Donfut, Aimable, 1920-2013

Belgian accordeon player Aimable Donfut is best known for his collaborations with famous singer Salvatore Adamo, although he recorded several albums of accordeon pieces on his own. Donfut and his wife Fernande, who had been a pianist with his band, Orchestre Musette, married after the war in 1949. The same year, they opened a record store, Donfut Musique, in the Belgian village of Jemappes (now part of Mons) that also sold musical instruments and sheet music and included a little music school. Their neighbors were an Italian immigrant family, the Adamos, who had moved there so the father could work in the mines. The 13-year-old son, Salvatore, who had already shown an interest in music before the war, had received a gift of a guitar; Donfut advised the father that Salvatore should have some lessons and suggested that their little school could teach him. Donfut recognized the boy’s talent and recorded his first songs, becoming Salvatore’s first music publisher. The two collaborated on many songs, such as “Sans toi Mamie,” “Beau masques,” and “En blue jeans et blouson de cuir,” as Donfut became Salvatore’s impresario. The young man went on to fame all over the world singing in numerous languages, while Donfut continued to manage the store for thirty years and to play and compose for the accordeon. Eventually his niece took over the store, and he retired to the nearby village of Saint Symphorien.