Adriano Celentano

Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano (right) in 2009 with Gianni Morandi
Background information
Born	(1938-01-06) 6 January 1938 (age 79)
Origin	Milan, Italy
Genres	Pop, rock and roll, rock, disco
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, actor, director, television presenter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Years active	1957–present
Labels	Jolly, Clan Celentano
Associated acts	I Ribelli, Mina
Website	clancelentano.it

Adriano Celentano (Italian pronunciation: [adriˈaːno tʃelenˈtaːno]; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer, composer, producer, comedian, actor, film director and TV host.

He is dubbed as the "Molleggiato" (the flexible one) because of his dancing.

Celentano very often is credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs (although, according to his wife Claudia Mori sometimes they were written in collaboration with others). Due to his prolific career and great successes both in Italy and in the rest of the world, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music.

Celentano is also recognized for being particularly perceptive to the changes in the music business. He is credited for having introduced rock and roll in Italy – a genre that exercised great appeal on young people of that time.

Celentano is also an actor and has acted in about 40 films and published many record albums enjoying enormous commercial and critical success.

Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Cristoforo Gluck, about which he later wrote the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" ("The boy from Gluck Street"). His parents were from Foggia, in Apulia, and had moved north for work.

Heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock and roll scene as well as American actor Jerry Lewis, Celentano started playing in a rock and roll band with Giorgio Gaber and Enzo Jannacci. He first appeared on screen in Ragazzi del Juke-Box a 1959 Italian musical film directed by Lucio Fulci. In 1960 Federico Fellini casted him as a rock and roll singer in his film La Dolce Vita.