Adelmo Fornaciari ( born 25 September 1955), known professionally as Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero, is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for “sugar”, as his primary school 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 Italian blues”, introducing blues to the big stage in Italy. He is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoys great international success.
In his career, spanning four 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 won 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 has collaborated and performed with many famous artists, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Brian May, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Billy Preston, John Lee Hooker, Scorpions, Sheryl Crow, Blues Brothers Band, Elvis Costello, Roland Orzabal, Joe Cocker, Sharon Corr, B. B. King, Sting, Buddy Guy, Bono, Bryan Adams, Mark Knopfler, Iggy Pop, Coldplay, Dolores O’Riordan, Paul Young, Peter Gabriel, Alejandro Sanz, Luciano Pavarotti, and Andrea Bocelli.
