Zucchero Releases North American Edition of Chocabeck + Tour [Video]

Zucchero ("Sugar") is Italy's most beloved rock star and one of the top Italian artists worldwide, having sold 40 million records over three decades.

As a singer-songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist, Zucchero has collaborated with the royalty of international rock, blues, R&B, jazz and classical music - from Bono, Sting and Eric Clapton to Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker and Solomon Burke to Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli.

On October 4, Decca Records will release the North American edition of Zucchero's Chocabeck, a new album co-produced with Don Was (the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) that includes English lyrics by Bono, Iggy Pop and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears.

Zucchero teamed with Bono for the track "Someone Else's Tears," a delicate acoustic song that captures the rhythm of life in the Italian countryside.

"I've been a friend of Bono's for a long time," Zucchero says. "He wrote the lyrics for my song 'Blue' and also for 'Miserere,' the song I performed with Pavarotti. Bono doesn't speak Italian at all, but he heard this song and then came out with these beautiful lyrics that exactly matched my idea of what it was about - life in the country, making wine, enjoying the simple things. It's true what they say - the music already has the lyric inside it."

In addition Beach Boys idol Brian Wilson adds distinctive harmonies to the song "Spirit Together," which features lyrics by Iggy Pop, who also adapted English lyrics to Zucchero's Italian-language song "Alla Fine," now titled "Too Late."

Find out more about the international legend with a video he put together for US audiences - "Zucchero Who?" The clip features interviews with Bono, Sting, and other well-known collaborators like Randy Jackson, who worked with Zucchero early in the producer and American Idol judge's career.

Watch Zucchero Who? video:

North American fans can experience Zucchero for themselves on his autumn/winter tour on behalf of Chocabeck, which includes October dates in Toronto, Chicago, New York City and Boston.

Visit Zucchero.it for the full list of stops and the latest updates.

"Every country produces one singer in each generation who represents that country, the way Bruce Springsteen represents America or Bono does Ireland. Zucchero is the Italian voice for everyone in the world." - Sting

Zucchero 2011 North American Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

October 2011

Friday, 10/14 St. Catherines, ON Brock Center For The Arts
Saturday, 10/15 Toronto, ON Massey Hall
Sunday, 10/16 Montreal, PC St. Denis Theatre
Tuesday, 10/18 Ottawa, ON Centre Point Theatre
Thursday, 10/20 Edwardsville, IL Southern Illinois University
Saturday, 10/22 Chicago, IL Park West
Sunday, 10/23 Cleveland, OH Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Tuesday, 10/24 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Thursday, 10/27 Cranston, RI RI PAC
Friday, 10/28 Collingswood, NJ Scottish Rite
Saturday, 10/29 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center

Buy CDs, MP3s, more:

Zucchero on Amazon.com

Zucchero Official Website

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