Classically influenced Italian pop star Antonio Venditti was born in Rome on
March 8, 1949. Though he learned piano as a child, Venditti launched a singing
career in the early 1970s, making his debut with fellow singer Francesco De
Gregori on 1972’s Theorius Campus. He gained notice both for his rich voice, as
well as the social and political topicality of his songwriting, elements that
were not common among Italian singers of the time. A public and vocal supporter
of Italy’s political left, he doubled down on the social commentary with 1973’s
L’Orso Bruno and Le Cose della Vita,...