Adriano Celentano

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.

Celentano was born on 6 January 1938 in Greco, 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, Leontino Celentano and Giuditta Giuva, were from Foggia, Apulia, and had moved north for work. His career as a singer started in 1959. Before his debut as an artist, he was working as a watchmaker.

Heavily influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock 'n' roll scene as well as by American actor Jerry Lewis, 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). In 1962, Celentano founded the Italian record label Clan Celentano (which is still active) with many performers such as Don Backy, Ola & the Janglers, Ricky Gianco, Katty Line, Gino Santercole, Fred Bongusto and his wife Claudia Mori. As a film director, Celentano frequently cast Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. He and Mori have three children, Rosita, Giacomo and Rosalinda Celentano. Rosalinda is most notable to worldwide audiences for playing Satan in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Celentano has also hosted several Italian television shows. 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. Among his most popular songs there are "La coppia più bella del mondo", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc; "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 gibberish. Celentano was referenced in the 1979 Ian Dury and the Blockheads song and single, "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3", as one of the aforementioned "reasons to be cheerful", and in Fellini's 1986 film Ginger and Fred. After 18 years without live performances, Celentano's 2012 live concert was broadcast on Mediaset channel Canale 5, attracting over 9 million viewers.

Celentano has been a vegetarian since 2005 and has defended animal rights. A football fan, Celentano is a well-known Inter Milan supporter. In 2009, Celentano told La Repubblica that for years he wanted to learn English but never found time to do so, and said it is a "real pain" not being able to speak the language. When the Barilla pasta company introduced a corkscrew pasta in the 1970s, it was named cellentani for Celentano. As Barilla trademarked the name, other companies call the shape cavatappi.