Claudio Baglioni OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈklaudjo baʎˈʎoːni]; born 16 May 1951) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter and musician. His career has been going on for over 50 years.[1]

Claudio Baglioni
Baglioni in the early 2000s
Baglioni in the early 2000s
Background information
Born (1951-05-16) 16 May 1951 (age 73)
OriginRome, Italy
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • composer
  • record producer
  • architect
Years active1968–present
Labels
WebsiteClaudio Baglioni official website
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Signature

Considered one of the most successful pop rock singer-songwriters in the history of Italian music, he has sold over 60 million records, among which Questo piccolo grande amore from 1972 stands out, of which the song of the same name was awarded «song of the century»,[2] Strada facendo from 1981, one of the albums the artist's most successful album and La vita è adesso from 1985 which is the best-selling album of all time in Italy.[3][4]

In the 90s he experiments world music with the discs of the time trilogy, which began with Oltre (1990) considered his masterpiece,[5][6] continued with one of the best-selling albums ever in Italy Io sono qui (1995) and ended with Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo (1999). In 2006 he composed the anthem of the 2006 Winter Olympics.[7][8][9]

Also an innovator in the field of live performances, Baglioni achieved over a million total spectators with the tours Alé Oó in 1982 and Notti di note in 1985.[10] In 1986 he invented a new method of live performance, with the tour Assolo where he performed completely alone accompanied by electric guitar, piano, sequencer and MIDI, a technology never tested at the time.[11]

In 1991 he was the first artist in the world to realize a concert with the stage in the centre, awarded by the magazine Billboard as «the best concert in the world»,[12] on 6 June 1998, again with the same concept of the stage in the centre, he set the record for attendance at a higher event ever; 100,000 spectators at the Olympic stadium in Rome,[13] in 2000 he will perform in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City in the presence of 300,000 people including the Pope.[14] In 2006 he was officially the first Italian artist to perform at the Brussels European Parliament.[15]

Biography

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Around 1968 he composed the Annabel Lee musical suite, based on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. In 1969, he released his first single and recorded the single Signora Lia; a comic song that tells of a lady's marital infidelity. Over time the song became a cult of Italian pop music despite its poor initial success. He collaborated with Italian singer Mia Martini for her debut album.[16]

 
Baglioni in 1974

Success came only in 1972, with the album Questo piccolo grande amore; the homonymous song in 1985 will be awarded as the Italian song of the century. In 1974, he recorded the album E tu ... with Vangelis. In 1975, it comes out Sabato pomeriggio; a concept album about waiting, based on Giacomo Leopardi's poems. In 1977, the album Solo; was the first in which he made lyrics, music and production on his own. In 1978, comes the incredible success with the album E tu come stai?.

In 1981, he produced the hugely successful album Strada facendo the first Italian album to reach one million copies. The following year the Alé Oó tour starts, the first tour of an Italian singer in the big stadiums. The name of the tour in fact takes its cue from a typical chorus of football matches. In June of the same year (1982) Claudio at the age of 31 becomes a father and in one day writes the worldwide hit song Avrai dedicated to his son.

 
Baglioni in 1985

In 1985, comes the incredible success of the album La vita è adesso, the best-selling album of all time in Italy with almost 4 million copies sold,[17] immediately after the release of the album begins the 1985 stadium tour began which totaled over 1.5 million spectators with the final concert in Rome which was the first concert in the history of Italian music to be broadcast live on TV.[18]

The overwhelming success of the album kicks off another big tour the following year; Assolo a sensational tour consisting of over 30 concerts in the great stadiums of Italy where Claudio Baglioni performs completely alone, without a band, with the help of classical and electric guitar, pianola, piano, synthesizer and MIDI, a technology never tested at the time.[19] The live album Assolo is based on the concert at the stadium in the city of Milan, the triple album was a commercial success in Europe. The success of Claudio in this decade is so high that around the end of 1985 the first collection for the European market of the singer-songwriter was released, entitled Claudio Baglioni,[20] containing the best ten songs of the singer-songwriter of the 80s.

In 1988, he participated in a concert of the Human Right Now! tour with Peter Gabriel, Sting and Bruce Springsteen.

 
Baglioni in 1990

In 1990, after 3 years of work he released the double album Oltre, an ambitious project with 20 songs that contains experiments with world music and the participation of great international artists; the album will radically change the Italian music industry. The concert of 1991 will be decreed by Billboard magazine as the best concert of the year in the world, thanks to the stage that is located in the center of the stadium with the public surrounding it in the round. In the same year the European version of the record Oltre is marketed.[21] In 1992 the tour Oltre il concerto began, held in palasport with the stage in the centre, marking the return of Baglioni throughout Italy, with over 50 dates it was a huge success.[22]

 
Baglioni in 1996

In 1995, the album Io sono qui was released, which marks Claudio's return to the scene, the disc deals with the theme of comedy, everyday life is in fact a bit of a comedy for everyone where everyone wears a mask without knowing if he is an actor or a spectator of life. The album is structured as if it were a film with a beginning, an end, the interlude and then the first, second, third and fourth time which anticipate the subsequent songs by describing them as cinematic scenes.[23] The album has sold 1.5 million copies to date.[24] Baglioni initially presents the album with a series of surprise concerts held on a yellow truck which once opened became a stage, the concert tour is called Tour Giallo.[25] Subsequently, the 1996 tour called Tour Rosso began in the palasport with the stage in the center without barriers between the public and the artist with the band, with over 51 dates it became an incredible success.[26]

On 6 June 1998, he held the concert event of the year at the Olympic stadium in Rome, the concert totaled over 100,000 spectators thanks to the stage in the center and the spectators who filled the stadium, still this record remains undefeated by any event, both musical and sporty.[27]

 
Baglioni in 1998

And in 1999, the album Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo, with the imminent arrival of the new millennium, considered one of the most ambitious, complex and cultured projects of the musician's entire recording work, it marks the passage of the millennium through a traveler's journey between space and time. The album sells half a million copies in a month.[28] Baglioni will subsequently declare that the three albums (Oltre, Io sono qui and Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo) make up a trilogy of time where each represents the past, present and future respectively. The tour that follows this album made between January and March 2000, called Tour Blu, it is characterized by a futuristic cut like the 1999 album with projection screens and laser lights, the concerts began with a sort of three-dimensional hologram that had the appearance of a robotic face named Claud; an alter ego of the artist who announced that he came from the future and appeared between one song and another to tell his story accompanied by thoughts and messages from the future, the virtual image mentions that as long as his music is listened to the traveler will not he will have left in vain.[29]

On 31 December 1999, for New Year's Eve, he performed in the last concert of the millennium in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican, in the presence of approximately 380,000 spectators including the Pope and on live national TV, he is the first and only artist in history to have held a concert in Vatican Square.[30] In the summer of 2000, he brought the tour Acustico. Sogno di una notte di note to the amphitheatres, rearranging all his most famous songs in an acoustic key, in 2001 he was the first artist to bring pop music to traditional theaters with the tour Incanto tra pianoforte e voce performing completely alone accompanied by just the piano.

In 2003 the album Sono io was released which sold 300,000 copies in just one month, followed by the stadium tour with the stage at the center.

In 2005 his first official collection Tutti qui was released which soon became a commercial success and from which the tour which lasted from 2006 to 2007 began in palasport with the stage at the centre.[31]

In 2009 he launched the ambitious Q.P.G.A. project which includes a novel, an album, a film and a series of concerts.[32]

In 2010, he did a series of concerts around the world, the last concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London was recorded and broadcast on Sky and transposed onto the live album World Tour which met with incredible success. On New Year's Eve 2011 he held a concert at the Imperial fora in Rome which attracted over 300,000 people. In 2013 he released the album Con voi. In 2019, to celebrate 50 years of career, he realizes an incredible concert at the Verona Arena which for the first time is open to the public in its entirety. With the stage in the center and the spectators filling the entire arena in the round.[33][34][35]

In 2020 the last album In questa storia, che è la mia was released. In the summer of 2022, he made the Tutti su! tour in the amphitheaters and in the summer of 2023 aTuttoCuore tour with an incredible concert at the Foro Italico in Rome then continued in 2024 around Italy in palasport and in the Arena of Verona with eight stages in September 2024.[36]

Discography

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Year Title Sales Certifications
1970 Claudio Baglioni
1971 Un cantastorie dei giorni nostri
1972 Questo piccolo grande amore
1973 Gira che ti rigira amore bello
1974 E tu...
1975 Sabato pomeriggio
1977 Solo
1978 E tu come stai?
1981 Strada facendo
1985 La vita è adesso
1990 Oltre
1995 Io sono qui
1999 Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo
2003 Sono io
2009 Q.P.G.A.
  • FIMI: 2× Platinum[49]
2013 Convoi
2020 In questa storia, che è la mia

Live albums

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Year Title Sales Certifications
1982 Alé Oó
1986 Assolo
1992 Assieme
  • ITA: 1,500,000 (combined sales with Alé O)[52]
1996 Attori e spettatori
2000 Acustico
2004 Crescendo e cercando
2010 World tour 2010
2019 Da una storia vera

Compilations

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Year Title Sales Certifications
2005 Tutti qui
2006 Gli altri tutti qui
2018 Al Centro

European albums

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  • 1982 - Alé Oó[55]
  • 1985 - Claudio Baglioni[56]
  • 1991 - Oltre[57]

Dvds

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Baglioni in 1996
  • 1991 - Oltre una bellissima notte
  • 1996 - Baglioni nel Rosso
  • 2000 - Acustico Tour
  • 2003 - Tutto in un abbraccio
  • 2010 - World Tour
  • 2019 - Al centro. Arena di Verona

Tour

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Baglioni in 1982
  • 1977 - Claudio Baglioni on tour
  • 1982 - Alé Oó
  • 1985 - Notti di note
  • 1986 - Assolo
  • 1991 - Oltre una bellissima notte (only one concert)
  • 1992 - Assieme
  • 1995 - Tour Giallo
  • 1996 - Tour Rosso
  • 1998 - Da me a te
  • 1999 - Tour Blu
  • 2000 - Acustico
  • 2003 - Tutto in un abbraccio
  • 2006/2007 - Tutti qui
  • 2010 - World Tour
  • 2013 - Con voi tour
  • 2018/2019 - Al centro
  • 2022 - Tutti su!
  • 2023/2024 - aTuttoCuore

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Balzarotti, Leda (29 January 2018). "Claudio Baglioni festeggia 50 anni di carriera - Foto iO Donna". iO Donna (in Italian). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Sito ufficiale di Claudio Baglioni".
  3. ^ Mustara, Antonio (8 August 2015). "Claudio Baglioni, 30 anni fa il record di «La vita è adesso»". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Quando Baglioni sbaragliava Sanremo anche senza andarci". La Stampa (in Italian). 7 February 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ https://baglioni.paroledimusica.com/Oltre-Storia-e-analisi-del-capolavoro-di-Claudio-Baglioni.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "25 anni fa usciva OLTRE "IL" Capolavoro di Baglioni". doremifasol.org (in Italian). 29 April 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  7. ^ "biography Baglioni, rockit". Archived from the original on 22 January 2020.
  8. ^ "biography Baglioni, rockol". Archived from the original on 22 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Baglioni MusicStory". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Sito ufficiale di Claudio Baglioni". baglioni.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Claudio Baglioni, Man Machine". 7 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Claudio Baglioni". Radio Italia. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  13. ^ "All' Olimpico il gol di Baglioni - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). 9 May 1998. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  14. ^ milano, tunnel studios. "Claudio Baglioni | Artisti". Friends & Partners (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  15. ^ "03A-DV-PRESSE_STO(2006)09-12(10575)_EN" (PDF). www.europarl.europa.eu. 2006.
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  27. ^ "Stadio Olimpico: Rome Olympic Stadium [Largest sports facility in Rome]". 16 October 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Viaggiatore sulla coda del tempo, pubblicato nel 1999, è un album di Claudio Baglioni. Il disco ha venduto più di 600.000 copie in un mese".
  29. ^ "Claudio Baglioni". Radio Italia. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  30. ^ "SERENATA ROMANA E QUEL". www.baglioni.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Sito ufficiale di Claudio Baglioni". baglioni.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Q.P.G.A." Claudio Baglioni - Un Solo Mondo Noi - (in Italian). 10 August 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  33. ^ s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Biografia di Claudio Baglioni | Le ultime news, concerti e testi". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  34. ^ s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Claudio Baglioni: Biografia, Notizie, Discografia e Approfondimenti". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Claudio Baglioni: biografia, discografia e ultime news". Rolling Stone Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  36. ^ "Claudio Baglioni conquista Caracalla con le sue "Dodici note"". rainews.it. 4 June 2022.
  37. ^ Meccariello, Giuseppe (4 December 2022). "Album, sapete quali sono i dieci più venduti di sempre in Italia? Solo un'artista non è italiana". Tutto Notizie (in Italian). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  38. ^ Marinella Venegoni (25 January 1996). "Baglioni - prigioniero del coro". La Stampa. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  39. ^ Andrea Munari (17 August 2001). "Sua maestà Baglioni a Monaco". La Stampa. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  40. ^ "Quali sono i 10 album più venduti di sempre in Italia?". Stone Music - Il Portale in cui batte un vero cuore rock (in Italian). 5 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  41. ^ Venegoni, Marinella (15 December 1982). "Ai re del disco, oro, argento e platino". La Stampa (in Italian). p. 17. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  42. ^ a b Marzetti, Claudia. "I 10 album più venduti di sempre in Italia" (in Italian). Stone Music. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  43. ^ "√ da riscoprire: La storia di 'Oltre' di Claudio Baglioni".
  44. ^ "La Stampa - Consultazione Archivio".
  45. ^ "Baglioni Oltre" (PDF). Music and Media: 8. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  46. ^ "E Genova aspetta Claudio Baglioni". La Stampa. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  47. ^ Christian Pallante. Italia: una storia di album. Trentacinque anni di classifiche. p. 95. ISBN 9798591887285.
  48. ^ "La memoria corale di "Q.P.G.A." Baglioni porta in tour l'opera pop". Repubblica. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g "Italian certifications – Claudio Baglioni" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 December 2021. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Claudio Baglioni" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Tutte le sezioni" under "Sezione".
  50. ^ Ernesto Assante (25 January 2021). "Claudio Baglioni: "Mi prendo l'Opera perché la musica è teatro totale"". la Repubblica. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  51. ^ "Biografia". Rockol. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  52. ^ "La Stampa - Consultazione Archivio". www.archiviolastampa.it. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  53. ^ a b De Luigi, Mario. "Ricossa nazionale" (PDF). Musica e Dischi. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  54. ^ "LE CIFRE DI VENDITA 2006" (PDF). Musica e dischi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  55. ^ "Alé Oó". www.discogs.com. 1982.
  56. ^ "Claudio Baglioni". www.discogs.com. 1985.
  57. ^ "Oltre". www.discogs.com. 1991.
  58. ^ "Baglioni, Premio Tenco alla carriera: "Ho aspettato tanto, per anni mi hanno tenuto lontano con i pregiudizi"". 23 October 2022.
  59. ^ TG24, Sky (26 November 2023). "SIAE Music Awards, premiati Vasco, Baglioni e Måneskin". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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