Few have risen to such great heights in music as the Italian rockstar, Zucchero. Known for award winning and chart topping music, this pariah of rock rose to fame in Italy with his music spreading across Europe, crossing the Atlantic and landing in the US. His albums have sold millions of copies, with a total of forty million racked up. His career has also seen collaborations with the who’s who of American music, from Miles Davis, Eric Clapton and Bono to Ray Charles, who praised him as one of the best blues musicians he had ever worked with. It comes as no surprise when many Zucchero tickets are sold each day.

In rock, few artists have gained as much global fame as Zucchero, a famous Italian rockstar. Coming from Reggio Emilia in Italy, he has been active in rock and pop music since 1980, releasing albums and songs through the Universal Music Group and Polydor Records. An Italian rock singer, he sings and records music that is often inspired by soul and gospel, often mixing in ballads and boogie-like music. Each year, thousands buy Zucchero tickets for his concerts, some of which take place in America. His music has, seen more than forty million records sold worldwide.

Zucchero, Italian for sugar, has a career spanning over for decades and forty million plus albums sold. He has also won many awards, ranging from a Grammy Award nomination to two World Music Awards and six IFPI Europe Platinum Awards. He has come a long way from humble beginnings with the likes of Ray Charles calling him ‘one of the best blues musicians I’ve ever worked with’. He entered the Italian music industry as a member of many bands, starting out in I Ducali, Sugar & Daniel and Le Nuove Luci.

Zucchero then founded Taxi, a band with which he won 1981’s Castrocaro Music Festival. His first appearance at the Sanremo Festival was in 1982, where he played his popular song Una note che vola via. In 1983, he played to a live audience at the Festival dei Fiori, performing the song Nuvelo. The same year, he released his debut album titled Un po’di Zucchero and then went to California in 1984 where he worked with Corrado Rustici, an Italian producer, resulting in the album Zucchero & The Randy Jackson Band. The album featured bassist Randy Jackson and its songs were a massive hit in Italy.

A year later, he again visited California recording the album Rispetto, which featured music that was inspired by American soul. The album was also highly successful commercially and was followed by 1988’s Blue’s which rose to the very top of the Italian charts. The album was such a massive success that it became the Highest Selling Album in the history of Italian music, making him a household name in Italy and across Europe.  The albums songs were very popular and featured artists such as David Sancious, Clarence Clemons and The Memphis Horns.  It was followed by a worldwide tour which also visited the US and saw him perform with the likes of Joe Cocker, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Ray Charles.

In 1989, he went to Memphis where he recorded his next album, again heavily influenced by American soul music. It featured iconic American artists, ranging from Rufus Thomas to Eric Clapton. By then, his band had grown to include David Sancious of E-Street Band fame and the result was an album that sold even more copies than Blue’s with not one but four of its songs rising to the top of the Italian music charts. With many millions of its copies sold, he continued recording and playing music with the likes of Miles Davis, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

During the nineties, an English language album was released with its songs translated by Frank Musker to English. He also sang a very popular duet with Paul Young that gained global airplay and continued working with the best in music, this time with Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Brian May and Elton John. He also performed at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with the remaining Queen members.

He has continued releasing music and performing live, with his latest albums released in 2010 and 2012. These include collaborations with Bono and Brian Wilson, with a tour kicked off right after to promote the albums. A legendary artist, globally, his music has seen a total of over forty million albums sold. He has also won numerous awards and award nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination and is undoubtedly an artist to see live with Zucchero tickets in hand.