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Luiz Gonzaga (December 13, 1912 - August 2, 1989) was born in the countryside of Pernambuco (Northeastern Brazil) and was personally responsible for the promotion of northeastern music throughout the rest of the country.
Musical education
The son of a peasant and accordion player, he was attracted to the 8-bass accordion at a very early age, but at that time he used to accompany his father by playing the zabumba (type of bass drum) and singing at parties and religious celebrations. He left home in 1930 to join the army, and toured Brazil with an army band until 1939. Gonzaga decided to remain in Rio de Janeiro with a recently purchased accordion. He used to perform in the streets and in bars, playing boleros, waltzes and tangos.
After noticing that the northeastern immigrants missed the music from their hometowns, he started to give listeners what the sort of music they craved to hear: xaxados, baiões, chamegos and cocos. At Ary Barroso’s talent show, Luiz Gonzaga played his chamego Vira e Mexe being acclaimed by the audience and by the dreadful host, who conceded him the highest score. After discovering this niche in the market, Gonzaga became a regular at radio shows and started making records.
Recording career
In 1943, he performed for the first time dressed up in typical northeastern costumes and got hyped. Later on, he started singing, as well as playing the accordion, and his skills as a composer were revealed. His greatest hit ever, "Asa Branca" (written with Humberto Teixeira), was recorded in 1947 and covered countless times by many different artists. He worked on the radio until 1954, enjoying huge popularity and being a baião and accordion trendsetter, besides having all the machines at RCA working to print his discs, only. After that, as bossa nova ascended, he was forcefully kept away from the big city stages, trading them for the countryside, where his popularity never diminished.
In the 70s and 80s, he slowly re-emerged, partly due to covers of his songs made by famous artists like Geraldo Vandré, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, his son Gonzaguinha and Milton Nascimento. "Vozes da Seca", "Algodão", "A Dança da Moda", "ABC do Sertão", "Derramaro o Gai", "A Letra I", "Imbalança", "A Volta da Asa Branca", "Cintura Fina", "O Xote das Meninas", written with Zé Dantas, and "Juazeiro", "Paraíba", "Mangaratiba", "Baião de Dois", "No Meu Pé de Serra", "Assum Preto", "Légua Tirana", "Qui Nem Jiló", written with Humberto Teixeira, are some of his greatest hits. Other successful collaborations resulted in "Tá Bom Demais" (with Onildo de Almeida), "Danado de Bom" (with João Silva), "Dezessete e Setecentos" and "Cortando o Pano" (both with Miguel Lima).
External links
- Rei do Baião (portuguese)