Philippe Pagès' name was changed to Richard Clayderman (he adopted his great-grandmother's last name to avoid mispronunciation of his real name outside France), and the single took off, selling an astonishing 22 million copies in 38 countries. Have fun playing Richard Clayderman sheet music with Tomplay. Like most of his compositions, the piece is lively and entertaining - its perfect for appealing to a wider audience, as proven by the success of the piece. They liked his special and soft touch on the keyboards combined with his good looks and fine personality, and finally he got the job. The Ballade pour Adeline (1977) by Richard Clayderman is one of his best-known pieces, which he dedicated to his newborn daughter. The 23 year old Philippe Pagès was auditioned along with 20 other pianists.

Paul de Senneville had composed this ballad as a tribute to his new born daughter “Adeline”. In 1976 he was invited from Olivier Toussaint a French record producer and his partner Paul de Senneville to record a gentle piano ballad. Richard Clayderman (born Philippe Pagès on December 28, 1953, Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the original compositions by Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, and instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie sound tracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of classical music.