Toto Cutugno has died. At just turned 80 in July, the singer-songwriter passed away around 4 p.m. today in Milan. After a long illness, Cutugno had been getting worse in recent months. Toto Cutugno, born July 7, 1943, was the symbol of Italian melody abroad thanks mainly to L'Italiano, but also to other cazones that allowed him to sell more than 100 million records.

Fifteen Sanremo festival appearances under his belt (with a historic performance in 1990 paired with Ray Charles), author of hits beloved even abroad, Cutugno was Tuscan but grew up in Liguria. His father played trumpet in a band and also involved Toto, who first applied himself to the drum, then to the drums finally to the accordion since a piano was too expensive.

In 1983 he participated in Sanremo with his signature song, L'Italiano. He finished only fifth, but the song made him world famous with its most celebrated line, «Lasciatemi cantare con la chitarra in mano, lasciatemi cantare, sono un italiano».