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Rino Gaetano
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Rino Gaetano
Salvatore Antonio "Rino" Gaetano (29 October 1950 – 2 June 1981) was an Italian musician and singer-songwriter. He is famous for his satirical songs and oblique yet incisive political commentary. He is remembered for his raspy voice, for the heavily ironic lyrics of his songs and his social protests. He died in a car accident at age 30. He was a popular and influential figure, widely re-evaluated by the following teen generations.
Salvatore Antonio Gaetano was born in Crotone, Calabria. At the time of his birth, his family had just returned to Calabria after spending a period of displacement—common to many of their fellow citizens—in Dolo due to the ravages of World War II, where his older sister Anna was born. In the family, he was often called “Salvatorino,” but Anna preferred to call him by an even shorter nickname, “Rino,” which over time became the only name she used for him in everyday life.
In March 1960, at the age of ten, his family moved to Rome, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1961, he was sent to study at the seminary Piccola Opera del Sacro Cuore of Narni, in the province of Terni, where, under the guidance of his teacher Renato Simeoni, he began to show his flair for writing poetry. Far from his family, Rino composed the short poem E l'uomo volò ("The Man Flew"). His teacher remembers him thus:
[Gaetano] understood the importance of studying, but he also had moments of great absence, which was not emptiness. It was very difficult to find Rino in situations of “emptiness”; he was always mentally occupied. There were tastes, this is how I always saw him, tastes within this person, his personal pursuits that kept him busy. He was quite a dreamy lad, very dreamy.
By 1967, he had finished school and returned to Rome, settling in the quarter of Monte Sacro, where he would live until his death, first in Via Cimone and then, from 1970, in Via Nomentana Nuova 53, where a plaque was placed in 2011 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death.
In 1968, Gaetano created a quartet with a group of friends called Krounks. The group mainly played cover songs and Rino played bass and enjoyed writing songs in his spare time. They were inspired by Italian artists such as Enzo Jannacci, Fabrizio De André, Adriano Celentano, I Gufi, Gian Pieretti and Ricky Gianco as well as international musicians such as Bob Dylan and The Beatles, as can be read on the title page of a notebook containing chords and songs Rino wrote during this period.
In 1969, Gaetano approached Folkstudio, a well-known club in Rome for promoting young artists. Here he met Antonello Venditti, Ernesto Bassignano and Francesco De Gregori. As he recounted, His style proved very different from that of the other musicians, and his strong use of irony caused concerns for the club managers:
"When I sang at Folkstudio, I was already the center of discussion... in fact they did not want me to do many of my pieces because, as they said, it seemed like I just wanted to make fun of everyone."
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Rino Gaetano
Salvatore Antonio "Rino" Gaetano (29 October 1950 – 2 June 1981) was an Italian musician and singer-songwriter. He is famous for his satirical songs and oblique yet incisive political commentary. He is remembered for his raspy voice, for the heavily ironic lyrics of his songs and his social protests. He died in a car accident at age 30. He was a popular and influential figure, widely re-evaluated by the following teen generations.
Salvatore Antonio Gaetano was born in Crotone, Calabria. At the time of his birth, his family had just returned to Calabria after spending a period of displacement—common to many of their fellow citizens—in Dolo due to the ravages of World War II, where his older sister Anna was born. In the family, he was often called “Salvatorino,” but Anna preferred to call him by an even shorter nickname, “Rino,” which over time became the only name she used for him in everyday life.
In March 1960, at the age of ten, his family moved to Rome, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1961, he was sent to study at the seminary Piccola Opera del Sacro Cuore of Narni, in the province of Terni, where, under the guidance of his teacher Renato Simeoni, he began to show his flair for writing poetry. Far from his family, Rino composed the short poem E l'uomo volò ("The Man Flew"). His teacher remembers him thus:
[Gaetano] understood the importance of studying, but he also had moments of great absence, which was not emptiness. It was very difficult to find Rino in situations of “emptiness”; he was always mentally occupied. There were tastes, this is how I always saw him, tastes within this person, his personal pursuits that kept him busy. He was quite a dreamy lad, very dreamy.
By 1967, he had finished school and returned to Rome, settling in the quarter of Monte Sacro, where he would live until his death, first in Via Cimone and then, from 1970, in Via Nomentana Nuova 53, where a plaque was placed in 2011 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death.
In 1968, Gaetano created a quartet with a group of friends called Krounks. The group mainly played cover songs and Rino played bass and enjoyed writing songs in his spare time. They were inspired by Italian artists such as Enzo Jannacci, Fabrizio De André, Adriano Celentano, I Gufi, Gian Pieretti and Ricky Gianco as well as international musicians such as Bob Dylan and The Beatles, as can be read on the title page of a notebook containing chords and songs Rino wrote during this period.
In 1969, Gaetano approached Folkstudio, a well-known club in Rome for promoting young artists. Here he met Antonello Venditti, Ernesto Bassignano and Francesco De Gregori. As he recounted, His style proved very different from that of the other musicians, and his strong use of irony caused concerns for the club managers:
"When I sang at Folkstudio, I was already the center of discussion... in fact they did not want me to do many of my pieces because, as they said, it seemed like I just wanted to make fun of everyone."
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