Legendary Italian singer-songwriter, Pino Daniele, has died of a heart attack at 59 years of age it has just been confirmed.
He found fame by fusing his native Neapolitan music with jazz and blues to become one of Italy’s most popular artists.
Daniele was born to a working-class family in Naples, his father being a port worker. A self-taught guitarist, he began his career as a musician playing for other successful singers of the 1970s such as Eric Clapton, Richie Havens, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea.
Naples Mayor Luigi de Magistris has declared a day of mourning for the local hero.
“I still have his music in my ears,” Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said. “He had an incredible voice … his guitar playing was precious and he had a rare sensitivity that was tinged with passion and melancholy that will continue to tell the story of our country to the whole world.”
His striking debut in the Italian music world was in 1977 with the album Terra mia, which proved to be a successful mix of Neapolitan tradition and Blues sounds. Daniele defined his music with the term “taramblu”, which indicated a mix of tarantella, blues and rumba.
He also composed soundtracks for many Italian films, including those by the late Neapolitan actor and director Massimo Troisi.
His last tweet, on January 1st, read “on my way back home.”
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