Salvatore Adamo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adamo
Adamo in 2007
Born	(1943-11-01) 1 November 1943 (age 81) Comiso, Sicily, Italy
Nationality	Italian Belgian (since 2019)
Occupation	Musician singer
Years active	1963–present
Parents	Antonio Adamo (father) Concetta Adamo (mother)

Salvatore Adamo (born November 1, 1943) is a famous Belgian-Italian musician, singer, and composer. He is best known for his romantic songs, called ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy. He moved to Belgium when he was only three years old. Because of this, he has dual citizenship, meaning he is a citizen of both Italy and Belgium.

Throughout his career, Adamo has sold over 80 million albums and 20 million singles around the world. This makes him the best-selling Belgian artist ever. He is also one of the most successful musicians globally.

Adamo first became popular in Europe. Later, his music reached the Middle East, Latin America, Japan, and the United States. He mostly sings in French, but he has also sung in many other languages. These include Italian, Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Turkish. Some of his most famous songs are "Tombe la neige", "La nuit", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?", "Inch'Allah", and "Petit bonheur".

Since 2001, Adamo has held a special Belgian noble title called Ridder. This title is similar to being a "Knight" in English.

Early Life and Family

Salvatore Adamo's father, Antonio, moved to Belgium in February 1947. He went there to work as a coal miner in the mines near Marcinelle. Four months later, his wife, Concetta, and their son, Salvatore, joined him. They first lived in Ghlin, near Mons, before moving to Jemappes.

In 1950, Salvatore was sick with meningitis and had to stay in bed for a whole year.

Salvatore's parents did not want him to become a miner like his father. So, he went to a Catholic school run by the Christian Brothers. By 1960, Salvatore's family had seven children in total. Salvatore grew up in Jemappes (Mons). He was a dedicated student and showed great talent in music and arts.

Adamo's Music Career

Salvatore Adamo, 1964

Adamo was inspired by the poems of Victor Hugo and Jacques Prévert. He also loved the music of French singers like Georges Brassens and Italian canzonette (little songs). He started singing and writing his own songs when he was young.

His first big step was in a Radio Luxembourg competition. He sang and wrote a song called "Si j'osais" ("If I dared"). He won the final competition in Paris on February 14, 1960.

Adamo's first hit song was "Sans toi, ma mie" in 1963. This song was from his first album, 63/64. After that, he had many more hit songs. Some of the most famous include "Tombe la neige" ("The snow falls") in 1963, "La nuit" ("The Night") in 1964, and "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") in 1965. His song "Inch'Allah" also became very popular.

Another song he wrote, "Petit bonheur" ("Little Happiness"), sold over one million copies by April 1970. This earned him a gold disc.

Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of his music worldwide. He has recorded songs in many languages. Besides France and Belgium, he had hits in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Japan. He has toured many times in Japan. He also had hit songs and toured in Latin America and the Middle East.

In Chile, fans gave him a special award called the "Antorcha" (Gold and Silver Torch). This was at the "Festival de Viña del Mar." One time, he had to sing in three different, sold-out places in the same night there!

In the 1980s, Adamo's music style was not as popular. But since the 1990s, he has made a successful comeback. People started loving his classic songs again. He began writing new songs, releasing albums, and touring. He started with a full season of shows at the Casino de Paris in April 1990.

In 2003, he released an album called Zanzibar. He worked with his friend, the singer Arno, on this album. During a tour in 2004, Adamo became unwell during a show and had to go to a Paris hospital. Some of his shows were cancelled because of this. Even later in his life, Adamo still had many fans in Latin America. In 2018, during a tour, 50,000 people came to Santiago airport in Chile just to see him!

Adamo performing in 2012

In 2023, he released an album called In French Please!. It featured French versions of popular English songs by artists like Elton John. A concert tour in 2023, celebrating his 60-year career, was at risk due to his health. However, the first concerts went ahead as planned.

Adamo in Movies

Adamo has also acted in a few French-language movies. His first movie was Les Arnaud (1967), where he starred with Bourvil. He also acted in L'ardoise (1970). Adamo even helped write, direct, and act in a movie called L'île au coquelicot (1972).

Years later, he appeared in the TV series La Légende de Croc-Blanc (1992). He was also in the movie Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches (2003). Adamo played himself in the movies Lili David (2012) and Les Chamois (2017).

Awards and Special Recognitions

In 2001, King Albert II of Belgium gave Adamo a special noble title. He was made a Ridder, which is like a Knight. His motto became "Humbly but with dignity." In 2002, he was also made an Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown.

In 2014, Adamo received an honor at the Victoires de la Musique in France. For his 38 visits to Japan and over 500 concerts there, he was honored with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun in 2016. This was also for his influence on Japanese music and his work as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Salvatore Adamo in 2011

Some of Adamo's Awards

• Dutch Edison Award: 1964
• French Miden trophy: 1965, 1966, 1967
• Zamu Music Award for his whole career: 2002
• Victoires de la Musique Lifetime achievement award: 2014
• Grands prix SACEM: 2017
• Premio Tenco: 2018
• SABAM Lifetime achievement award: 2023

Special Honors

• Honorary citizen of Jemappes: 1966
• UNICEF ambassador: 1993
• Honorary citizen of Montreal, Canada: 2002
• Honorary citizen of Mons, Belgium: 2002
• Honorary citizen of Comiso, Italy: 2002
• Honorary citizen of Paris, France: 2005
• Honorary citizen of Uccle, Belgium: 2010
• Radio 2 Hall of Fame: 2014
• Doctorat honoris causa from the University of Mons: 2014
• He has 27 Golden albums, with some selling over 1 million copies.
• He has sold over 130 million records worldwide.

Personal Life

In the late 1960s, Adamo married Nicole. They have three children: Anthony (born in 1969), Benjamin, and Amélie. Sadly, at the peak of his fame, his father passed away in 1966. His younger sister, Délizia, also became a singer. He wrote several songs for her, including her first hit "Prends le chien" in 1974. She also joined him on his tour in 1975. Adamo has two sons and one daughter, and two granddaughters.

In 1984, Adamo had heart problems and needed an operation. He had to take a break from work for a while. Since 1993, he has been an honorary UNICEF ambassador for Belgium. In this role, he has visited many countries, including Vietnam, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. In 2004, health issues forced him to cancel a tour. But since 2007, he has started touring again. In December 2011, he performed in Espinho, Portugal and Bucharest, Romania.

Fun Facts About Adamo

• In his song Dolce Paola, Adamo sang about Paola, who later became the Queen of Belgium. Later, Prince Philippe asked him to write a song for his wife, Mathilde.
• Since 1994, there has been a type of Dutch tulip flower named "Adamo."
• His song Vous permettez, monsieur? was the number one song on the annual list in 1964.
• In the town of Sin-le-Noble in France, there is a street named "Rue Salvatore Adamo."

Adamo's Music Albums

Studio Albums

Albums in Other Languages

In German

• 1988 : Seine Grossen Erfolge
• 1999 : Single Hits
• 2003 : So Bin Ich, Das Beste
• 2011 : All the Best

In Spanish

• 1981 : Aquellas manos en tu cintura
• 1986 : Buscador de oro
• 1990 : Las mejores canciones
• 1998 : Simplemente lo mejor
• 2003 : Lo mejor de...48 – Grandes éxitos
• 2004 : En Chile – Live
• 2004 : 24 Grandes éxitos en castellano
• 2005 : Mis manos en tu cintura
• 2006 : Voces del amor
• 2011 : 30 Grandes de

In Turkish

• 1964 : ‘’Her yerde kar var’’

Compilation Albums (Collections of Songs)

• 1962: Adamo
• 1967: 'Hits of Adamo'
• 1974: Los Hits de Adamo en Castellano (Greatest hits in Spanish)
• 1978: Les chansons d'où je viens
• 1993: 30 ans (20 great songs, new recordings)
• 1993: Paroles et musique
• 2002: Mes plus belles chansons d'amour
• 2002: Les Mots de l'âme
• 2003: C'est ma vie: L'Intégrale 1963/1975
• 2003: Anthologie C'est ma vie
• 2005: Platinum Collection
• 2019: 1962-1975

In Italian

• 1996: Canto L'Amore
• 1998: I Successi di Adamo
• 1998: I Successi di Adamo Volume 2
• 2005: Studio Collection

Live Albums (Concert Recordings)

• 1965 : Adamo à l'Olympia
• 1967 : Olympia 67
• 1968 : A la place des arts de Montréal
• 1969 : Olympia 69
• 1969 : Adamo in Japan live
• 1970 : Adamo in Deutschland: Live-Konzert aus der Philharmonie in Berlin
• 1971 : Olympia 71
• 1972 : Live in Japan 72
• 1974 : Live in Japan 74
• 1977 : Olympia 77
• 1981 : Live au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées 80
• 1982 : Japan concert 81
• 1984 : Japan Best sélection
• 1992 : Live in Japan
• 1992 : A l'Olympia – Collection Or
• 1994 : C'est ma vie. Le meilleur d'Adamo en public
• 1994 : Symphonic'Adamo
• 1994 : C'est Ma Vie – Enregistrement public
• 1998 : Best Of – Le meilleur En Public
• 2002 : A l'Olympia
• 2004 : Un soir au Zanzibar
• 2004 : En Vivo, Estadio Chile 2003

Singles (Individual Songs)

(Some of his songs)

Singles in Other Languages

In German

In Italian

In Spanish

• 1964: "La noche" (La Nuit)
• 1965: "Permíteme Señor" / "Después"
• 1966: "Mis Manos en tu Cintura" / "Ella..."
• 1966: "L'amour e Ressemble" / "Nada Que Hacer"
• 1967: "Le Neón" / "Marcia Anche Tu"
• 1968: "Vals de Verano" / "Y Sobre el Mar"
• 1968: "Inch' Allah" / "Nuestra Novela"
• 1969: "El Arroyo de mi Infancia" / "Un Año Hará"
• 1974: "Marie La Mer" / "Sólo Una Mujer"
• 1975: "Los Campos en Paz" / "Es Mi Vida"

DVDs

• 2003: Live in Japan 1992
• 2004: Un soir au Zanzibar (live concert)
• 2005: Salvatore Adamo en Chile
• 2020: En Concert 1976 (live)
• 2023: Salvatore Adamo : Documents TV (1963-1970)

See Also

In Spanish: Salvatore Adamo para niños