The Case of Luigi Tenco in Sanremo - True Crime & Music
- Laura Calonghi
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
Articolo di: Dunya Fadili
Traduzione di: Laura Calonghi
A stage, Sanremo and a death that shocked the music industry: Luigi Tenco's story.
To understand what happened on that night in 1967, one must first understand who Tenco really was and how different he was from other Italian artists of the time. Raised in Genoa, he was part of the so-called "Scuola Genovese" alongside Fabrizio De Andrè, Gino Paoli and Bruno Lauzi. Lighthearted songs and chart-topping melodies were popular during those years, but they tried to bring something deeper to Italian music: true emotions, unease, real love, and social criticism.
Tenco didn't just want success. He wanted to say something. He experienced music as a way to be completely honest and it's something that was clear in his songs. Vedrai vedrai, Mi sono innamorato di te and Un giorno dopo l’altro had turned him into one of the most respected artists of his generation, even though he was still far from real popular success. He wasn't a popstar in the modern sense. He did not chase hits or artificial personas. He sought authenticity, and maybe that's why the Italian public struggled to truly understand him.
Sanremo, the elimination and the night Luigi Tenco died
In 1967, Sanremo wasn't the festival of memes and social trends. It was the most important stage in Italy, the one that could chanage an artist's career forever. Tenco took part in the competiton with Ciao amore ciao, featuring Dalida, who at the time was an international star. The song was melancholic, poetic and very different from other songs in the competition. But maybe that's why it didn't work.
When Tenco arrived at the Festival, he was already emotionally fragile. He often felt out of place in that environment and struggled with the fact that few people understood his music. On the evening of the 26th of January, he took the stage visibly distraught: he had been drinking and taking tranquillizers to calm his anxiety. The performance went poorly and Ciao amore ciao was eliminated. Much lighter songs were chosen instead, exactly the type of music Tenco had always criticised. To him, it wasn't just an artistic defeat, but the confirmation that people didn't understand him.
After the elimination, he disappeared for a few hours. He drove around, went back to the hotel and made some phone calls. He even spoke of a possible press conference to criticise the Festival's system. Then, silence. At 2:10 AM, on the 27th of January 1967, Luigi Tenco was found dead in room 219 of the Hotel Savoy, with a gunshot wound to the head. He was only 28 years old. Next to the body, there was a handwritten note:
“I loved the Italian audience and pointlessly dedicated five years of my life to them. I'm not doing this because I'm tired of life (quite the contrary) but as an act of protest against the kind of audience that sends 'Io tu e le rose' to the final and a committe that selects 'La rivoluzione'. I hope it can clear some people's ideas.”
It seemed like a protest, rather than a goodbye.
And this is where the story becomes even more disturbing. Because what happened next didn't convince anybody. The situation was handled quickly: no immediate autopsy, few checks and many conflicting versions. The Festivl went on normally the next day, as if nothing had happened.
Over the years, many strange details have emerged: different testimonies about who found the body first, photographs considered unclear and a general handling of the case that left many doubts. The file was reopened several times until the definitive dismissal in 2015, which officialy confermed the suicide. Yet, doubts still persist today. Not only regarding the way Tenco died, but especially regarding the fact that nobody really tried to understand what he was going through.
Perhaps because Luigi Tenco represented something that the music industry was unable to handle: an artist who was too honest, too fragile and too real for a world that favoured lightness.
Ciao Tenco, ciao. We still listen to your music and the Italian audience appreciates you now more than ever. Your music is still with us.
