Ciro Sebastianelli
Il buio e...

Among the most well-known faces of Neapolitan light music, Ciro Sebastianelli is often forgotten. Ciro Sebastianelli, whom anyone who lived through the late '70s and early '80s will surely remember, made his way through our Sanremo festivals with songs that combined classic Italian music without ever betraying his Neapolitan roots, in a truly rare song format.

His recording career began in 1974, with a few minor singles. He quickly began to stand out thanks to collaborations with artists of the caliber of Cristiano Malgioglio and Loredana Bertè, for whom he also wrote several songs. A sincere and genuine songwriter, endowed with great charm (watch the unfortunately not too numerous interviews), he managed to carve out his own space in a period that, as we know, was full of competition. It was with 'Vattenne', his first successful single, that he showed his abilities already at the full potential of a songwriter. Because 'Vattenne', which is nothing more than a beautiful song also present on the first album, manages to unite the Italian language and Neapolitan dialect in a way I would dare to say is masterful. An operation that often led to forced results, but with Ciro, it seems truly natural (Vattenne, che t'aggio fatto e male, che non mi guardi/ Che t'aggio fatto e male, perchè non parli). Among the first singles, I remember the wonderful and moving 'Ti vestivi di stelle'.

The times soon matured, and the consecration for an emerging singer is participation in a song festival. It was 1978 when Cirozzo's first Sanremo appearance, with his debut performance, even finished fourth with his perhaps most famous song, 'Il buio e tu', making his way in almost fierce competition. Because right around there was a certain Rino Gaetano confusing the audience with 'Gianna', Anna Oxa with 'Un'emozione da poco' written by a certain Ivano Fossati, but also the Matia Bazar winners of that edition. And it was on that stage with a red and orange background that Sebastianelli made himself known precisely with the aforementioned song, combining anger and despair in a spine-tingling track (Nell'arco di un istante te ne vai e chi ti lasci dietro non lo sai, spalanchi le tue braccia come se corressi incontro a un sogno che non c'è), reaching its peak in the Neapolitan chorus (Ij nun cia faccij cchiu, lass'm perd'r... Se sei contenta tu, lass'm perd'r). In short, a song that undoubtedly is part of Sanremo's history, even though it didn't achieve lasting success over time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlCWkuy8Pec

Another significant track from the album is the equally famous 'Laura'. To think that at the time, Ciro pretended to be a single father to promote this song (previously released as a single), despite already having three children. I don't know if the end justifies the means, but 'Laura' is yet another example of a 70s gem (Laura, amore spaventato/ Laura, lasciami senza fiato). Among the most beautiful of the singer-songwriter. The album continues with a handful of songs, needless to say, semi-unknown, but still offering high moments, as in the entirely Neapolitan 'Tu si pazze', charming and genuine, and in the particular 'Vorrei essere io', with lyrics somewhat foreign to his usual work, rather hermetic and instrumentally refined, yet still providing an exceptional artistic display.

Ciro Sebastianelli tried again the following year with 'Ciao Barbarella', and then again with 'Marta Marta', ending a three-year period that saw him almost as a protagonist, only to end up in the oblivion of our music, but not before offering the audience what he had to offer. He passed away in 2009, in general silence, as if nothing had happened, due to a serious illness. Today I wanted to remember him this way, bringing him to the pages of this site, and perhaps, who knows, also introducing him to someone new. Goodbye Ciro.