Which are the best Italian songs of the 70s? The 70s are a sort of “musical bridge” between the young people’s rebellions of the sixties and the light-heartedness of the eighties. During this decade, we saw punk music continue together with the birth of disco music.
10 Best Italian songs of the 70s
To relive the musical magic of the 70s, we have collected 10 of the best Italian songs of the 70s. In addition, if you’re interested to see our list of the best Italian songs of the 2000s, check out that article, as well as the best Italian classic songs.
1. Il mio Canto Libero, Battisti
“Il Mio canto libero” (My free song) is a song by Lucio Battisti published in 1972. It talks about the rediscovery of love and passion, in a world that suffocates the intensity of feelings and people’s freedom.
The song is one of the best Italian songs and a classic of Italian pop music. The main topics are sentimental involvement and love analyzed from a passionate point of view.
2. Champagne
The song was a success in December 1973. For the singer Peppino di Capri, there were no alternatives: forty years ago to “celebrate the end of a love” he could only order Champagne.
It is a love song, but the text speaks of a single night of passion. In fact, he sang: “Champagne to toast to an encounter with you, who already belong to someone else”.
3. La mia banda suona il Rock
Ivano Fossati is one of the most cultured and sensitive songwriters on the Italian music scene. This song, published in 1979 is a real exaltation of music as a universal means of communication that breaks down borders and even goes to places men cannot reach.
4. Piccolo Uomo
Mia Martini recorded the very famous song “Piccolo uomo” (little man) in 1972. “Piccolo Uomo” won the ninth edition of the Festivalbar. This song also won Mia Martini her first Gold Record and was subsequently translated into French, Spanish and German.
5. Samarcanda
Samarcanda by Roberto Vecchioni of 1977 was the singer and songwriter’s first great success. The song has a playful connotation due to the violin, and the line of the refrain that sings “oh, oh horse..oh, oh”.
But the song is not a happy one, in fact, it is one of the least understood songs of all time. The dramatic story is about the return of a soldier from the war. Among the cheering crowd, the soldier sees a woman dressed in black. She is the personification of death.
6. Vedi Cara
Guccini composed the song “Vedi Cara” (See my dear) in 1970. It talks about the crisis with his girlfriend. At that time, the artist left Italy and his girlfriend for a few months, and in America, he fell in love with one of his students, Eloise Dunn, to whom he dedicated the song “100 Pennsylvania ave”. This event wore out the relationship between Guccini and his girlfriend.
The song is a continuous meditation. It does not have a real refrain, however, there is a verse that is repeated identically in 5 different points of the piece and which expresses the key concept of the text. Namely the lack of communication between Guccini and his girlfriend: “See dear, / It is difficult to explain, / It is difficult to understand, / If you haven’t already understood.”
7. Il triangolo
“Triangolo” (triangle) by Renato Zero is a song from 1978. The melody of the song is super catchy, while the text is a triumph of double meanings. It tells about an encounter with a woman.
The singer is surprised to discover that she is not alone, there is in fact another man. The song goes on to allude to the couple’s willingness to get involved in a threesome.
8. Gloria
“Gloria” is a love song from 1979 originally written in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi. In the song, the protagonist is dreaming of an imaginary woman named Gloria. He searches for Gloria his whole life until he actually meets her and loves her.
9. Questo piccolo grande amore
“Questo piccolo grande amore” (This little big love) is a piece of music from 1972 by Claudio Baglioni, which immediately had great success. It is universally recognized as one of the best Italian songs. “This little big love” turned out to be the song that sold the most in the history of Italian discography.
The text of the song tells about the love story of two young people and the regret of the man that is far away from military service. The singer-songwriter had to make some changes to the text: for instance, “fear and desire to be naked” became “fear and the desire to be alone”.
10. Piazza grande
Among the great classics of the Sanremo Festival history and one of the best Italian songs of the 70s, there is a ballad by Lucio Dalla. The text talks about the search for love perhaps set in Piazza Maggiore in Bologna.
The song won fourth place in Sanremo in 1972. Poetry is an integral part of Dalla’s texts and the nostalgic atmosphere underlines how significant is the use of simple language, moreover, we seem to walk next to the artist, a wanderer in search of love.
Wrapping up The best Italian songs of the 70s
The history of Italian music is full of popular names, charismatic personalities, and great talents. The 1970s were particularly prosperous for Italian songs. Many artists appeared on the national scene with sensational hits, moreover many of these songs remained in the annals of music. And, if you are an avid music lover, you might love to learn all about the best Italian songs of all time!
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