Zucchero Fornaciari

Zucchero
Zucchero live at Skanderborg Festival, Denmark, in August 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Adelmo Fornaciari
Born	(1955-09-25) 25 September 1955 (age 61)
Origin	Roncocesi,Reggio Emilia, Italy
Genres	Blues Rock R&B Soul Gospel Funk Pop
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter record producer
Instruments	Vocals Guitar Bass Drums Keyboards
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Polydor, Universal
Website	www.zucchero.it

Adelmo Fornaciari Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [aˈdɛlmo fornaˈtʃaːri]; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero ([ˈdzukkero] or [ˈtsukkero]), is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician, with an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. His stage name Zucchero is the Italian word for sugar, as his elementary teacher used to call him. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul, blues and rock music, and alternates between Italian ballads and more rhythmic R&B-boogie-like pieces. He is credited as the "father of the Italian blues", introducing the blues music on the big stage in Italy. He is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoy great international success.

In his career, spanning more than three decades, Fornaciari has sold over 60 million records around the world, and internationally his most successful singles are "Diamante", "Il Volo/My Love", "Baila (Sexy Thing)/Baila morena", and the duet "Senza una donna (Without a Woman)" with Paul Young. He has achieved numerous awards, including four Festivalbar, nine Wind Music Awards, two World Music Awards (1993, 1996), six IFPI Europe Platinum Awards, and a Grammy Award nomination. He collaborated and performed with many famous artists, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian May, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, B. B. King, Sting, Bono, Paul Young, Peter Gabriel, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli among others.