Born Salvatore Cutugno in Fosdinovo, Tuscany, Italy on July 7, 1943, Toto Cutugno was a pop singer, songwriter, and musician best known for his 1983 hit “L’Italiano” and his Eurovision Song Contest win in 1990 for the song “Insieme: 1992.” With over 100 million records sold and many of his songs translated into French and other languages, he was one of the most successful Italian songwriters of all time. Growing up in La Spezia, Liguria, he learned to play several instruments including guitar, piano, drums, and saxophone. He formed his first band in 1969, playing drums in Toto e I Tati. Eventually moving to Milan, he founded the disco band Albatros, who scored several hits including “Africa”, which was also recorded by French American vocalist Joe Dassin as “L’été indien” and became a hit in 1975. While he pursued a solo career after Albatros’ split, he became better known as a songwriter for French artists including Claude François (“Écoute ma chanson”), Michel Sardou (“En chantant”), Dalida (“Monday Tuesday... Laissez-moi danser “), Gérard Lenorman (“Voici les clés”), Hervé Vilard (“Nous deux”), Sheila (“Kennedy Airport”) and Johnny Hallyday (“Derrière l'amour”). Toto Cutugno’s songs were translated into several other languages including English: his song "Gli amori" became “Good Love Gone Bad” and was recorded by Ray Charles. Toto Cutugno’s solo recording career began in 1978, but he began to gain commercial success the following year with “Solo noi,” which was performed at the San Remo Festival in 1979. He enjoyed his greatest solo success as an artist in 1983 when his song “L’Italiano” – taken from the album of the same name - became an international hit. The song climbed to number 1 in his home country of Italy and number 2 in France. In 1990, he won the Eurovision Song Contest with his composition “Insieme: 1992.” He continued to write and record until 2008. Diagnosed with prostate cancer, Toto Cutugno died on August 22, 2023, at the age of 80.
