Salvatore Adamo

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Salvatore Adamo
Salvatore Adamo
Born	1 November 1943 (1943-11-01) (age 68) Comiso, Italy
Nationality	Belgian/Italian
Other names	Adamo
Occupation	songwriter

Salvatore, Knight Adamo, simply known as Adamo (born 1 November 1943, Comiso, Sicily, Italy) is a Belgian – Italian composer and singer of ballads, mainly in French, but also in other languages such as German, Italian and Spanish. He had commercial success during the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, but also in Japan and the United States. Now he lives in Belgium. He is of Sicilian/Italian ancestry.

Biography

His father Antonio, a well digger, emigrated to Belgium in February 1947 to work in the mines of Marcinelle, and in June of the same year, his wife, Concetta, a housewife, and their son Adamo joined him in the town of Ghlin (Mons) before moving to Jemappes (Mons). In 1950, Adamo was bedridden for a year with meningitis. Adamo’s parents did not want their son to become a miner, so Adamo went to a Catholic school run by the Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes. By 1960, the family of Antonio and Concetta Adamo had seven children overall. Adamo grew up in Jemappes (Mons) where he was a dedicated student at school and distinguished himself in Music and the arts, in general, from an early age, making an impression with his singing abilities. At the end of the 1960s, Adamo married Nicole. Their son, Anthony, was born in 1969, while in the 1980s Benjamin and then Amélie were born. At the height of Adamo's stardom, his father died by drowning on 7 August 1966.

In 1984, Adamo had heart problems which necessitated a heart bypass operation and a temporary though total withdrawal from work. Since 1993, he has been an honorary UNICEF ambassador from Belgium and, in this capacity, has visited countries such as Vietnam, Lebanon, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and others. In 2001, Adamo was named a chevalier by Albert II, King of the Belgians. In 2004, health problems forced Adamo to cancel a scheduled tour but, since 2007, he is touring again. Recently. he has performed in Espinho, Portugal and Bucharest, Romania (in december 2011).

There are versions of "Tombe la Neige", (one of his many international hits) in Bulgarian, Turkish, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese (Cantopop).

His sister Délizia is also an artist. Adamo wrote a number of songs for his sister including her debut hit "Prend le chien" in 1974. She also joined him in his tour in 1975.

Career

Adamo's early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo, the music of French crooners such as Jacques Prévert or Georges Brassens, and the Italian canzonette. He started singing and composing his own songs from an early age. His debut was in a Radio Luxembourg competition, where he participated as singer and composer of the song "Si j'osais" ("If I dared") winning the competition's final held in Paris, in 14 February 1960.

Adamo's first hit was "Sans toi, ma mie", in 1963, from his debut album 63/64. He followed this with a series of hits, "Tombe la neige" ("The snow falls"), "Vous permettez Monsieur" ("May I, Sir"), "La Nuit" ("The Night") (1964), "Dolce Paola" ("Sweet Paola"), "Les Filles du bord de mer" ("The girls at the beach"), "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") (1965), "Ton Nom" ("Your Name"), "Une meche de cheveux" ("Lock of hair") (1966), "Une larme aux nuages" ("A tear to the clouds"), "Inch'Allah" (1967), "L'amour te ressemble" ("Love resembles you") (1967), "Notre roman" ("Our novel") (1967), "F... comme femme" ("W... like woman") (1968), "A demain sur la lune" ("See you tomorrow on the moon"), "Petit bonheur" ("Small happiness") (1969), "Va mon bateau" ("My boat goes"), "Les belles dames" ("Beautiful ladies") (1970), "J'avais oublié que les roses sont roses" ("I had forgotten that the roses are pink") (1971), "C'est ma vie" ("It's my life") (1975). Other notable songs included "Manuel", "Si Tu Etais", "Les Collines De Rabiah", "J'Te Lache Plus", "Mourir Dans Tes Bras", and "Ce George(s)".

The self-penned "Petit bonheur" sold over one million copies by April 1970, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1]

Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. Adamo briefly attempted movie acting when he was cast in the film Les Arnaud (1967), which starred Bourvil.

He has recorded in many languages and, besides France and Belgium, had hits in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and also in Japan, where he toured repeatedly. Adamo has had hits and toured also in Latin America and throughout the Middle East. In Chile, the audience awarded him an appreciation prize known as the "Antorcha" (Gold and Silver Torch) at the "Festival de Viña del Mar" held yearly in the "Quinta Vergara", at the seaside resort of Viña del Mar, where he once had to sing in three different, sold-out venues in the same night.^[2]

In the 1980s, Adamo's career faltered, as the style of his music was no longer fashionable. Since the 1990s, however, and on the crest of a nostalgia wave, Adamo has successfully resumed composing, issuing records and touring, starting with a full season at the Casino de Paris venue in April 1990.

Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of recordings worldwide.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1998 Regards
• 2001 Par les temps qui courent
• 2003 Zanzibar
• 2007 La part de l'ange
• 2008 Le bal des gens bien (Duets, remakes of his songs)
• 2010 De Toi à Moi

Compilation albums

• 2002 Les mots de l’âme
• 2003 C'est Ma Vie - L'intégrale 63/75
• 2004 Un soir au Zanzibar (live)
• 2005 Platinum Collection

Live albums

• 1965 : Live à l'Olympia
• 1967 : Live à l'Olympia
• 1969 : Live à l'Olympia
• 1971 : Live à l'Olympia
• 1977 : Live à l'Olympia

DVDs

• 2004 : Un soir au Zanzibar (live)

Publications

• 1980: Le Charmeur d'Océans (preface by Raymond Devos - éditions Claude de la Lande)
• 1993: Les Mots de l'Ame (éditions Anne Sigier)
• 2001: Le Souvenir du Bonheur Est Encore du Bonheur (éditions Albin Michel)
• 2001: À Ceux Qui Rêvent Encore (éditions Albin Michel)

Bibliography

Adamo - C'est sa vie, Thierry Coljon *fr:Thierry Coljon, éditions du Félin (France), 2003

References

External links

• Official website
• Adamo Italian website
• To see numbers of albums and individual sold