Sometimes they come back. Almost two years after the last tour, Sergio Caputo found his way home and starting November 22 he will tour Italy again until mid-March with his six-piece band and trio. The first appointment was at the Auditorium in Rome, his hometown, in the largest room: Santa Cecilia. Original, independent and full of character, Caputo, with hugely popular albums such as Un Sabato Italiano, Italiani Mambo, No Smoking, Personal Effects, Stories of Whiskey Gone and Off Singing, became part of the soundtrack of the eighties, then – in 1998 – he went to live in California, left the recording major (and vice versa), started playing jazz, revisited (very well) his repertoire, divorced, remarried, had five children… In short, he did not regretting himself. He now lives on the French Riviera, in France, with his second (Italian) wife, Cristina Zatti, and their three children aged 13, 12 and 8 years. He is 71 years old and, despite his hair having been around for some time, he wears it in a very casual way.
What does it look like today, at what stage?
“I was in a strange situation – a little funny and a little unsettling – where my career was in the hands of people who hadn’t even been born when my career started.”
Don’t you trust young people?
“Yes, that’s enough. I like it and also new things, but since making albums no longer makes sense, the reality of having to release a single at least every two-three months – so that it doesn’t disappear completely – doesn’t excite me. But I continue to write as I always do, to survive the passage of time, so to those who follow me, I say: put it all together and make an album of your own.”
What is the problem?
“If we keep doing this, the music will end. The production is too much and it doesn’t make sense. It’s enough to count followers to build a career that then lasts a season. Enough with singers who can’t sing, and don’t know what to say, and use the music to then make podcasts or whatever. It should be prohibited by law… No one should allow themselves to be operated on by doctors who don’t know how, why can’t the same thing happen with music?”.
Okay. Compared to many things done over the years, have you achieved the right amount or not?
“Probably not. But it’s also true that so that I don’t get trapped in the usual confinement, I do things that are very different from the things that made me famous. However, if I didn’t behave like this, I wouldn’t be here today. The reason is simple: if you always do the same thing, sooner or later everyone will be against you. But if you change, they will tell you that you are no longer the same. It’s better to do what you feel inside. You never make mistakes, no matter what.”
Is pampering yourself tiring? Did he pay dearly for it?
“Yes, of course. It takes courage, I’ve been independent since the 90s, when I stopped working at a big record company. At that time, if you went alone you became invisible, you no longer appeared on TV. Baudo, for example, who even appreciated me for a while, at a certain point decided that if an artist did not sell at least 600 thousand copies then he was not worthy to appear in videos. So began a cruel selection process, which is not the best thing for someone who wants to be independent.” an artist. So I went to America, I no longer found the right stimulation in Italy. I was very satisfied, I started working a lot as a jazz guitarist in bands of an extraordinary level.”
When?
«In 1998. In total I lived in San Francisco for twelve years, six of them without ever returning to Italy. I did it because Panariello invited me to Rai1 in 2003 for his show I’ll be back on Saturday. From then on my work started again in our country too.”
But at that point, did you like the Fred Buscaglione label anymore or not?
“Absolutely not. Nonsense. What do I have to do with that gangster caricature? However, thanks to America, I can now say that I feel like a much more accomplished musician than before.”
In the 1980s, in a phase of extraordinary success, did he risk a bad ending?
“Yeah, that life is destroying me. I make a record a year, then I promote it and go on tour. All that’s left is a night to get my head together, travel around, live. And do shit.”
Alcohol, drugs, and so on?
“Sure. That’s how it was done at the time. Then at a certain point I realized that I couldn’t go on like this anymore. I decided that I had to make records, music and so on, only when I had something to say. And I started to live a little.”
Then in America it ended badly with his first wife, right?
“Yes. My marriage was a bad American marriage. It ended badly. My first wife had two children, who now live in America, and I have no relationship with them. They won’t talk to me.”
After living in America for so long, have you ever imagined a Muslim mayor in New York?
«I was very surprised by the election of Zohran Mamdani, who promised the unattainable and drove away most of the capital of New York with a low-cost rental policy. I don’t think the city of the Twin Towers should elect a mayor like that. I am not an Islamophobe, let’s be clear, on the contrary: I support peaceful and civilized coexistence with everyone. This is not to say that in 2016 my two small children and I escaped the truck massacre on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice by mere seconds, which left 84 people dead and 450 injured. I decided to cross the road by accident. This is how we save ourselves. And there are certain things that are never forgotten.”
Let’s move on to something else. After a while, has “An Italian Saturday” become a kind of burden, something to break free from, a brand that almost suffocates?
“At some point I realized that it had become a burden. Everyone always expected that. I couldn’t take it anymore. Then years later at some point I participated as a guest in an episode of Domenica In. The show was hosted by Toto Cutugno, who before going on air came to my dressing room to chat. And that changed my life.”
Truly?
“Yes. “You don’t need to be ashamed of creating a work that the public likes so much,” he said to me, “you wrote it, not someone else, you should be proud of it. If people always ask you about it, it means it is still imprinted in your memory and in your heart. Make peace with it. Think about it”. I never thought that Toto Cutugno could teach me such a simple and important lesson. For me it was a turning point and when I saw even children singing it at concerts, I was very happy.”
What is the challenge for you today?
«I have a very quiet life with my family on the Côte d’Azur. I have three children aged 13, 12 and 18 years and my daily life is divided into several segments: in the morning I take them to school, then I play guitar, practice vocals, shop, cook for my wife and children, in the afternoon I exercise, sculpt and paint. And if necessary, I can make anything with my hands, from tables to cupboards. I’m calm. Fortunately, things are now different from my family’s previous experience. And since this year I have also joined a circle of French musicians who force me to play with them in clubs all over France.”
Which Sergio Caputo can be seen in the documentary “It’s Always an Italian Saturday”, broadcast on Rai3 on December 19?
«This is a trip to places that are important in my life. With me there are three colleagues such as Valerio Lundini, Ubaldo Pantani and Carlo Massarini”.
Worst mistake made so far?
«Ehhh… I’ll mention what I often think: haven’t learned to play the piano. The notes are all there, with guitar you have to go and find them.”
Will you return to Sanremo?
“Yes, of course. For those who make songs, that’s the only thing to listen to. Now I’m going to have more fun than before.”
Is there something you really want to do sooner or later?
“A soundtrack. All the Italian directors tell me they are my fans, but no one has ever asked me to compose music for them. But I’m sure sooner or later I will succeed.”
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