Luigi Verderame

Luigi Verderame, known professionally as Luigi, is a Belgian singer of Sicilian descent born on 9 July 1950. He grew up in a musical family and learned to play the clarinet and guitar by age eight. In 1963, he joined his brothers' band as lead singer for a competition. Verderame achieved international success in 1964 with the song “Une Maman”, which was followed by hits such as “Quand j’ai acheté ma guitare” and “Pitie”. He toured extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East before performing in Israel in 1968. Recognized as a teenage idol, he recorded the Hebrew album Luigi in Israel and topped the Israeli charts in 1969 with the song “12 Sha'ot”. In 1972, he performed “Mifrashei Zahav” at the third Children's Song Festival. Because of his association with Israel, he was blacklisted by several Arab countries. In 2005, a double collection of his work was released.