(By Sandra Cordon).
Tributes flowed while fans and
family grieved Monday after the news that one of Italy's
best-loved singer-songwriters Pino Daniele was dead at age 59.
As plans were announced for a Wednesday funeral in Rome,
the mayor of Daniele's hometown of Naples lowered flags there to
half-mast and declared a day of mourning for the same date.
"It's a terrible time," said the singer's daughter Sara.
President Giorgio Napolitano praised the musician, whose
music was infused with the rhythms and the dialect of his native
city.
"I learned with painful surprise the news of the death of
Pino Daniele, a songwriter who was able to give an original
contribution to the musical tradition of his city," Napolitano,
who is also from Naples, said in a statement.
"To his family and the people who loved him, and the world
of music, I express my most sincere condolences," said the
president.
Daniele's cardiologist said the successful blues and
jazzman, who added a twist of rock to build on Neapolitan
rhythms, knew he was a dead man walking because of heart
troubles.
"(He) was hanging on by a thread and he knew it. Every day
of life was a day gained," said cardiologist Achille Gaspardone,
who told ANSA he felt "great sadness" at his patient's death.
Daniele built on the music of his idols, from Jeff Beck to
Eric Clapton to Frank Zappa and Carlos Santana, adding his
particular Neapolitan twist.
One of his greatest successes came with the 1980 album Nero
a Metà, and after that, he performed as the opening act for Bob
Marley in 1980 in Naples.
That was followed by an enormous 1981 concert in Rome's
Piazza del Plebiscito before 200,000 people.
Fans said that Daniele will remain a symbol of Naples but
also was the force behind a musical revolution in Italy,
beginning with his 1977 album Terra Mia.
"Pino was 1,000 colors artistically, each was a different
story," said Gigi D'Alessio, adding that Daniele brought to life
the "angry voice of Naples...a city, not in mono, but in Dolby
surround sound".
Daniele was also known for composing soundtracks for films,
often collaborating with late filmmaker and actor Massimo
Troisi, also of Naples.
On his Twitter account, singer Jovanotti wrote: "Goodbye,
Pino, goodbye to a man who made great music, a generous friend,
and a great artist".
Added Edoardo Bennato: "Farewell, Pino. We have lost a
great musician and I have lost a friend".
On his Facebook page Luciano Ligabue wrote: "Goodbye, Pino,
and thank you. Once more, I embrace you".
Under his message, the musician added a photo of himself
with Daniele and their guitars in an embrace.
Meanwhile, one of Daniele's five brothers expressed
grief on Monday and said that if Pino had been taken to hospital
in Grossetto rather than Rome, he might have been saved.
Carmine Daniele added that all of Pino's brothers wished
the singer's funeral could be in Naples, his hometown, rather
than Rome as planned.
Pino Daniele had been rushed to hospital in Rome in
critical condition after a heart attack, but efforts to save him
failed.
The singer had apparently began to feel ill Sunday night
while at his isolated vacation home in the countryside near
Orbetello in the Maremma region of Tuscany.
At about 9:15 p.m. local time, an ambulance with a doctor
was sent out and about 10 minutes was lost clarifying the
address of Daniele's farmhouse, sources said.
By the time he arrived in hospital in Rome, he was in
critical condition and died soon after.
"When Pino Daniele has arrived in our hospital, the
situation was so serious that he immediately underwent CPR, but
unfortunately after a few minutes he was dead," said Carlo
Saitto, a spokesman for the health region when the Rome hospital
Sant'Eugenio is located.
"There was nothing we could do, unfortunately," he added.
Daniele's funeral will be held at noon at Rome's Sanctuary
of Our Lady of Divine Love.
Premier Matteo Renzi called the death a terrible loss for
the country as well as the city of Naples.
"I still have in my ears his music from New Year's Eve
(celebrations)," the premier said.
"He had an incredible voice, one that sang not only of
Naples and of the South, but throughout all of Italy," said
Renzi.
Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples called Daniele "an
honoured son" of the city.
"He was a great artist," said the cardinal.
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