'MELODIAS' - January 1968 to June 1970

# 124, January 1968 - Roberto Carlos and a young fan; José Mendes of 'Pára, Pedro' fame.

# 124, January 1968 - Southern folk singer José Mendes hit the big time with  a novelty tune.

# 125, February 1968 - Jair Rodrigues & Vanusa; new-face Caetano Veloso.

# 125, February 1968 - New kid in town, Caetano Veloso receives Fred Jorge at his apartment on the 1st floor of Avenida São Luiz corner with Praça da Republica that he'd just bought. Caetano was with wife Dedé and friends like the members of the Beat Boys. 

# 125, February 1968 - Fred Jorge writes his impressions on Nice Rossi, Roberto Carlos bride-to-be - and they are good impressions. Nice was a lady who grew up in a well-off household. Nice's father, Edmundo Rossi, who died recently, was an illustrious journalist who befriended Roberto and would be happy to know his daughter was about to become Mrs Braga. 

# 125, February 1968 - Best selling singles in December 1967: 1. 'Eu daria minha vida' (Roberto Carlos), 2. 'Pata pata' (Miriam Makeba), 3. 'When summer is gone' (Gary Lewis), 4. 'P'ra nunca mais chorar' (Vanusa), 5. 'Alegria, alegria' (Caetano Veloso); 

# 126, March 1968 - Agnaldo Rayol in a photo-romance; actress Regina Duarte on the back-cover.

# 127, April 1968 - Wanderlea & Silvio Santos; Augusto Toscano & Sandro Villar.

# 127, April 1968 - Nilton Cesar charts in Argentina with 'Lenita' and visits Buenos Aires with Osmar Navarro, RCA's A&R man; Os Demonios da Garoa, who have charted on & off for 13 years - since 1955 - enter the charts again with Sergio Porto's 'Samba do crioulo doido'.

# 128, May 1968 - Jacqueline Myrna & Sylvio Cesar in a photo-romance; Ronald Golias's got back his mojo in 'Família Trapo' on TV Record. 

# 128, May 1968 - TV Record bestows its Roquette Pinto Award to the best act in its category for 1967, the 18th year. See São Paulo Mayor Brigadeiro Faria Lima.

# 128, May 1968 - Roberto Carlos and 'Jovem Guarda' team-mates Wanderlea & Erasmo Carlos had their 2nd year of great success: 1966 and 1967. Idalina de Oliveira gives Silvio Santos his Roquette for best MC.

# 129, June 1968 - Roberto Carlos marries Nice nee Cleonice Rossi in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia: Martinha & Ed Carlos in a photo-romance.

# 129, June 1968 - Leading country radio adventure 'Juvêncio, o Justiceio do Sertão' becomes a magazine. Fred Jorge writes about the show which first went to air on Radio Piratininga in 1960. Written and produced by Reinaldo Santos and featuring Vicente Lia as Juvêncio.  

# 130, July 1968 - Silvinha, Paulo Borges & Jerry Adriani honour Corinthians F.C.; TV Record top-rating sit-com 'Família Trapo' with Zeloni, Jo Soares, Ricardo Corte-Rea, Renata Fronzi, Cidinha Campos & Ronald Golias. 

# 131, August 1968 - Wanderley Cardoso in the movies; Jacinto Figueira Jr., O Homem do Sapato Branco and Mauro Sérigo & Garota Tupi in a photo-romance.

# 131, August 1968 - the nation most popular MC, Silvio Santos, promotes his new TV show called 'Casamento na TV' by fakingly getting married at Consolação Church. Pe Olavo Pezzotti conducts the 20 marriages that took place at the same time.

# 132, September 1968 - Paulo Sergio gets to the top of the charts with 'Ultima canção'; Dori Edson stars in a photoromance where Omar Cardoso plays himself.

# 132, September 1968 - Gilberto Gil & Caetano Veloso were the 

# 132, September 1968 - 

# 133, October 1968 - actor Francisco Cuoco; Paulo Sergio & Katia Cilene in a foto-romance.

# 133, October 1968 - Fernando Lona wrote 'Porta estandarte' with Geraldo Vandré; he died in a car crash on 5 July 1977. 

# 134, November 1968 - Agnaldo Timóteo; blind singer Jean Carlo & Regina Duarte.

 # 135, December 1968 - Agnaldo Rayol & Wanderlea in a photo-romance. The Beatles.

# 135, December 1968 - When these photos taken from TV Tupi's weekly 'Divino, Maravilhoso', commanded by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, plus Gal Costa, Os Mutantes were seen by the fans at 'Melodias', Caetano & Gil had already been kidnapped by a commando of the Brazilian Army from their homes and taken to a secret barracks in Rio de Janeiro were they were kept incommunicado for months. By mid-1969 they had been banned from their own country by the Military Junta that took power after the death of General Costa e Silva and exiled in London, UK.

# 136, January 1969  - Roberto Carlos & Nice Rossi have their 1st child; the New Clevers, who took its name from the original Incríveis in 1966.

# 136, January 1969 - The New Clevers were together for the 4th year: Ringo, Reno, Tony, Francis & Betinho star this month's photo-romance. 

# 137, February 1969 - Silvio Santos; Claudio Fontana, Rost & Agnaldo Timóteo.

# 137, February 1969 - Claudio Fontana plays the romantic lead with Rost. Agnaldo Timóteo plays himself; they are all directed by Fred Jorge; 'Casa de bamba' (Martinho da Vila), 'Eu não vou mais deixar você tão só' (Roberto Carlos), 'Hey Jude' (Beatles), 'Those were the days' (Mary Hopkin) were the hits.

# 137, February 1969 -  Best selling singles of 1968: 1. 'Ultima canção' (Paulo Sergio), 2. 'L'amour est bleu' (Paul Muriat). 

 # 138, March 1969 - Paulo Sergio; Waldirene & Antonio Marcos.

# 138, March 1969 - Fred Jorge writes about meeting a much slimmer Leny Eversong who was about to sing 'The impossible dream' and Armando Manzanero's 'Adoro' at Agnaldo Rayol & Moacyr Franco's 'São Paulo meu amor' variety show; Fred Jorge then gives a glimpse of who Claudio Fontana is. 

# 138, March 1969 - TV Record was perhaps the best channel for comedians. Manoel da Nóbrega started 'Praça da Alegria' at TV Paulista, Channel 5 in the late 1950s but was signed by Record now; Ronald Golias also started at Channel 5 and switched now to Channel 7; Maria Teresa had always been with Record; Renato Aragão who would be the most popular Brazilian comedian in the 80s & 90s was still starting; Ema D'Avila, Zilda Cardoso, Borges de Barros (the posh vagabond), Murilo Amorim Correa were all great comedians. São Paulo ascendancy in comedy would see its last days in the early 1970s. TV Globo would be #1 in all. 

 # 139, April 1969 - Jerry Adriani; Photo-romance with Lurdinha Felix & Djalma Lúcio. 

# 141, June 1969 - Hebe Camargo; Cauby Peixoto in the back-cover.

# 141, June 1969 -  Roquette Pinto Awards for best performers of 1968 was a little late; the ceremony was held on 23rd May 1969. Maybe that was due to the coup d'etait that happened in Brasilia on 13 December 1968, and caught everyone unawares. Many people were arrested by para-military forces, many went into exile and others were simply assassinated by the State's secret polices.

# 141, June 1969 - Roberto Carlos pays a visit to 'Melodias' headquarters on Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, 3042, in Belenzinho, Sao Paulo. Fred Jorge, columnist & long-time Editora Prelúdio associate worked as Roberto Carlos's media-liaison and was the link.

# 141, June 1969 - 'Melodias' bestows its own Best of the Year award, even if the year was only half-way through: Helio Ribeiro is voted radio's best artistic director; Hebe Camargo gets the most votes out of any category: 125,289 votes as best TV hostess.

# 142, July 1969 - Paulo Sergio & Silvio Santos; Arthurzinho & Elizabeth on the back-cover.

# 143, August 1969 - Antonio Marcos; Vanusa & Nilton Cesar. 

# 144, September 1969 - Wanderley Cardoso; Zé do Caixão (José Mojica Marins).

# 145, October 1969 - Paulo Sergio's 3rd 'Melodias' cover (and 1 back-cover) testifies to his astounding popularity; George Freedman, Nalva Aguiar & Luiz Fabiano on the back-cover.

# 145, October 1969 - Os Vips, brothers Ronald & Marcio Antonucci married Claudia & Lilian Knapp. Marcio & Lilian had a baby-girl named Priscila. The Antonucci owned 2 or 3 burgher places, one at Alameda Jaú in São Paulo and kepty their singing career. Lilian Knapp wrote songs for other acts like Nalva Aguiar. They had a rural property in Atibaia-SP where they could relax. 

# 146, November 1969 - Silvio Santos; Martha Mendonça & Altemar Dutra.

# 147, December 1969 - Abelardo Barbosa aka Chacrinha; Arturzinho plays the romantic lead at this month's photo-romance.

# 147, December 1969 - DJ Barros de Alencar at Radio Tupi, was still one of the most popular radio & TV performer in the country.

# 147, December 1969 - This is probably Benito de Paula's first media exposure;  he recorded the opening theme song of TV Tupi soap 'Nino, o italianinho'. He would have to wait another 4 years to become a real hit though.

# 148, January 1970 - Malcolm Roberts, the Brit who charmed Brazil; Waldirene & Antonio Borba.

# 149, February 1970 - Antonio Marcos; Ronnie Von in the back-cover. 

# 149, February 1970 - Antonio Marcos starts shooting a movie and gets a hair-cut.

# 150, March 1970 - Roberto Carlos was still the #1 act in the country; controversy about Paul McCartney's supposed death.

# 151, April 1970 - Paulo Sergio;

 # 153, June 1970 - Antonio Marcos; Nilton Cesar finally makes the grade.

# 153, June 1970 - Nilton Cesar finally hits #1 with 'A namorada que sonhei' written by Osmar Navarro, former singer and RCA's A&R man. Nilton started as a bolero singer at Continental with 'Casa vazia' in 1964. In 1965, he charted with 'Professor apaixonado' an up-tempo tune which linked him with 'Jovem Gurda'' for a while. Then, at RCA Victor he charted with 'Férias na India' and finally hit tie top of the charts with this easy-listening ballad.