1955 – 1984
Adelmo Fornaciari was born in Roncocesi, province of Reggio Emilia, on the 25th of September , 1955. Everybody has always called him Zucchero, a nickname originally given to him by one of his elementary school teachers.
In 1968, he and his family moved to Forte dei Marmi.
He started his musical career in 1970 founding his first groups: ‘I Duca’ and ‘Le Nuove Luci’. This was just the beginning and continued with various others: ‘I Decals’ released the single “Un’ora/Un’ora (strumentale)” (1976), ‘Sugar & Daniel’ and then ‘the Sugar & Candies’, with “Voulez Vous Danser/My Woman” (1977) and “Mi vida/Something in my Life” (1978).
In 1980, a new band called ‘Taxi’ was formed with which he would play for the following three years. The band came first in the “Festival di Castrocaro” awards, and had the song “Canto Te” included in “Castrocaro ’81” and took part in the 1982 and 1983 editions of the ‘SanRemo’ competition, where “Una Notte che Vola Via” and “Nuvola” were presented.
In 1983, his first album, “Un po’ di Zucchero” was released. Disappointed by his artistic situation, he decided to try and make a change, and in 1984 he left for California.