Who Are Those Singers & Musicians? ~ Pino Rucher

 

Pino Rucher was born in Manfredonia, Foggia Italy on January 1, 1924. Rucher started playing the guitar when his father came back from the United States in 1933 and presented him with a guitar. His parents decided that he should take private music lessons. After a few years’ study, he started playing in public in his hometown and in Naples and Bari. With the presence of American troops in the province of Foggia (and particularly in the area of Manfredonia, Rucher's hometown), between 1943 and 1946 led to Rucher joining several Allied Army's orchestras, where he came into contact with American musical atmosphere and jazz

In 1946, Rucher entered the Carlo Vitale orchestra after coming first in a competition for the position of guitarist at Radio Bari. After the dissolution of the Vitale orchestra, Rucher went to work for Radio Milano as a member of the Carlo Zeme orchestra. In the 1950s and the early 1960s he also worked with two forerunners of Italian "swing", Pippo Barzizza and Cinico Angelini.

Cinico Angelini selected Pino Rucher as a member of his orchestra, with which Rucher worked in a great number of events. Some of these events are the "First International Song Festival in Venice" in 1955 and several "San Remo Music Festivals", among which the 1957 Festival, where Claudio Villa came first with "Corde della mia chitarra".

Pino Rucher is also well-known for his extensive performances for Italian film scores, having worked with Luis Bacalov, Gianni Ferrio, Ennio Morricone & Riz Ortolani among others.

Rucher played not only the electric guitar, but also the folk (or acoustic), the classical, the bass and the twelve-string guitar, and then the banjo, the mandolin and the double bass. His credits are often confused with Alessandro Alessandroni’s.

Pino died on August 16, 1996, San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy. He was 72.

The Municipal Authority of Manfredonia dedicated a street to Rucher. The event in honor of Pino Rucher took place in Piazza Giovanni XXIII (Manfredonia’s central square) on October 5, 2008. Afterwards, the Mayor Paolo Campo and Antonio Leone, vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, made speeches and gave Rucher’s family memorials. Antonio Pepe and Billa Consiglio, President and Councillor of the province of Foggia, also spoke. The event was later included in a TV cover by Enzo Del Vecchio.

In 2013 Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone was called into court based on charges from Maria Rucher the daughter of Pino Rucher, who siad Morricone did not give her father proper credit for guitar solos he performed on three of Morricone’s best-known soundtracks. She’s asking for €800,000 ($1.1 million) to compensate for the oversight.

RUCHER, Pino [1924, Manfredonia, Foggia, Italy, 8/16/1996, San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy] – arranger, musician (guitar).

Fistful of Dollars – 1964 [guitar]

Adios Gringo – 1965 [guitar]

For a Few Dollars More – 1965 [guitar]

For a Fist in the Eye – 1965 [guitar]

$100,000 for Ringo – 1965 [guitar]

A Pistol for Ringo – 1965 [guitar]

The Avenger – 1966 [guitar]

Blood at Sundown – 1966 [guitar]

Django – 1966 [guitar]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – 1966 [guitar]

The Man from Nowhere – 1966 [guitar]

Navajo Joe – 1966 [guitar]

Ringo the Face of Revenge – 1966 [guitar]

$7.00 to Kill – 1966 [guitar]

Sugar Colt – 1966 [guitar]

The Texican – 1966 [guitar]

Day of Anger – 1967 [guitar]

Death Walks in Laredo – 1967 [guitar]

Django Kill – 1967 [guitar]

For a Few Bullets More – 1967 [guitar]

Payment in Blood – 1967 [guitar]

Two Faces of the Dollar – 1967 [guitar]

Kidnapping – 1968 [guitar]

The Stranger Who Made the Sign of the Cross – 1968 [guitar]

5-Man Army – 1969 [guitar]

The Price of Power – 1969 [guitar]

They Call Me Trinity – 1970 [guitar]

Paths of War – 1970 [guitar]

Duck You Sucker – 1971 [guitar]

Guns for Dollars – 1971 [guitar]

His Name Was King – 1971 [guitar]

Alleluia and Sartana, Sons of God – 1972 [guitar]