Cantautori

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Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).

Although the term, in theory, might refer to all those who compose and then perform their own songs, including, say, medieval troubadors, the term in contemporary Italian refers to a large number of relatively recent Italian popular singers − archetypically those who rose to prominence during the student protests of the 1960s and '70s − who write songs that may or may not be particularly melodic but always have social or political relevance. For the purposes of comparison, Bob Dylan would be an American cantautore. Among the best known of Italian cantautori are Francesco Guccini, Claudio Lolli, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, and Fabrizio De André.

Of the younger generation of artists, Jovanotti and Luciano Ligabue have often been tagged as modern cantautori.

Italian words and phrasesTemplate:Italy-music-stub