Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Tozzi (Torino, 4 March 1952) is an Italian singer-songwriter, author and performer of some of the most listened-to Italian songs in the world, from «Ti amo» to «Gloria»[1]. Born into a family that had arrived from Southern Italy after the war, he grew up musically in Turin alongside his older brother Franco, also a singer; according to figures released by his staff, he has sold over 80 million records and held more than two thousand concerts[2][3].
A family from Puglia and Campania in Turin
His father, Nicola Tozzi, was a police officer originally from Vico del Gargano; his mother, Immacolata, a housewife, came from Montesarchio, in the province of Benevento. The couple moved to Turin in 1945. His older brother Franco had been born in Rodi Garganico, before the family left[2].
Music entered the household through Franco: in 1964 he won the Festival di Castrocaro with «Due case, due finestre», and his best-known song, «I tuoi occhi verdi», sold around 800,000 copies. Umberto began playing guitar as a young man, in the rehearsal room of the oratory of the Chiesa di Gesù Adolescente, and from 1967 he gained his first real experience as a guitarist in his brother's band[2]. The following year he joined the group Off Sound and later worked with Adriano Pappalardo[4].
From songwriting to the spotlight: «Donna amante mia» and «Ti amo»
His first success came as a songwriter: in 1974 «Un corpo e un'anima», written with Damiano Dattoli, won over the public before his name became known as a performer[1]. His breakthrough as a singer came in 1976 with the album Donna amante mia, considered by his official website the first great success of his career[1][3].
In 1977 «Ti amo» was released, which according to his official website stayed at number one on the charts for seven months[3]. In 1978 the album Tu followed[4]. The song has continued to travel for decades: in 2020 it was sung by the character Berlino in the first episode of the fourth season of the Spanish series Money Heist, during the wedding scene with an Italian woman[5]. Tozzi commented:
«For anyone who makes music, there's nothing more beautiful than seeing a song travel so far and for so long.»
«Gloria», an international success
In 1979 «Gloria» took Tozzi to the top of the Italian and Latin American charts[4]. The song had a second life in English: American singer Laura Branigan recorded it on her debut album, released in 1982[4]. Since then «Gloria» has featured in the soundtracks of films such as Flashdance, The Wolf of Wall Street and Spider-Man: Far From Home[3]. Treccani places it, together with «Ti amo», among the songs that marked the history of Italian music in the 1970s and 1980s[1].
Sanremo, Eurovision and the 1980s
In 1987 Tozzi won the Sanremo Music Festival with «Si può dare di più», sung as a trio with Gianni Morandi and Enrico Ruggeri[3][6]. That same year he released «Gente di mare», performed as a duet with Raf, which placed third at the Eurovision Song Contest[1][3]. The partnership with Raf would return thirty years later: in 2018 the two released a joint album[1], the collection «Raf Tozzi» released on 30 November, preceded by the single «Come una danza»[7].
From Monte Carlo to a return to arenas
In July 2011 Prince Albert II and Charlène of Monaco asked him to sing «Ti amo» at the reception following their wedding, at the Palais Princier[1][6]. «It was something very special for me to sing at the reception after the wedding,» he recalled in a 2017 interview, the year of the celebratory tour 40 anni che TI AMO, which included a major concert at the Arena di Verona in October[6]. In the following years he released, among others, the albums Superstar (2009) and Ma che spettacolo (2015)[1].
The 2019 tour with Raf opened on 30 April in Rimini and closed on 25 May in Turin itself, at the Pala Alpitour, now Inalpi Arena[7]. In March 2021, at the Sanremo Music Festival held without an audience because of the pandemic, he appeared as a guest with «Dimentica dimentica» and a medley of «Ti amo», «Stella stai», «Tu» and «Gloria»; he also announced a streaming concert from the Sporting Monte-Carlo to raise funds for musicians and technicians left without work[8].
The final tour
Fifty years after Donna amante mia, Tozzi has chosen to close his live career with L'ultima notte rosa – The Final Show. After a sold-out concert at the Arena di Verona in October 2025, the farewell run has included twelve closing dates, seven in Italy and five in Europe: on 19 March 2026 the singer returned to his home city, at the Inalpi Arena, between stops in Milan and Padua, ahead of concerts in Zurich, Graz, Brussels and Paris[9]. From October 2026 his songs are at the center of Gloria – Il musical, under his musical direction, with further performances planned in Milan, Rome and Bologna[9].
Among the long list of popular voices born in Turin, from Fred Buscaglione to Righeira and Eiffel 65, Tozzi is one of the best-selling Italian artists in the world[2].
Pages linking here
Sources
- Treccani
- Stato Quotidiano — 4 March 2023
- Umberto Tozzi (sito ufficiale)
- AllMusic
- Fanpage.it — 7 April 2020
- Monaco Italia Magazine — 25 April 2017
- Sky TG24 — 21 December 2018
- ANSA — 7 March 2021
- Umberto Tozzi (sito ufficiale)