With the death of Fabrizio De André from cancer on January 11, 1999, Italy lost one of its most modern singer/songwriters. Inspired by the songwriting of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, De Andre's songs encompassed Genoese folk songs, French protest/social commentary, beatnik "stream of consciousness" poetry, and the soundtracks of Italian film Westerns. In Italy and in the rest of world he is considered a poet because of the quality of his lyrics.