From public enemy to institution, from a provincial radio station to an entire population, from the Apennines to the stadiums: Vasco Rossi is the protagonist of the new paper issue of Rolling Stone Italy. You will not find the magazine on newsstands, but only in the stadiums where Vasco will perform in the month of June, in the official merch: 5-6 in Ferrara, 12-13 in Olbia, 18-19 in Bari, 23-24 in Ancona, 28-29 in Udine.
There are 128 pages entirely dedicated to the hero of Italian music. They contested and opposed him, but in the end he won, with his diversity, with his singularity, with songs that he wrote while always remaining on the same side, his. He provoked but never incited, he always and only represented himself and his irrepressible desire to live and understand. He changed the language of our song and, in doing so, he managed to get all kinds of people recognized in his records, from the writer Alessandro Baricco, who explains in an essay contained in the magazine that «that man's music told my life, and quickly, and in an irresistible way, and with surprising accuracy», to rappers under 30 who admire his life lived to the fullest, his extreme sincerity, his non-conformism.
Vasco Rossi often repeats that to know him you have to listen to the songs. They tell the story of the evolution from a provincial who mocks the myth of bourgeois life to a mature man who sings about turmoil, fears and existential insecurities. He has never held back and this is also why his colleagues respect him and sometimes venerate him, the establishment knows him and sometimes fears him. Imitators of all kinds take to improvised stages every weekend to try to capture at least a little of the magic of his performances, but above all to define their own identity in a world in which they don't recognize themselves. Hundreds of thousands of fans await summer and concerts in stadiums as they waited for Christmas as children.
These and other stories, including naturally a long interview with Vasco, are contained in the issue of Rolling Stone Italy dedicated to the only true rock star Italy has ever had.
Photo: Alex Majoli
