Salvatore Adamo (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. By the second half of the sixties, Adamo had become the world's second best-selling musician after The Beatles. Through his career, he sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, making him the best-selling Belgian artist of all time, and one of the most commercially successful musicians in the world.
He first gained popularity throughout Europe and later in the Middle East, Latin America, Japan, and the United States. Adamo mainly performs in French but has also sung in Italian, Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Turkish. "Tombe la neige", "La nuit", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?", "Inch'Allah" and "Petit bonheur" remain his best known songs. His songs have also been interpreted by countless artists worldwide. For instance "Yuki Ga Furu", the Japanese version of "Tombe la neige" has been covered by more than 500 artists, making it by far the most popular Japanese Christmas song, ahead of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".
Since 2001 Adamo holds the Belgian noble title of Ridder, similar to the English title of "Knight". He became an officer of the French Légion d'honneur in 2005 and a Commander in the Order of the Star of Italy in 2015. He was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 2016 for his influence on Japanese popular music.
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, before moving to Jemappes (Mons).
In 1956, 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 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 Jacques Brel and French singer-songwriters like Georges Brassens and Charles Aznavour, 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, "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") in 1965 and "Inch'Allah" in 1967. 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 80 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 2003, he released the album Zanzibar, in collaboration with his friend the singer Arno, whose repertoire already included a famous cover of the song Les Filles du Bord de Mer. During a 2004 tour, Adamo was admitted to a Paris hospital because he had become unwell during a performance. Consequently, a number of performances were cancelled. In the following years, however, he would continue to perform worldwide in French-speaking countries such as Belgium, France, Canada, Switzerland, but also in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Japan. Even later in life, Adamo proved to still have a lot of fans in Latin America. In 2018, during a tour, 50,000 people gathered at Santiago airport in Chile to see their idol.
In 2023, he produced an album of French adaptations of English language hits by Elton John, Pearl Jam and 10cc. The album is entitled In French Please! A concert tour in 2023, celebrating his 60 year career was jeopardized due to the ongoing health problems of the 79-year-old Adamo. In the end, the first concerts went ahead as planned.
Filmography
Adamo acted in a few French-language movies. He made his film debut in Les Arnaud (1967), which starred Bourvil. He acted in L'ardoise (1970) of Claude Bernard-Aubert, together with Michel Constantin and Jess Hahn. Adamo himself co-wrote, directed and acted in L'île au Coquelicot (1972).
Years later, he reappeared in the series La Légende de Croc-Blanc (1992) and in the movie Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches (2003). Adamo acted as himself in Lili David (2012) and Les Chamois (2017).
In popular culture
Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. More than five hundred different versions of his chanson "Tombe la neige", one of his many international hits worldwide, exist. It has been covered in Bulgarian, Turkish ("Her Yerde Kar Var"), Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Chinese (Cantopop).
Honours and awards
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 honored at Victoires de la Musique in France. For his 38 visits to Japan and over 500 concerts, his influence on Japanese popular music, and his work as UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Adamo was honored Order of the Rising Sun in 2016.
Orders
Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 1987)
Knight of the Order of the Crown (Belgium, 1991)
Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium, 2002)
Officer of the Legion of Honour (France, 2005)
Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy (Italy, 2015)
Commandeur de le Mérite wallon (fr) (Wallonia, Belgium, 2015)
Member 4th Class (Gold Rays with Rosette) of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2016)
Awards
Dutch Edison Award: 1964 (album Vous Permettez Monsieur?)
French Miden trophy: 1965, 1966, 1967
Zamu Music Award for his entire career: 2002
Grand Prix international de poésie francophone by Société des poètes et artistes de France: 2010
Victoires de la Musique Lifetime achievement award: 2014
Octaves de la Musique (fr) Lifetime achievement award: 2014
Grands prix SACEM: 2017
D6bels Music Awards (fr) Prix d'Honneur: 2018
Premio Tenco: 2018
Vagonate di vinile award of the Associazione Vinile Italiana: 2018
SABAM Lifetime achievement award: 2023
Music Industry Awards Lifetime achievement award: 2025
Honours
Honorary citizen of Jemappes, Belgium: 1966
Ville de Jemappes Silver Medal: 1973
UNICEF ambassador: 1993
Created Knight Adamo by Royal Decree, with devise Humbly but with dignity: 2001
Honorary citizen of Montreal, Canada: 2002
Honorary citizen of Mons, Belgium: 2002
Honorary citizen of Comiso, Italy: 2002
Bronze Zinneke: 2003
Honorary citizen of Paris, France: 2005
Honorary citizen of Uccle, Belgium: 2010
Radio 2 Hall of Fame: 2014
Doctorat honoris causa University of Mons: 2014
Personal life
At the height of his stardom, his father died by drowning on 7 August 1966. At the end of the 1960s, Adamo married Nicole Durant. Their children were Anthony (born in 1969), Amélie (1980) and Benjamin (1981). 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. He has two granddaughters.
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 started touring again.
Trivia
In Dolce Paola, he sang about Paola, the later queen of Belgium. In the press, rumors spread that Adamo had an affair with the princess. He later received a request from Prince Philippe to also compose a song for his wife Mathilde, the Duchess of Brabant.
Since 1994, there has been a Dutch tulip named Adamo.
Vous permettez, monsieur? was at No 1 on the 1964 annual list.
In the commune of Sin-le-Noble in France, there is a Rue Salvatore Adamo.
Albums (other languages)
In German
1988 : Seine Grossen Erfolge
1999 : Single Hits
2003 : So Bin Ich, Das Beste
2011 : All the Best
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
Turkish
1964 : ‘’Her yerde kar var’’
Compilation albums
1962: Adamo, (25 cm, Polydor)
1967: 'Hits of Adamo' (hits from 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966 – Orchestra conducted by O.Saintal and A. Goraguer, English sleeve note EMI LP 3601)
1974: Los Hits de Adamo en Castellano-EMI/Odeon (Greatest hits in Spanish)
1978: Les chansons d'où je viens (CBS, new arrangements by Roger Loubet and Franck Fiévez – with Orchestre philharmonique de Toulouse)
1993: 30 ans (20 great songs, new recordings CARRERE/WEA)
1993: Paroles et musique (1979/1991) (AMC Belgium, unreleased titles)
2002: Mes plus belles chansons d'amour (Double CD Atoll Sony 1979/1994 with unreleased titles)
2002: Les Mots de l'âme (compilation – Long Box 3 CDs EMI)
2003: C'est ma vie: L'Intégrale 1963/1975 (compilation – first 12 albums, EMI)
2003: Anthologie C'est ma vie (Long Box 3 CDs EMI (with previously unreleased titles and foreign versions)
2005: Platinum Collection (compilation – 3 CD collection, EMI, 2 unreleased tracks)
2019: 1962-1975 (8 CD PIAS)
In Italian
1996: Canto L'Amore
1998: I Successi di Adamo
1998: I Successi di Adamo Volume 2
2005: Studio Collection
Live albums
1965 : Adamo à l'Olympia
1967 : Olympia 67
1968 : A la place des arts de Montréal (Canada)
1969 : Olympia 69
1969 : Adamo in Japan live
1970 : Adamo in Deutschland: Live-Konzert aus der Philharmonie in Berlin (Double album)
1971 : Olympia 71
1972 : Live in Japan 72
1974 : Live in Japan 74
1977 : Olympia 77 (CBS)
1981 : Live au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées 80 (Teldec Germany Import EMI) (Double album)
1982 : Japan concert 81 (disques Victor double album with le Choral Echo and String Orchestra Arrangements Gérard Sabbe)
1984 : Japan Best sélection (studio remix of 20 live tracks Concert 81) (Rereleased 1990 and 1992 in France 16 titles – Pomme Music Sony)
1992 : Live in Japan (EMI Toshiba Japan) (CD and DVD with different tracks at times)
1992 : A l'Olympia – Collection Or (Sony International) (Olympia '77 + 4 titles in studio)
1994 : C'est ma vie. Le meilleur d'Adamo en public (At Théâtre Royal de Mons) (Double CD Flarenasch Carrère, 34 titles)
1994 : Symphonic'Adamo Live à Liège on 22 Avril 1994) (SA Music)
1994 : C'est Ma Vie – Enregistrement public (Flarenasch Carrère France) ("Les meilleurs moments" 18 titles)
1998 : Best Of – Le meilleur En Public (Wagram France)
2002 : A l'Olympia (Wagram France 1995 / 2002)
2004 : Un soir au Zanzibar (En public au Cirque Royal de Bruxelles) (Double CD and DVD Polydor)
2004 : En Vivo, Estadio Chile 2003 (Double album EMI in Spanish live – EMI Chili)
Singles
(Selective)
Singles (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)
2005: Salvatore Adamo en Chile
2020: En Concert 1976 (live)
2023: Salvatore Adamo : Documents TV (1963-1970)
Publications
Salvatore Adamo, Chansons racontées aux enfants (Hachette): 1969
Le Charmeur d'Océans (preface by Raymond Devos – éditions Claude de la Lande): 1980
Les Mots de l'Ame (éditions Anne Sigier): 1993
Le Souvenir du Bonheur Est Encore du Bonheur (éditions Albin Michel): 2001
À Ceux Qui Rêvent Encore (éditions Albin Michel): 2001