like Bach
. The result was an influx of classically-influenced rock bands which fit right into the international move towards progressive rock
. Italian progressive bands include:
Some bands, like Osanna
, Area
, Perigeo
and Arti & Mestieri, fused progressive rock with jazz
. Il Balletto Di Bronzo
's YS
is one of the most debated Italian prog-rock albums; Some calling it trash and others extolling it as one of the greatest progressive albums ever made. The same period, the early 1970s, also saw the rise of Italian singers and songwriters like Lucio Battisti
, Fabrizio De André
and Francesco Guccini
.
By the end of the 1970s, Italian punk rock
pioneers Skiantos
had released 1978's Monotono, which kickstarted the Italian punk scene. Later bands like The Confusional Quartet and Gaznevada fused New wave
and Italian varieta with punk and other influences.
and thrash metal
scenes. In the late 1980s, more extreme bands of heavy metal
bands appeared. Of these bands include:
and metal
bands gained international notoriety, at least among critics. Gianna Nannini
in 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s was the first Italian rocker who achieve real popular success outside of Italy. Especially in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux and later in Mexico. While Francesco De Gregori
was well appreciated by critics and well-informed fans outside of Italy it was Nannini who was first Italian pop icon to stick and to shift between pop and rock with ease and to stay the course through trends and upcoming generations. Zucchero
, Eros Ramazzotti
and Jovanotti
(later: Nek
and Laura Pausini
) all went on to become huge international pop names in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Another Tuscana (like Nannini) Irene Grandi
has had a similar journey and has a similar persona only up-to-date and even more versatile. Sadly for Irene Grandi her success has remained mostly confined to Italy. It is thus even harder for artists from countries such as Italy to get airplay in other countries in 2006 than it was in 1986.
Other artists to emerge in the 1990s and beyond include:
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
produced primarily in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The music genre has roots in the country as it spread in the early 1960s from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with the earliest versions of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
during this period being cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s or interpretative covers of already existing songs.
1960s & 1970s
The first distinctively Italian singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
was Piero Ciampi, whose style was reminiscent of the French chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
s. The United States and United Kingdom during the 1960s were in the midst of the psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
boom, which inspired Italian psychedelic bands such as Mario Schifano
Mario Schifano
Mario Schifano was an Italian painter and collagist of the Postmodern tradition...
and Le Orme
Le Orme
Le Orme is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a frazione of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s...
. At the time of the 1968 student uprisings, many young and educated Italians began to identify with the counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
in France, Mexico, USA and across the world. Young Italians still had a well educated familiarity with classical music composers like Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
. The result was an influx of classically-influenced rock bands which fit right into the international move towards progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
. Italian progressive bands include:
- Banco del Mutuo SoccorsoBanco del Mutuo SoccorsoBanco del Mutuo Soccorso is an Italian rock band. A popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, they continued making music in the 1980s and 1990s...
- Celeste
- Devil DollDevil DollDevil Doll may refer to:* The Devil-Doll, a 1936 film* Devil Doll , a 1964 film featured on a 1997 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000* Devil Doll , an Italian-Slovenian experimental rock band...
- GoblinGoblin (band)Goblin are an Italian progressive rock band known for their soundtracks for Dario Argento films ....
- JaculaJaculaThis article is about the Italian rock band. For the Italian comicbook of the same title, see Jacula .Jacula is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1968 in Milan as an experiment by Antonio Bartoccetti, Doris Norton , organist Charles Tiring and medium Franz Porthenzy.Jacula's music was...
- Latte e Miele
- New TrollsNew TrollsNew Trolls are an Italian progressive rock band, known for their fusion of rock and classical music. Their history is filled with line-up changes, band name changes and struggles between band members.-History:...
- Premiata Forneria MarconiPremiata Forneria MarconiPremiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics...
- Reale Accademia di Musica
- Saint JustSaint Just (band)Saint Just was an Italian progressive rock band that released two albums between 1973-1974.Jenny Sorrenti was their vocalist.-Discography:Albums*Saint Just *La Casa del Lago...
Some bands, like Osanna
Osanna
Osanna are an Italian psychedelic rock/progressive rock band.The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti , Danilo Rustici , Massimo Guarino , Lello Brandi , from the first line-up of the band Città Frontale, and Elio D'Anna , former member of the Showmen...
, Area
Area (band)
Area - International POPular Group, most commonly known as Area or AreA, is an Italian progressive rock, jazz fusion, electronic, experimental groupb) “It was the mid-1970s and live events roused enthusiasm as never before; they fulfilled the need to be together and the illusion of continuing as a...
, Perigeo
Perigeo
Perigeo are an Italian progressive rock group that released a group of albums for RCA Italiana in the 1970s. Several of the members went on to have long careers in jazz....
and Arti & Mestieri, fused progressive rock with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. Il Balletto Di Bronzo
Il Balletto di Bronzo
Il Balletto di Bronzo was an Italian progressive rock band from Naples. They formed in the mid 1960s, and released two albums, Sirio 2222 and Ys, before disbanding in 1973....
's YS
Ys (album)
Ys is the second album by Joanna Newsom. It was released by Drag City on November 14, 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. The album was named after the city of Ys, which according to myth was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
is one of the most debated Italian prog-rock albums; Some calling it trash and others extolling it as one of the greatest progressive albums ever made. The same period, the early 1970s, also saw the rise of Italian singers and songwriters like Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti
Lucio Battisti was an Italian singer-songwriter . He is considered to be one of the best-known and most influential musicians and authors in Italian pop/rock music history....
, Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio De André was an Italian singer-songwriter.Known for his sympathies towards anarchism, libertarianism, and pacifism, he also was a convicted atheist , and his songs often featured marginalized and rebellious people, prostitutes and knaves, and attacked the Catholic Church...
and Francesco Guccini
Francesco Guccini
Francesco Guccini is an Italian singer-songwriter, considered one of the most important Cantautori. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published autobiographic and noir novels, and a comics...
.
By the end of the 1970s, Italian punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
pioneers Skiantos
Skiantos
Skiantos is a comedy punk band from Bologna, Italy, formed in 1975. They have released ten studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums...
had released 1978's Monotono, which kickstarted the Italian punk scene. Later bands like The Confusional Quartet and Gaznevada fused New wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and Italian varieta with punk and other influences.
1980s
In the 1980s, Italy boasted one of the most vibrant hardcoreHardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
scenes. In the late 1980s, more extreme bands of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands appeared. Of these bands include:
- Afterhours
- Affinita
- CCCP Fedeli alla lineaCCCP Fedeli alla lineaCCCP Fedeli alla Linea were an Italian band formed in 1982 in Berlin by vocalist Giovanni Lindo Ferretti and guitarist Massimo Zamboni. The band's style was self-defined by the members themselves as “Musica Melodica Emiliana—Punk Filosovietico” Their name, CCCP, stems from the cyrillic script for...
- DiaframmaDiaframmaDiaframma is an Italian band, one of the most famous darkwave, gothic Italian acts to come out of Florence during the early 80s along with Litfiba...
- LitfibaLitfibaLitfiba is an Italian hard rock band formed in Florence in early 1980.Litfiba originated from the meeting of 5 punk, New Wave and simply rock music fans with then no musical background....
- Marlene KuntzMarlene KuntzMarlene Kuntz is an Italian band from Cuneo. Initially they were inspired by the noise rock of Sonic Youth. The name is a merge of Marlene Dietrich's name and the slang word cunt.-History:...
- NecrodeathNecrodeathNecrodeath is an Italian extreme metal band from Liguria. It is one of the first extreme metal bands originating in Italy. They take inspiration from Slayer, Possessed, Kreator, Celtic Frost and Bathory...
- NegazioneNegazioneNegazione was a hardcore punk band based in Turin, Italy during the 80's and early 90's.Formed in 1983, they were one of the most important band for the hardcore punk scene in Italy at the time...
- Opera IXOpera IXOpera IX is an Italian pagan symphonic black metal band, founded in the city of Biella by the guitarist Ossian, in 1988.- Early years: 1990-1995 :...
- PankowPankow (Italian band)Pankow is an Italian/German Electronic & EBM band, formed in 1979 and headed by Maurizio Fasolo. In its early days, the songs were in German , with singer Alex Spalck. Like the East German band of the same name, Pankow was named after the Pankow district of Berlin...
- Raw PowerRaw Power (band)Raw Power is an Italian hardcore punk band from Reggio Emilia. They were formed in 1981 and are still active today.- Biography :Raw Power was formed in 1981 in Poviglio , Italy, by brothers Mauro and Giuseppe Codeluppi...
1990s & 2000s
In the 1990s, Italian avant-garde, alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
bands gained international notoriety, at least among critics. Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini
Gianna Nannini is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".-Personal life:...
in 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s was the first Italian rocker who achieve real popular success outside of Italy. Especially in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux and later in Mexico. While Francesco De Gregori
Francesco De Gregori
Francesco De Gregori is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is popularly known as "Il Principe Poeta" , a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics.-1970s:...
was well appreciated by critics and well-informed fans outside of Italy it was Nannini who was first Italian pop icon to stick and to shift between pop and rock with ease and to stay the course through trends and upcoming generations. Zucchero
Zucchero
Adelmo Fornaciari, Commander , more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero /ˈtsukkero/, is an Italian rock singer. His music is largely inspired by gospel, blues and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces.Zucchero is the...
, Eros Ramazzotti
Eros Ramazzotti
Eros Luciano Walter Ramazzotti , known simply as Eros Ramazzotti, is an Italian singer and songwriter. Ramazzotti is enormously popular in Italy, and is well known in most non-English-speaking European countries and in the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in both...
and Jovanotti
Jovanotti
Lorenzo Cherubini, better known as Jovanotti, is an Italian singer-songwriter and rapper.The name Jovanotti derives from the plural form of the Italian word giovanotto , i.e. giovanotti. Lorenzo Cherubini originally auditioned a band with the name "I Giovanotti", but the record producer only was...
(later: Nek
Nek
Nek Minute is a popular contemporary Italian singer-songwriter....
and Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini, is a Grammy Award-winning Italian soul singer-songwriter. She debuted in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit, reaching the top spot on the Italian...
) all went on to become huge international pop names in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Another Tuscana (like Nannini) Irene Grandi
Irene Grandi
-Biography:Irene Grandi was born in Florence.She debuted in the Sanremo Music Festival in the category New Proposed with "Fuori", in 1994, which was later won by Andrea Bocelli, who was also debuting the same year....
has had a similar journey and has a similar persona only up-to-date and even more versatile. Sadly for Irene Grandi her success has remained mostly confined to Italy. It is thus even harder for artists from countries such as Italy to get airplay in other countries in 2006 than it was in 1986.
Other artists to emerge in the 1990s and beyond include: