Today is the day to talk about some Brazilian musicians and composers that are worth getting to know for an immersion in the best part of Brazilian culture. Although the list is numbered, it is not an order of importance. I won't go into the merits of agreeing or disagreeing with the content of the songs of some of the artists who have socially and politically critical music. I believe that music, as with fashion, tends to be a reflection of its time and is certainly a reflection of the artists' experiences, even in the cases of artists who create a character for the stage. The songs have their original names, sometimes with translation to english between parenthesis.
- Chiquinha Gonzaga. Germany has Clara Schurman, Brazil has Chiquinha Gonzaga, who is not one bit behind Clara in courage and daring. Her music is also very significant. Perhaps music is that perfect form of expression for strong, avant-garde people. One of her best-known songs is “Atraente” (attractive).
- Heitor Villa-Lobos. Another with compositions rich in beauty and sensitivity. He dedicated himself to creating classical music with a very Brazilian identity. He composed, among others, the “Bachianas Brasileiras”.
- Pixinguinha. His best known song is “Carinhoso” (tender).
- Ary Barroso. He composed, among others, “Aquarela do Brasil”.
- Noel Rosa. One of the great voices of the past. Author of songs such as “Com que roupa” (with what clothes) and “arranjei um fraseado” (I got a phrasing).
- Cartola. One of the greatest Brazilian samba singers. Author of hits like “as rosas não falam” (the roses don't talk).
- Luiz Gonzaga. The king of the baião. It's almost impossible to hear his songs without dancing (if you're not Brazilian, read the other posts I wrote about the parties of June and plan your trip now to learn how to dance baião and forró in the most traditional Brazilian parties. Sing songs like “A vida do viajante” (the life of a traveler), “asa branca” (White Wing) and “pagode russo” (Russian Pagoda).
- Adoniran Barbosa. Author of several sambas from the past, including “Saudosa Maloca” and “Trem das onze” (“train of eleven o’clock”, one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar).
- Vinicius de Moraes. If you've never heard “Girl from Ipanema” you don't know anything about Brazil. And this is just one of the poetinha's many successes (the original name of the song is “garota de Ipanema”).
- Lupicínio Rodrigues. He composed, among other successes, the anthem of his favourite football team, Grêmio de Porto Alegre. A beautiful song with characteristics of strong gaucho music.
- Dorival Caymmi. He composed, among other hits, “O que que a baiana tem”, immortalized in the voice of Carmen Miranda.
- Tim Maia. Author of hits that span different generations. You will hardly meet a Brazilian who has never heard songs by Tim Maia such as “gostava tanto de você” (I liked you so much), “Descobridor dos sete mares”, “do Leme ao Pontal” or “Primavera” (spring), among others.
- Tom Jobim. Another one of those mandatory names. Author of great hits such as “Girl from Ipanema” (in partnership with Vinícius de Morais) and “Só tinha de ser com você”, among others.
- Joao Gilberto. The creator of Bossa Nova. He composed, among other hits, “Sampa” and “Chega de Saudade”.
- Baden Powell. Author of hits such as “Canto de Ossanha”.
- Roberto Carlos. Most of his fans have aged with him. In his youth he was the king of the Young Guard. Nowadays he composes romantic songs and performs for audiences of mature people.
- Erasmo Carlos. One of the pioneers of Brazilian rock. Author of hits such as “é preciso saber viver” (It's necessary to know how to live), “Gatinha Manhosa”, “é proibido fumar” (It's forbidden to smoke) and others, several of them re-recorded by other artists like Skank, Titãs and Léo Jaime.
- Gilberto Gil. Author of hits such as “Esperando na Janela” (from the soundtrack of the movie “Eu, Tu, Eles”), “aquele abraço”, “toda menina baiana” (Every Bahian girl), “Andar com fé”, and “Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo” which was the opening song of the television series based on the children's work by Monteiro Lobato.
- Milton Nascimento. Nicknamed Bituca. One of the most beautiful male voices in Brazilian music. His career is full of beautiful hits such as “canção da America” (Song of America), “quem sabe isso quer dizer amor” (Maybe that means love), “coração de estudante” (Student heart), “tudo que você podia ser” (Everything you could be), “nos bailes da vida”, “caçador de mim” (Hunter of me), “fé cega, faca amolada” (Blind Faith, sharp knife) and many others. Required in any good Brazilian music playlist. Listen without moderation!
- Caetano Veloso. A well-known name in Brazilian music, he is the author of hits such as “Sozinho”, “Alegria, Alegria”, “London, London”, “A luz de Tieta”, among others.
- Chico Buarque. His biggest hits were composed in the 70s. He is almost 80 years old. He composed, among others, “o que será”, “apesar de você” (despite you), “construção” (Construction), “cálice” and “cotidiano”.
- Maria Bethania. Owner of a beautiful voice, one of her great successes is “onde estará o meu amor”.
- Belchior. Among the compositions you should listen to are “apenas um rapaz latino americano” (Just a Latin American Boy) and “como nossos pais” (Like Our Parents).
- Alceu Valença. Among his greatest hits are “Morena Tropicana” and “La belle de Jeur”.
- Toquinho. A soft voice very familiar to Brazilians over thirty years of age as the composer and performer of “Aquarela”, which in the 1980s was the soundtrack of the advertising campaign for a brand of school products such as coloured pencils.
- Djavan. Author of hits like “se...” (If...), “nem um dia” (Not a day), “eu te devoro” (I devour you), “meu bem querer” and “Oceano” (ocean).
- Rita Lee. She started as the female voice of “Os Mutantes”, currently works as a soloist. Among her greatest hits are “Ovelha negra” (black sheep), “desculpe o auê”, “balada do louco” (“Ballad of the madman” with Os Mutantes) and “Ti ti ti”.
- Cazuza. One of the best known names in Brazilian rock in the 80s. Like Freddie Mercury, he died young of AIDS. Among his hits are “Codinome Beija-Flor”, “exagerado” (Exaggerated), “o tempo não para” (Time doesn't stop), “faz parte do meu show” (It's part of my show), “Ideologia” (ideology) and “Bete Balanço”.
- Renato Russo. Another great Brazilian artist taken by AIDS. Most of his successes were with the band Legião Urbana, although he has recorded solo albums. “Equilíbrio Distante”, despite its Portuguese name, is an album of songs in Italian. “The Stonewall celebration concert” is all in English. Among the songs in Portuguese stand out “Pais e Filhos”, “Eduardo e Mônica”, “mais uma vez” (Once more), “meninos e meninas” (Boys and Girls) among many others.
- Marisa Monte. One of the most beautiful female voices in Brazil. Her hits include “vilarejo” (village), “cama” (bed), “na estrada” (On the road), “a sua” and many others.
- Jorge Benjor. Author of hits such as “Chove chuva” (rain rain), “País tropical” (Tropical country) and “menina mulher da pele preta”.
- Elis Regina. Her beautiful voice is in big hits such as “o bêbado e a equilibrista” (The drunk and the tightrope walker), “Como nossos pais” (Like our parents) and “Arrastão”.
- Raul Seixas. He composed hits such as “Gita”, “Metamorfose ambulante” (Walking Metamorphosis), “Eu nasci há dez mil anos atrás” (I was born ten thousand years ago), “Medo da Chuva” (Fear of the Rain) and “Sapato 36” (Shoe 36. 36 is the smaller size for adult shoes in Brazil).
- Hermeto Pascoal. Among his hits are “nem um talvez” (with Miles Davis) and “Pernambuco falando para o mundo” (Pernambuco speaking to the world).
- Sivuca. Famous accordionist, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, his repertoire includes songs like “Feira de Mangaio” and “Adeus, Maria Fulô”.
- Ney Matogrosso. Between his work with the group “Secos e molhados” and his solo career, at the age of 80, the artist has in his repertoire songs such as “Tigresa”, “que fim levaram todas as flores” and “Por debaixo dos panos” (under the covers).
- Carmen Miranda. She was born in Portugal, but Brazilians don't care about that. For a long time she was the face of Brazil to the world. Among the famous songs we have “Disseram que voltei americanizada” (they said I came back americanized), “O que que a baiana tem” (what the baiana has) and “Arca de Noé” (Noah's ark).
- Ze Ramalho. He has hits like “Chão de giz” (Chalk Floor), “Avôhai”, “Entre a serpente e a estrela” (Between the Serpent and the Star) and “Admirável gado novo” (Admirable New Cattle) and an unmistakable voice.
- Lulu Santos. A Brazilian rock star of the 80's, he has among his biggest hits “apenas mais uma de amor”, “Um certo alguém”(a certain someone), and “Como uma onda” (like a wave).
- Clara Nunes. My earliest musical memories have the voice of Clara Nunes singing “Morena de Angola”. But she also sang “O mar serenou” (the sea calmed), “Guerreira” (warrior) and many others.
- Martinho da Vila. One of the most famous names in samba. Among his famous songs are “Madalena do Jucú”, “Devagar, devagarinho” and “canta, canta minha gente”.
- Lô Borges. One of the founders of Clube da Esquina, a group of artists from Minas Gerais that marked Brazilian music in the 70s and 80s. His repertoire includes hits such as “Trem de doido” and “O trem azul” (the blue train).
- Herbert Vianna. He began to be successful on the national scene in the 80s and not even an accident in 2001 that left him paraplegic took him out of the picture. Along with the band “Os Paralamas do Sucesso” there are songs like “Oculos”, a hit from the 80's (which a TV network used in an article I participated in my days as a personal stylist talking about... glasses!), “Lourinha Bombril ”, “Saber amar”, and the beautiful “seja você” (“be yourself”, that song that only tells the truth).
- Sepultura. Band originally formed by brothers Igor and Max Cavalera, Paulo Júnior and Wagner Lamounier. The best-known line-up is the first three members and Andreas Kisser, who joined as second guitarist when Max took over the vocals after Lamounier left. The lineup changed and today has the American Derrik Green on vocals and no Cavalera, but the band continues to be a reference around the world. Like Villa-Lobos, they brought a Brazilian identity to music. Not classical music, but metal.
- Gonzaguinha. Son of Luiz Gonzaga, he followed a different musical path. There are songs like “Eu apenas queria que você soubesse” (I just wish you knew), “Um homem também chora” (A man cries too) and “Não dá mais pra segurar” (I can't hold on anymore).
This is the basics of Brazilian music that everyone should know. I'm building a playlist to help you get familiar with Brazilian music. On Spotify the link to follow the playlist is https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ixU3xQPXtXVjiMBm6QEm4?si=VvT5iQoAQMyyC12dk9AwSw&dl_branch=1.
For foreigners, I notice that many songs by the above artists are difficult to translate because they use possible symbolisms in the Portuguese language to refer to something. Mainly those hits from the period of the dictatorship in Brazil, but other songs that have nothing to criticise the government can also be difficult to understand. Try to understand the origins of each song and its main theme by artist rather than looking for translations. Or just listen without worrying about what they say.
Nycka, the Nomad
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