Salvatore Adamo
Salvatore Adamo (born November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citizenship. Since 2001 Adamo holds the Belgian noble title of "Ridder", similar to the English title of "Knight". 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. The father of Adamo, Antonio, emigrated to Belgium in February 1947 to work as a colliery worker in the mines of Marcinelle. Four months later his wife, Concetta, and their son, Salvatore, joined him in the town of Ghlin, (Mons) before moving to Jemappes, (Mons). 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 (Mons), 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" ("If I dared"), 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" ("The snow falls") in 1963, "La nuit" ("The Night") in 1964, and "Inch'Allah". The self-penned "Petit bonheur" ("Little Happiness") 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" (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. 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 was the cast in the film "Les Arnaud" (1967), which starred Bourvil. Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. The song "Tombe la neige", one of his many international hits, has been  covered in Bulgarian, Turkish (""Her Yerde Kar Var""), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Chinese (Cantopop). Honours. In 2001, Adamo was raised into the Belgian nobility (with motto "Humblement mais dignement") by King Albert II and given for life the Belgian noble title "Ridder". 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 and Herzegovina, 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 (born in 1969), 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.