Piero Ciampi (Livorno, 28 September 1934 – Rome, 19 January 1980) was an Italian singer-songwriter.
Biography.
Adolescence and Early Musical Experiences.
Piero Ciampi was born in Livorno, on Via Roma, facing the birthplace of Amedeo Modigliani, from his father's second marriage, a leather merchant. During the Second World War, following the bombings on the city, the Ciampi family evacuated to the countryside near Pisa, returning to Livorno only several years after the end of the conflict. That initial tragic bombing of the city completely devastated the port area, causing almost six thousand casualties. Nevertheless, Livorno remained his reference city, even though Piero had to leave it for the first time in 1943.
In 1948, he enrolled at the "Vittorio Veneto" Scientific High School in Milan, hosted by his paternal aunt. Upon reaching the fifth year, after various attempts between public and private schools, he failed to obtain his diploma. Returning to Livorno, he formed a musical trio with his brothers Roberto and Paolo, where he tried his hand at singing. During this period, he supported himself by working in a lubricant oil company at the port until he received the call for military service.
He performed his military service in Pesaro, where, during free evenings, he played in local venues with three fellow soldiers, including Gian Franco Reverberi. Already during this period, as Reverberi recounted, his quarrelsome character began to manifest; "charming man and poet, he could evoke both hatred and love. The commander's daughter fell in love with him during that time, to whom Ciampi wrote letters every day." According to Reverberi, "not even Cyrano de Bergerac could have done better.
The parisian period.
Upon returning to Livorno, he began playing the double bass (an instrument he taught himself) in small ensembles in the area. However, driven by restlessness and economic necessity, in 1957, he headed to Genoa, where he reunited with Reverberi and formed a friendship with the painter Federico Sirigu. Later, he moved to Paris, where he started shaping his own musical style characterized by "twilight atmospheres, sparse verses, pathos," and performed with a hoarse and cavernous voice. These songs were later reconsidered in the context of the vibrant singer-songwriter era of the time. Despite this creatively fruitful period, he lived in poverty, singing his poems—often written just hours before performing—in exchange for fees barely sufficient for sustenance. Nevertheless, he made a name for himself in some Parisian cultural circles where they began to call him "l'italianó"; in this context, he met Louis-Ferdinand Céline and became an admirer of Georges Brassens. During his time in Paris, he had the opportunity to meet and befriend Leonard Cohen, whom he would encounter again in Rome years later.