During an interview granted to the JDD on Sunday January 15, 2023, in the company of Stéphane Eicher, Salvatore Adamo confided in the subject of the death of his father, who lost his life trying to save the singer’s niece from the drowning.
A true legend of the music scene, Salvatore Adamo recently collaborated with Stephane Eicher on a new album called In French Please! (In French please !, note). In fact, the Swiss musician produced this disc composed of covers of Anglo-Saxon standards performed by the Italian-Belgian singer. The two men confided in this subject in the context of a long interview granted to the JDD on Sunday January 15, 2023. During this interview, Salvatore Adamo notably admitted that some of the songs on this new album have an autobiographical dimension concerning him.
“They all resonate with me. That said, even the songs I write aren’t necessarily autobiographical. (…) Luckily I didn’t experience all the heartache I sang about. I would have shot myself in the head“, said the Italian-Belgian singer. “There is still a very moving one“, retorted Stéphane Eicher. “Man of the Hour by Pearl Jam. A sublime ballad on the mourning of a son after the death of his father. When Salvatore recorded it, I felt it was necessary to leave him alone, not to give him advice and to give him time“, underlined the Swiss musician. “I renamed her The Man of My Life in memory of my father“, said Salvatore Adamo, before confiding in the death of his parent.
Salvatore Adamo: “My father played a decisive role in my career”
“He died of hydrocution trying to save my niece from drowning. I was 23 years old. I had written a song to pay homage to him, but I never recorded it. We still found it on Youtube: it’s called Paris 60. My father played a determining role in my career even if I started without his knowledge, in secret. He was an opera lover. I already had the voice I have today. Because of her, I got kicked out of the choir by the priest. And then, he worked every day at the mine to pay for my studies in a catholic establishment. It wasn’t so that I would end up an entertainer“, explained the singer.