Zucchero
b. Aldelmo Fornaciari, 1956, Northwest Italy, he was given the nickname Zucchero (Sugar) as a child. He trained as a veterinary surgeon at Bologna University where a black American student taught him guitar and introduced him to soul music. Singing in a style reminiscent of Joe Cocker, Zucchero formed his own band in the late '70s but found initial success supplying songs for other artists. He made his first records in the mid-80s, and BLUES sold over a million in Italy. It also contained his best-known song Senza Una Donna, which was a hit across continental Europe. Guest artists on Zucchero's 1990 album included Jimmy Smith, Rufus Thomas, Ennio Morricone and Eric Clapton, with whom he toured Europe the same year. He achieved a breakthrough in the UK when Paul Young dueted on a new version of Senza Una Donna. The English lyrics were by Zucchero's regular collaborator Frank Musker, a British musician who had recorded in the early '80s with Bugatti & Musker. Zucchero himself translated the lyrics for Sting's Italian-language version of Mad About You. Clapton played on the follow-up single Wonderful World, while Zucchero dueted with Randy Crawford on Diamante (1991).