History

‹E› differs little from its derivational source, the Greek letter epsilon ‹Ε›. In etymology, the Semitic ''hê'' has been suggested to have started as a praying or calling human figure (''hillul'' 'jubilation'), and was probably based on a similar Egyptian hieroglyph that indicated a different pronunciation. In Semitic, the letter represented (and in foreign words), in Greek ''hê'' became epsilon with the value . Etruscans and Romans followed this usage. Although Middle English spelling used ‹e› to represent long and short , the Great Vowel Shift, changed long (as in ''me'' or ''bee'') to while short (as in ''met'' or ''bed'') remains a mid vowel.

Usage

Digraphs with ‹e› are common in many languages to indicate diphthongs and monophthongs, such as ‹ea› or ‹ee› for or in English, ‹ei› for in German, and ‹eu› for in French or in German.

In English, the salient phenomenon silent e's, although arising from old inflections that have been dropped, still retain a function as they indicate that certain vowels in the word are long vowels (for example ''rat'' has a short vowel and ''rate'' has a long one).

‹E› is the most common (or highest frequency) letter in the English alphabet (starting off the typographer's phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU) and several other European languages, which has implications in both cryptography and data compression. This makes it a hard and popular letter to use when writing lipograms. Ernest Vincent Wright's ''Gadsby'' (1939) is considered a "dreadful" novel, and that "at least part of Wright's narrative issues were caused by language limitations imposed by the lack of ''E''." Both Georges Perec's novel ''A Void'' (''La Disparition'') (1969) and its English translation by Gilbert Adair omit ‹e› and are considered better works.

Related letters and other similar characters

Computing codes

Vasco Rossi (born February 7, 1952), also known as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter. During his career, he has published 25 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over 150 songs, as well as lyrics for other artists. He calls himself a "provoca(u)tore" (an Italian portmanteau for "provoking author") as throughout his career he has been regularly criticized over his choice of lifestyle and the lyrics in his songs.

Biography

Rossi and his family moved to Bologna, Italy, where he studied accounting in high school. Upon graduating he opened a music club, Punto Club, and enrolled in university at the faculty of Economics and Commerce. In the meantime he supported himself by working as a DJ and founding, along with friends, one of the first private radio stations in Italy, "Punto Radio", with which he began slowly and timidly showcasing his own songs.

Encouraged by his friend Gaetano Curreri (now leading member of Italian rock band Stadio), Rossi released his first EP on June 13, 1977, which included the songs "Jenny è pazza" (Jenny is crazy) and “Silvia", and a full-length album in 1978, ''Ma cosa vuoi che sia una canzone'' ("What do you think a song is"). In 1979, he released a second album, ''Non siamo mica gli americani'' ("It's not, like, we are the Americans"), which included, "Albachiara" ("Cleardawn"), one of his biggest hits, and a ballad considered emblematic of Rossi’s poetic style. His most controversial album, ''Colpa d'Alfredo'' ("Alfredo's fault") followed in 1980; its title-track was censored from the radio and let loose bitter criticism because it contained some lyrics referring to women considered too explicit at that time. The controversy actually increased Rossi’s popularity, and he quickly saw himself famous on a national level, particularly after performing live on ''Domenica In'', a popular Italian television program. The performance did not particularly please journalist Nantas Salvalaggio, who published a scathing article against Rossi calling him drug-addict. Rossi argued that Salvalaggio evidently did not understand his music and remarked how easy it is to criticize a still unknown artist who cannot defend himself.

In 1981, the album ''Siamo solo noi'' ("It's only us") was released. The title track, another signature song of his, would become commonly recognized as a generational hymn.

In 1982, Rossi took part for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival, performing the song "Vado al massimo" ("I'm taking it to the max"). Here, he once again found himself under the harsh criticism, and came in last place in the festival. In April of the same year the album ''Vado al Massimo'' was released. The following year, he reappeared at the Sanremo Music Festival, this time performing “Vita spericolata" (Daredevil Life), probably his most popular song, and finishing in second-to-last place due to his apparent state of intoxication. The following album, ''Bollicine'' ("Little Bubbles"), published in 1983, was his sixth in seven years, and was the album that consecrated him definitively an idol of the new generation and an icon of Italian rock. The title track, whose lyrics are about Coke (but also demonstrate a clear assonance with cocaine), won the Festivalbar ‘83, and his tour that year was an enormous success.

To celebrate this positive period in his career, Rossi released his first live recording in 1984, ''Va bene, va bene così'' ("It’s alright, it’s alright this way"). In April, however, he was arrested on charges of drug possession. He was immediately granted provisional release from jail, but subsequently sentenced to 2 years and 8 months of probation. Shortly thereafter he released his next album, ''Cosa succede in città'' ("What’s happening in the city"), which became one of his weakest critically and did not reach past sales.

In 1987 Vasco Rossi’s ninth album, ''C'è chi dice no'' ("There Are Those Who Say ‘No’"), was released; the ever-increasing numbers of fans showing up to his concerts forced him to quit performing in clubs and normal-sized venues and begin the era of something for which he is known to this day—playing in and selling out big arenas and stadiums.

His tenth studio album, ''Liberi liberi'' ("Free free"), followed in 1989. The success of his 1989 tour brought the release of the live album ''Fronte del palco'' (a pun of the Italian title of Marlon Brando's film "Waterfront" which was "Fronte del porto", and thus meaning "Stage Front") and the organization of two concerts in 1990, one at the San Siro stadium in Milan and the other at the Flaminio in Rome.

Rossi's next album, ''Gli spari sopra'' ("The shots above"), released in 1993, went platinum ten times. The title track, which was a major hit, is a cover version of ''Celebrate'' by the Irish band An Emotional Fish. In 1994 he gave the unreleased "Senza Parole" ("Without Words") as a gift to members of his official fan-club.

In 1995, Rossi was again the star at San Siro with a double concert, ''Rock sotto l'assedio ''("Rock under siege"), which protested the war in Yugoslavia. Rossi invited a few Serbian and Croatian bands to perform but was heavily criticized by the press because the proceeds weren't given to charity, despite the fact they were never meant to.

In 1996, Rossi recorded a new studio album, ''Nessun Pericolo... Per Te'' ("No Danger... For You"), featured songs “Sally” and "Gli angeli" ("The Angels"), (the video of the latter was directed by Roman Polanski).

In 1998 Rossi rediscovered his singer-songwriter side, recording and releasing the album ''Canzoni per me'' ("Songs for me") with a softer and less “rock” sound, even remaking never-published songs written at the beginning of his career. The nature of the songs, however, did not impede Rossi from winning his second Festivalbar with the song, "Luna per te" ("Moon for you"). Given the low propensity of these songs to fit in his live show with the songs his fans had up to that time become accustomed, he decided to hold just one concert in 1998, accepting the proposal to be a guest star on the first evening of the new Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola, Italy. The evening is immortalized in both video and in the 1999 live album ''Rewind''. A few days into the tour, Rossi’s inseparable friend, as well as guitarist and writer/cowriter of many songs and lyrics, Massimo Riva, died unexpectedly. He would be remembered and celebrated by Rossi and fans in nearly every concert that followed.

In 2001, ''Stupido Hotel'' ("Stupid Hotel"), was released, and Rossi won his third Festivalbar, this time with the song “Siamo Soli” ("We are alone"). In 2002 Rossi released his first official recording of remastered songs in their original version, ''Tracks'', which was followed by three sold-out performances at San Siro Stadium in Milan. His album ''Buoni o cattivi'' ("Good or Bad Ones") was the most successful album in Italy in 2004.

On May 12, 2005, Milan’s IULM conferred an honorary degree in Communication Sciences to Vasco Rossi.

On September 9, 2005, Rossi released the double DVD ''È solo un Rock'n'Roll show'' ("It’s Only a Rock’n’Roll Show"), launching the concept of the ‘movieclip,’ in which all the songs from ''Buoni o cattivi''’ are used in a 2-hour long music video. Three months later, ''Buoni o cattivi live anthology 04.05'' was released, a comprehensive box-set comprising a double CD and a triple DVD, recorded live from the record-setting ''Buoni o cattivi tour'' of 2004 and 2005. In December 2005 he returned to Zocca, the town of his birth, where his childhood friends and the rest of the community organized a tribute in his honor, including a photo display and other celebrations.

In 2007, he released the "Vasco Extended Play", that contains the hit single "Basta Poco" ("A Little Is Enough"). The EP topped the Italian FIMI Charts for 21 Weeks, making that the Italian best-selling single of 2007 thus far.

In late 2009, SingStar Vasco Rossi was released.

On 4 May 2010 the "Corriere della Sera" reported Vasco Rossi as saying the American and British governments had been responsible for preventing him and other Italian musicians from becoming known in those countries. “Just as Bob Dylan was banned from playing in China, for 20 years I was barred from London. … It’s one of the many ‘presents’ that America left us after World War II. To favour the sale of American and British music to Italy and discourage the export of our talents abroad.”

In June 2011 Rossi announced he would be retiring from touring and live work although would continue to work in the music business.

Official discography

LPs

EPs & Singles

DVDs

References

External links

Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Modena Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian singer-songwriters

Biography

According to urban legend, before beginning his singing career, Celentano was a student of Ghigo Agosti during Agosti's 1955-1956 Northern Italian tour, which was also guitarist Giorgio Gaber's debut.

Heavily influenced by his idol Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock revolution and by the American actor Jerry Lewis, he has retained his popularity in Italy for the last 40 years, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies. In the latter respect, he has also been a creator of a comic genre, with his characteristic walking and his facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful; indeed in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, he was the king of the Italian box office in low budget movies. As an actor, critics point to ''Serafino'' (1968), directed by Pietro Germi, as his best performance.

As a director he frequently casts Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. He and Claudia have three children; Rosita, Giacomo and Rosalinda Celentano, most notable to worldwide audiences for playing Satan in Mel Gibson's ''The Passion of the Christ''. He also often works as a host on several Italian television shows.

He has released forty albums, comprising twenty nine studio albums, three live albums, and eight compilations. His most famous songs are "La coppia piu' bella del mondo", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc; "Azzurro" (1968), with lyrics by Paolo Conte; and "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (1972).

Celentano was referenced in the 1979 Ian Dury and the Blockheads song and single, "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3", as one of the aforementioned "reasons to be cheerful," and in Fellini's 1986 film ''Ginger and Fred''.

Adriano Celentano has been a vegetarian since 2005 and defends animal rights.

Discography

Films

See also

References

External links

Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:People from Milan Category:Italian male singers Category:Italian comedians Category:Italian film actors Category:Italian songwriters Category:Italian buskers Category:Italian vegetarians Category:Italian-language singers Category:Sanremo Music Festival winners