Giuseppe "Pino" Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015) was an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music.

Biography

Daniele was born to a working-class family in Naples, his father being a harbor worker. A self-taught guitarist, he began his career as a musician playing for other successful singers of the 1970s. His 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 "tarumbò", which indicated a mix of tarantella, blues and rumba. His lyrics also attracted critical praise: written and sung in an intense Neapolitan, they contained strong and bitter accusations against the social injustices of Naples, as well as Italian society in general, and included melancholic personal themes. Several of the later songs are characterized by a free intermingling of English, Italian and Neapolitan passages.

Daniele's talent was confirmed on the following album Pino Daniele (1979). He scored his greatest success in 1980, with Nero a metà ("Half-Black"), which was noted by some authorities as the hallmark of the rebirth of Neapolitan song. In that year Daniele opened the Bob Marley concert at the San Siro stadium in Milan. In 1981 Vai Mo was released. The presence of some of the most renowned musicians of the Neapolitan musical milieu, including James Senese, Enzo Avitabile, Tullio De Piscopo and Tony Esposito, as session men on his albums has also been widely praised.

In 1982, Daniele shifted to a personal and early version of world music: in Bella 'mbriana musicians such as Alphonso Johnson and Wayne Shorter appeared as guest players. In the following year Daniele held a concert in Havana, and later formed a Latin-American band. In 1983 Daniele collaborated with the American singer/guitarist Richie Havens on Common Ground, an album written and played together. His interest in Arabic music is emphasized on Bonne Soirée (1987), while the subsequent Schizzechea With Love (1988) was more Mediterranean-oriented. In the same year he started a collaboration with the Italian actor and director Massimo Troisi: Daniele completed the soundtracks for Troisi's films Le vie del Signore sono finite and Pensavo fosse amore invece era un calesse.

Non calpestare i fiori nel deserto, released in Spring 1995, was an attempt to revive inspiration through African and Ethnic influences, and sold more than 800,000 copies. The subsequent tour ended with a double date with Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.

In 2010, Daniele played at Crossroads Guitar Festival, having been called by his friend Eric Clapton to perform at Toyota Park in Chicago, playing with Joe Bonamassa and Robert Randolph. In 2011, he performed in concert with Clapton at Cava de' Tirreni stadium.

Daniele died of a heart attack on 4 January 2015, at Sant'Eugenio Hospital in Rome.

Covers

Many artists recorded cover versions of Pino Daniele's songs: among others, Sarah Jane Morris (Alleria on album Cello Song), Randy Crawford (, in English It's Raining, on album Through the Eyes of Love), Patricia Marx (, in Portuguese , on album Charme do mundo), Marisa Monte (E po' che fa, in Portuguese Bem que se quis, on album MM), and Issac Delgado (Quando, on album Malecon).

Discography Studio albums Year Title Sales Certifications 1977 Terra Mia 1979 Pino Daniele FIMI: Gold 1980 Nero a metà ITA: 300,000 FIMI: 2× Platinum 1981 Vai mò ITA: 250,000 AFI: Gold 1982 Bella 'mbriana 1984 Musicante 1985 Ferryboat ITA: 300,000 ITA: Platinum 1987 Bonne Soirée 1988 Schizzechea with Love ITA: Platinum 1989 Mascalzone latino ITA: Platinum 1991 Un uomo in Blues ITA: 400,000 ITA: Platinum 1992 Sotto 'o sole ITA: Platinum 1993 Che Dio ti benedica 1995 Non calpestare i fiori nel deserto ITA: 800,000 ITA: 8× Platinum 1997 Dimmi cosa succede sulla terra ITA: 1,000,000 1999 Come un Gelato All'equatore ITA: 300,000 2001 Medina ITA: 300,000 FIMI: Gold 2004 Passi d'autore 2005 Iguana Cafè ITA: 100,000 2007 Il Mio Nome è Pino Daniele e Vivo Qui 2008 Ricomincio da Trenta ITA: 90,000 2009 Electric Jam FIMI: Gold 2010 Boogie Boogie Man FIMI: Gold 2012 Le Grande Madre

Compilation albums Year Title Sales Certifications 1986 Musica Musica 1990 “Passa 'o Tiempo e Che Fa - I Primi Anni 1995 Nero a metà 1997 Voglio 'o Mare 1998 Yes I Know My Way ITA: 1,000,000 2000 Studio Collection, Le Origini 2000 Napule è 2002 Amore Senza Fine 2004 The Platinum Collection 2005 Studio Collection 2006 Sucessi D'autore FIMI: Gold 2006 Pino Daniele D.O.C. 2006 Tutto Daniele - Che Male c'e FIMI: Gold 2008 Ricomincio da 30 2008 The Platinum Collection: The Early Years 2008 I grandi Successi

Live albums Year Title Certifications 1984 Sció Live 1994 E Sona Mo 2002 Concerto Medina Tour 2001 2003 In Tour 2006 Pino Daniele Live @ RTS 2013 Tutta n'ata Storia: Vai mo' – Live in Napoli 2015 Nero a Metà Live: Il concerto – Milano 22 dicembre 2014 FIMI: Gold

Soundtracks Le vie del Signore sono finite (album)|Le vie del Signore sono finite (EMI Italiana, 1988)

Singles Year Title Certifications 1976 "Che Calore" 1977 "Napule è" FIMI: Platinum 1979 "Je so' Pazzo" FIMI: Gold 1980 "Quanno Chiove" FIMI: Gold 1980 "Nun me scoccià" 1984 "Keep On Movin" 1984 "Yes I Know My Way" 1985 "Ferryboat" 1987 "Watch Out" 1988 "Tell Me Now" 1988 "Jesce juorno/Tell Me Now" 1991 "O Scarrafone" 1991 "Quando" FIMI: Platinum 1997 "Dubbi Non Ho" FIMI: Gold 1998 "Amore Senza Fine" FIMI: Gold 1998 "Senza Peccato" 2001 "Sara Non Piangere" FIMI: Gold 2006 "Narcisista In Azione" 2007 "Rhum and Coca" 2008 "Anema e Core" 2008 "O Munn va/L'ironia di Sempre/Acqua 'e Rose" 2009 "Il sole Dentro Me" 2009 "Dimentica" 2010 "Boogie Boogie Man" 2012 "Melodramma" 2012 "Niente è Come Prima" 2012 "Boogie Boogie Man" 2012 "Due Scarpe" 2013 "Non Si Torna Indietro"

References

External links