Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Jorge Goulart - Primeira Audição (1958)

This post is really special for two reasons. It celebrates the 70th year anniversary of Radio Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, which is today, Tuesday, 12th September.

The second and main reason is to introduce to Loronixers Jorge Goulart, a great Brazilian singers that was a true hero on the golden ages of Radio Nacional.

Jorge Goulart came to zecalouro attention with an email message received from a great friend of Jorge Goulart asking for information. Since then, this friend and zecalouro exchanged several emails talking about Jorge, which is still active, with 80 years old. But what makes me feel really happy is that Jorge Goulart did not listen to this LP, Primeira Audição (1959) for years and zecalouro is now giving the chance to Jorge Goulart and all Loronixers around the world have this great experience.

Jorge Goulart, congratulations for the exceptional artist you are and for the great human example you give us with your will for life, happiness and determination to face all the challenges you have been through.

From zecalouro and all the great Loronix worldwide community.

Let's celebrate Jorge Goulart and Radio Nacional. Do not forget to read AMG Bios and tracklist.

01 - Além do Céu (Sidney Morais / Édson Borges)
02 - Ave Maria no Salgueiro (Jorge Morais / Rufino Gonçalves)
03 - As Pedras Se Encontram (René Bittencourt / Raul Sampaio)
04 - Pra Que Continuar (Mário Lago)
05 - Há 5 Minutos (Mário Lago)
06 - Chegou o Rei Bantu (Eloy Dutra / Alcyr Pires Vermelho)
07 - Palhaço (Ivon Cury)
08 - A Flor do Lodo (Zé Keti)
09 - Adeus Para Que (Mário Lago)
10 - Seja Qual For a Hora (Mário Lago)
11 - Suavemente (Mário Lago / Chocolate)
12 - Intriga (Ataulfo Alves)


Having his name strongly connected to the history of Brazilian Carnival, Jorge Goulart had a highly successful career with many hits. He also participated in several films, of which the most important is Rio 40 Graus (Nelson Pereira dos Santos) -- in the film, he sang "A Voz do Morro," a 1955 classic by Zé Kéti. Among many other historical pieces, he launched the timeless number (played innumerable times in every Carnival ball) "Cabeleira do Zezé" (João Roberto Kelly/Roberto Faissal) in 1964. Other Carnival smashes were "Mundo de Zinco" (Wilson Batista/Nássara, 1952), "Joga a Chave, Meu Amor" (J.R. Kelly/J. Rui), "Mané Fogueteiro" (João de Barro), and "Couro de Gato" (Grande Otelo/Rubens Silva/Popó). Goulart also is important as a singer who made composers of the samba schools like Elton Medeiros ("Exaltação a São Paulo"), Zé Kéti (the fundamental "A Voz do Morro," 1955), Candeia, and Silas de Oliveira known for a wider audience. Goulart debuted in his professional career interpreting songs by Custódio Mesquita, to whom he had been introduced by his father. Performing regularly at the Eldorado dancing, he soon began to work also at the Rádio Tupi. His first 78 rpm was released in 1945 due to Mesquita's influence as a director at Victor. After being dismissed from the recording company because of three albums that didn't happen, he became friends with Ary Barroso, who gave him his "Xangô" (with Fernando Lobo), his first hit. In the next year, Goulart opened in the successful show Um Milhão de Mulheres that was performed for two years. After a stint in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), Goulart returned to Rio in 1949, recording "Miss Mangueira" (Wilson Batista/Antônio Almeida) for next year's Carnaval. His success with "Balzaqueana" (Wilson Batista/Nássara, 1951) yielded an invitation to join the prestigious Rádio Nacional, where he stayed for 15 years. Goulart was the first singer to interpret, in the nights of Rio, "Vingança," the big hit by Lupicínio Rodrigues that definitively established the composer, also provoking suicides. But as he was a Continental artist while Rodrigues had a contract of exclusiveness with RCA, the song was finally offered to Herivelto Martins. Among the many hits recorded by Goulart in the '50s, one of the most curious works was the samba "Exaltação a São Paulo" (Elton Medeiros), which had been presented in the Carnival of 1954. Evidencing new paths for Brazilian music, the samba was recorded for the program Um Milhão de Melodas by Goulart with the accompaniment of the orchestra of the Rádio Nacional (60 figures) and ten match boxes (an "instrument" typical of the informal samba meetings at bars and homes), everything written by Radamés Gnattali. Still in the '50s, Goulart toured the former U.S.S.R., China, and several European countries. He also launched the bossa nova march "Marcha da Quarta-Feira de Cinzas" (Carlos Lyra/Vinícius de Moraes) in February 1963.