"Tutta la Vita" is a song written and first performed by Italian singer-songwriterLucio Dalla. It was released in 1984 as the first single from his studio albumViaggi Organizzati, produced by Mauro Malavasi. This song is about a man searching for freedom all his life, trying not to fall in love, only to have a good time. For the Spanish-language market, two cover versions were released, and both peaked at number-one in the BillboardHot Latin Tracks chart, the first by Cuban singer Franco and another by Mexican performer Emmanuel, spending three weeks each at the top position, being the first time in the Hot Latin Tracks chart history that two versions of the same song succeeded one another at the top. To date, it is uncertain who released the first cover version of the single.
Franco version
Franco's version of "Toda La Vida" was included on his first album titled Yo Canto. According to his official website he released the first version of "Toda La Vida", peaking at number-one in United States, for three weeks, and in México for 30 weeks, selling in both countries and in the rest of Latin America one million copies. The music video for the single was directed by Rodrigo García. This version spent 22 weeks in the American charts. It replaced Juan Gabriel's "Yo No Sé Qué Me Pasó" at the top of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, being succeeded by another version of the same song, by Mexican singer Emmanuel. This version ranked at number 32 in the recap made by VH1 Latin America for the 100Greatest Songs of the 80's in Spanish.
"Toda La Vida" was released as the first single from Emmanuel's studio album Desnudo, this version was the first Spanish adaptation of the single. Emmanuel told her that he was the first one to discover Lucio Dalla's music in the 80's. This version, along with Franco's, ranked at number 32 in the recap made by VH1 Latin America for the 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's in Spanish. "Toda La Vida" is a staple in every live performance by Emmanuel, and he is often recognized as his signature song.
Chart performance
Other cover versions
In 1987, Canadian pianist and vocalist wrote and produced an entirely original English version of which was subsequently released as a single by RCA Records in Canada. Its flip-side was a Natola composition entitled "Being Free".
In 1987, the Costa Rican team Saprissa released his new anthem "Viva Saprissa" using the melody of this song and changing the letter for the team.
Also In 1988, Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-Johnrecorded a second English version of the song and included it on her album The Rumour, and additionally was used as the opening number to Olivia's musical tour of Australia titled Olivia Down Under.
In 2008, Mexican singer Edith Márquez included another Spanish version of the song on her album Pasiones de Cabaret.
