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Adriano Celentano (Italian:[adriˈaːnotʃelenˈtaːno]; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed Il Molleggiato ("the springy one") because of his energetic dancing.[2][3]
Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and critical success. With around 150 million records sold worldwide, he is
the second best-selling Italian musical artist.[4][5] Often credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs, according to his wife
Claudia Mori, some were written in collaboration with others. Due to his prolific career, both in Italy and abroad, he is considered one of the pillars of
Italian music.
Celentano is recognized for being particularly perceptive of changes in the music business and is credited for having introduced rock and roll to Italy. As an actor, Celentano has appeared in 39 films, mostly comedies.
Early life
Celentano was born in
Milan, Italy, at 14 Via Cristoforo Gluck, a street close to the Central Station and this address later became the subject of 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.[6] His career as a singer started in 1959. Before his debut as an artist, he was working as a
watchmaker.[7]
Career
Heavily influenced by
Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene as well as by American actor
Jerry Lewis,[8] Celentano started playing in a rock and roll band with
Giorgio Gaber and
Enzo Jannacci. Along with Gaber and Jannacci, he was discovered by Jolly Records A&R Executive
Ezio Leoni, who signed him to his first recording contract and co-authored with Celentano some of his greatest early hits, including "
24.000 baci", "Il tuo bacio è come un rock", and "Si è spento il Sole".
He first appeared on screen in Ragazzi del Juke-Box, a 1959 Italian musical film directed by
Lucio Fulci with music by Ezio Leoni. In 1960,
Federico Fellini cast him as a rock and roll singer in his film La dolce vita (1960).
Celentano has retained his popularity in Italy for over 50 years, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies. As part of his TV and movie work, he created a comic genre, with a characteristic walk and facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful; indeed, in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, his low-budget movies were top of Italian box office rankings. As an actor, critics point to Serafino (1968), directed by
Pietro Germi, as his best performance.
He has released 40 albums, consisting of 29 studio albums, three live albums, and eight compilations. His most popular song is "La coppia più bella del mondo", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc;[9] "
Azzurro" (1968), written by
Paolo Conte; "
Svalutation" (1976), and "
Prisencolinensinainciusol" (1972), which was written to mimic the way English sounds to non-English speakers despite being almost entirely nonsense.[10]
After 18 years without live performances, Celentano's 2012 live concert was broadcast on
Mediaset channel
Canale 5, attracting over 9 million viewers.[11]