Trio Esperança 1963

'Radiolandia', 1st October 1963. 

Celia Vilela writes about those brothers & sisters & cousin...

1965 Roquette Pinto award

Giane receives her Roquette Pinto from Marcia Maria in 1966. 

front row from left to right: Elis Regina, ?, Gloria Menezes, Neide Alexandre, Elizeth Cardoso, ?, Hebe Camargo, ?, Giane. Back row from l to r.: Zilda Cardoso, ?, Regina Duarte, ?, ?, ?.

Giane holds her coveted statuette. 

'Melodias' # 104, April 1966 - the gala night at Teatro Record in March 1966.

Roquette Pinto 1962. 

a few years earlier Maysa caused a sensation when she stepped on the stage to get her own Roquette Pinto. 

THE FLYERS, a Brazilian instrumental rock band in 1965

'Melodia' # 89, 

JOSÉ LOPES - Nilza Miranda in 1960

when José Lopes recorded 'Oração de amor' in 1959 (he wrote it himself with Canarinho & Maximiano Parisi) little did he know it would shoot up to #1 in a few weeks. 

After 'Oração de amor' became a #1 hit all over Brazil in 1960, 'Revista do Radio' interviewed José Lopes who told his life story in a few paragraphs. 

José Lopes was born on 29 November 1925, in Indaiatuba-SP but his family moved to Salto-SP when he was a small child. He learned how to sculpt in stone from his Portuguese father and he used to sing while working with his hammer and chisel. 

In 1935, when Jose was 10 years old, a music teacher heard him sing a Vicente Celestino tune and offered to teach him music for free. Three years later he debuted at Itú's Radio Convenção. In 1950, his family moved to Sao Paulo. José sang 'Porta aberta' at Radio Cultura's 'Peneira Rodini' and was soon signed as a professional singer. 

Lopes had a stint in Rio having sung at Radio Nacional and Radio Mundial. When Victor Costa opened Radio Nacional in São Paulo, Lopes moved back and started writing songs himself until he hit the big time with 'Oração de amor' his very first recording.  

José Lopes, Leila Silva, Wilson Miranda, José Orlando & Paulo Marquez. All signed to Chantecler.

Carlos Augusto, José Orlando, Orlando Dias, Sergio Murilo, Wilson Miranda & José Lopes. 

CARLOS ALBERTO, boleros galore!

Carlos Alberto, who came to prominence circa 1963, singing mostly covers of  Latin American boleros translated into Portuguese wasn't your average bolero singer at all. Carlos whose real name was Nuno Soares, had been in a duo called Dupla Quitandinha with Silvio Lima in the 1950s. 

By 1961, Silvio Lima aka Silvinho, hit the big time with 'Quem é?', 'Essa noite eu queria que o mundo acabasse' (E para o inferno o Senhor me mandasse!) and a string of boleros recorded by Philips which reached the top of the charts. 

Even though boleros were on the wane circa 1963, Odeon launched Altemar Dutra who single-handedly proved that boleros were down but not out. Altemar sold records like hot cakes. 

CBS Records which was very competitive at that time thought they must find their own 'Altemar Dutra' as quickly as possible. They didn't have the services of song-writers Evaldo Gouveia & Jair Amorim, but that didn't matter. They could use old boleros like 'Sabra Diós' and translate it into Portuguese as 'Sabe Deus'. Besides, they had awsome conductor Alexandre Gnatalli (Radamés younger brother) as an  arranger and producer. That would do and it actually did do! 

Carlos Alberto had a distinct voice. It sounded as if he wept while he sang. Carlos Alberto's sobbing was much heavier than Johnny Ray's, the Prince of Wails... That 'crying sound' gave Carlos an edge over the competition in an art that pulls at heart strings. The more dramatic the better. Some people hated it but myriad more loved it and soon Carlos Alberto became one of the best selling acts at CBS which was no mean feat considering Roberto Carlos the best-selling-act-in-the-country was a coleague. 

Actually, some say CBS changed Nuno Soares' name to Carlos Alberto to remind audiences of the rock'n'roll idol - both had 'Carlos' in their name and 'Alberto' is very close to 'Roberto'.

After 'Sabe Deus' (Alvaro Carrillo) came 'De joelhos' (De rodillas) (Benito de Jesus-Jota Morales) which was even more snivelling. It seemed as if Carlos Alberto cried all his way to the bank. His 2nd album is my favourite features 'Aquece-me esta noite' (Regalame esa noche), 'Lado a lado', 'Louco fui eu', 'Ansiedade' (Ansiandote) and 'Ilumina-me Senhor' (Illuminame, Señor) which is a paroxism of bewailing lamentation.  

a very young Carlos Alberto (playing the guitar) & Silvinho (holding a bongo) as part of Dupla Quitandinha, in Petrópolis-RJ. 

Gui Castro Neves wrote at FB: Carlos Alberto (*1933 + 2020)

Entre 1945 e 1950, dois meninos em Petrópolis-RJ formaram a Dupla Quitandinha, cujo auge foi a participação no programa de Renato Murce (1900-1987) na Rádio Nacional.

Quando os garotos se tornaram rapazes, o duo se desfez. Porém trilhariam caminhos individuais de grande sucesso!

Eram eles Nuno Soares (esquerda), o Carlos Alberto (1933-2020) e Silvio Lima (direita), o Silvinho (1931-2019).

De mais fascinante nesta história, é que apesar da pouco lembrada associação inicial dos artistas, eles acabariam conhecidos, cada um, como ‘Rei do Bolero do Brasil'. E as audiências sempre se dividiram, a respeito de qual deles seria o merecedor 'afetivo' do título. Juntos ou separados, o que não lhes faltou foram glórias!

Carlos Alberto née Nuno Soares *29 September 1933, in Astolfo Dutra-MG; +7 July 2020, in Juiz de Fora-MG.

columnist Claribalte Passos reviews Carlos Alberto's debut album 'O grande intérprete' for 'Correio da Manhã', 24 May 1964.

blogger Carlus Maximus on 7 August 2014, during his campaign: 'Don't be embarrassed to dig Carlos Alberto!'

'MELODIAS' ex-Radiomelodias 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 & 1962

# 4 - November 1958 - Nelson Gonçalves; Lana Bittencourt.

# 4, November 1958 - 'Melodias' shows a photo of Cauby Peixoto taking part in the Vangauar-Warner Brothers 1957 production 'Jamboree' to prove to those who scoffed him in disbelief when he told the media he was a Hollywood star. 

# 4, November 1958 - List of lyrics presented in issue #4: 'Abandonado' ('Only the lonely' with Sergio Murilo); 'All shook up' (Elvis); 'Bernardine' (Pat Boone); 'Cabecinha no ombro' (Alcides Gerardi); 'Chances are' (Johnny Mathis); 'Escultura' (Nelson Gonçalves); 'Tammy' (Debbie Reynolds) and 'Diana' with Carlos Gonzaga.

# 6, January 1959 - Revista 'Melodias' started in August 1958, as 'Radiomelodias'. It was a monthly rag published by Editora Prelúdio who also printed lyrics magazines as 'Melodias Populares'. The issue above is # 6, with Cauby Peixoto & Julie Joy.

# 6, January 1959 - Dorival Caymmi & João Gilberto; Carlos Nobre, Maysa, Carlos José & Leo Peracchi; Noite Ilustrada with his first album for Mocambo and Claudio de Barros.

# 7, February 1959 -  guarania-singer turned rock'n'roller Carlos Gonzaga on the cover; an already middle-aged Emilinha Borba on the back-cover.

# 7, February 1959 - Early in the year TV Record bestowed her Roquette Pinto Awards for the best in their category; TV Tupi did it likewise with their Tupiniquim Award. 

# 7 - February 1959 - Tupiniquim Award was bestowed by TV Tupi, so naturally they chose their own staff over the competition. But that didn't mean they didn't cross-polinate sometimes. 

# 8, March 1959 - actor Walter Foster; # 10, May 1959 - Cauby Peixoto + 

# 8, March 1959 - 'Ronda dos Bairros' broadcast by Radio Nacional paulista; Moreira Jr. commands 'Ritmos para a juventude' with guests Tony Campello, Yeda Maria and others at Radio Nacional and TV Paulista. 

# 13, August 1959 - TV Record's Idalina de Oliveira & Durval de Souza; # 15, September 1959 - Celly Campello goes out to high-school & gets a Mother's peck.

# 16, September 1959 - Homero Silva & 'Clube do Papai Noel'; Germano Mathias on the back.

# 16, September 1959 - Singer-song-writer Neil Sedaka charms Brazilians of all walks-of-life. Photo opportunities with TV whiz-kid Cassiano Gabus Mendes; with Celly Campello, who took a 'Stupid cupid' cover to # 1 all over Brazil; even with old-timer Emilinha Borba; 

# 16, September 1959 - up-and-coming Tony Campello with his electric guitar; comedian Carlos Alberto da Nóbrega as he boards a Varig airplane. 

# 17, December 1959 - Ronald Golias on the rise; Radio Record's 'Alegria dos Bairros' ruled.

# 21, April 1960 - Walter Foster; D.J. Walter Silva was a celebrity himself. 

# 21, April 1960 - 'Ronda dos Bairros' broadcast by Radio Nacional and TV Paulista; Moreira Junior commands 'Ritmos para a juventude' with guests Tony Campello, Yeda Maria and others.

# 21, April 1960 - Review of Yvonne de Carlo's recital at Teatro Record; José Orlando.

# 56, January 1962 - Pelé was Brazil's great hope at FIFA's World Cup that would run from 30 May to 17 June 1962, in Santiago de Chile; lyrics of 'Juntinhos é melhor' (Emilinha Borba) and 'Escândalo' (Cauby Peixoto). 

# 56, January 1962 - Archimedes Messina was a bolero singer who worked at Radio São Paulo too; 'Rancho das flores' was a poem Vinicius de Moraes set into Bach's 'Jesu, joy of men's desiring', sung by Banda do Corpo de Bombeiros do Estado da Guanabara; 'Quatro velas' was a sad samba sung by Roberto Vidal, one of my favourite tunes of that year. 

# 56, January 1962 - lyrics of songs by Nerino Silva, Martha Mendonça e Orlando Dias, Roberto Luna; Gene Barry's 'Bat Masterson' was the most popular US TV movie of the day. 

# 57, February 1962 - Orlando Dias, Martha Mendonça & Elvis Presley; Leoncio & Leonel + Inezita Barroso on the back-cover.

# 57, February 1962 - Tonico & Tinoco's film 'Lá no meu sertão'. 

# 58, March 1962 - Edith Veiga, Tony Curtis + Cauby Peixoto;

# 58, March 1962 - Every January, TV Record would set up a gala where they would award Chico Viola trophies to the 30 best selling single artists in the music business. 1961 was the year independent label Chantecler were the champion of all, including all the multinationals behemoths like RCA, EMI, Columbia etc.

# 59, April 1962 - Miltinho was King of the Hit Parade; Rock Hudson & Gina Lollobrigida were on top with 'Come September' (Quando setembro vier); Campanha, Cuiabano & Pirigoso + Zelão, Pininha & Verinha. 

# 59, April 1962 - Zé Fortuna & Pitangueira aka Os Maracanãs.

# 60, May 1962 - John Gavin & Angela Maria; Tonico & Tinoco + Marumby, Guaçuy & Orlando Fagundes at the back-cover. 

# 60, May 1962 - Brazilian Football team would compete for FIFA's World Cup in Chile; Jair de Taumaturgo was a columnist at 'Melodias' and produced 'Hoje é dia de Rock' in Rio. 

# 61, June 1962 - Sarita Montiel & Nelson Gonçalves; Zé Fortuna & Pitangueira & Duo Ciriema.

# 61, June 1962 - Celly Campello gets married on 7 May 1962, in São Paulo.

# 62, July 1962 - Demétrius, Silvana & Rinaldo Calheiros; Teixeirinha and Liu & Léo.

# 62, July 1962 - Anselmo Duarte's 'O pagador de promessas' wins big in Cannes.

# 63, August 1962 - Inezita Barroso & Sylvio Caldas + Neil Sedaka; Ademar Silva + Pedro Bento & Zé da Estrada.

# 63, August 1962 - 'A Voz de Ouro ABC' competion final night: Elizabeth de Paula + Oslain Galvão.

# 64, September 1962 - Elizabeth de Paula, winner of 1962 'A Voz de Ouro ABC'; Irmãs Galvão + Cascatinha & Inhana. 

# 64, September 1962 - Nonô & Naná at the inside back cover.

# 65, October 1962 - Carlos Gonzaga + Gilda Lopes; Nanete, Dorinho & Nardeli + Irmãs Souza.

# 65, October 1962 - Antonio Aguilar's 'II Festival of all rhythms' at Cine Piratininga in Lapa.

# 66, November 1962 - Maria Della Costa + Ronnie Cord; Praião & Prainha + Moreno & Moreninho.