Salvatore Adamo


Salvatore, Knight Adamo is a Belgian singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Italy and grew up from the age of three in Belgium. He holds dual citizenship of Belgium and Italy.
He first gained popularity throughout Europe and later in the Middle East, Latin America, Japan, and the United States. He has sold more than 80 million albums and 20 million singles making him one of the most commercially successful musicians in the world. He mainly performs in French but has also sung in Italian, Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Turkish. "Tombe la neige", "La nuit", and "Inch'Allah" remain his best known songs. He is currently the best selling Belgian musician of all time.

Early Life

Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily. His father Antonio, a well digger, emigrated to Belgium in February 1947 to work in the mines of Marcinelle. Four months later his wife, Concetta, and their son, Salvatore, joined him in the town of Ghlin before moving to Jemappes. In 1950, Salvatore was bedridden for a year with meningitis.
Salvatore's parents did not want their son to become a miner, so he 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. Salvatore grew up in Jemappes, where he was a dedicated student at school and distinguished himself in music and the arts.

Career

Adamo's early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo and Jacques Prévert, the music of French singer-songwriters like 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", winning the competition's final held in Paris on 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, the most famous being "Tombe la neige" in 1963, "La nuit" in 1964, and "Inch'Allah". The self-penned "Petit bonheur" sold over one million copies by April 1970, and was awarded a gold disc.
Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of recordings worldwide. 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. He 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" 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. 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, he has successfully resumed composing, issuing records and touring, starting with a full season at the Casino de Paris venue in April 1990.

In popular culture

Adamo briefly attempted movie acting when he was cast in the film Les Arnaud, which starred Bourvil. Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. "Tombe la neige", one of his many international hits, has been covered in Bulgarian, Turkish, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.

Honours

In 2001, Adamo was raised into the Belgian nobility by King Albert II and given for life the Belgian noble title Ridder, translated into English as "Knight". He was appointed an Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown in 2002. In 2014, Adamo was honoured at Victoires de la Musique in France.

Personal life

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 2004, health problems forced him to cancel a scheduled tour but, since 2007, he is touring again. In December 2011, he performed in Espinho, Portugal and Bucharest, Romania.
At the end of the 1960s, Adamo married Nicole. Their children were Anthony, Benjamin, and then Amélie. At the height of his stardom, his own father died by drowning on 7 August 1966. His younger sister Délizia was also a recording artist. He wrote a number of songs for his sister, including her debut hit "Prends le chien" in 1974. She also joined him in his tour in 1975.

Discography

Studio albums

;In German
;Spanish
;In Italian
;In German
;In Italian
;In Spanish